With the return of their star quarterback, Pittsburgh looks real tough to beat right now. Against the Browns this past Sunday, Ben showed no signs of rust has he threw for three touchdowns and 257 yards. His return gave the offense of the Steelers a much needed lift.
On the defensive side of the ball James Harrison hard hits against the Browns leave his status for the Miami game up in the air as of right now. The league has said it will come down hard on helmet to helmet hits and will suspend players without warning. Harrison had to controversial hits this past week and very well could be fined or suspended for the Miami game. James Harrison, along with Troy Polamalu, are the heart and soul of the Steeler defense.
Miami is coming of an overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. Miami is 0-2 at home this year, and 3-0 on the road. Chad Henne is developing nicely as a quarterback for Miami and is leading a pretty good offense. Miami also has a nice running game with featured running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Brandon Marshall is the deep threat of Miami. If they are not grinding out the run game they are looking to pass down field to Marshall.
Miami is sure to have trouble with the hard nosed defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The deep threat of Brandon Marshall may be eliminated with Troy Palamula providing over the top help to the Pittsburgh cornerbacks. Not to mention, if hard hitting James Harrison is roaming around he is sure to be involved in many plays on the defensive end. Miami will have a hard time moving the ball against Pittsburgh.
On the flip side, the Pittsburgh offense is looking impressive under big Ben. Hines Ward is always a threat. Ward and Ben could find a groove in their second game back together and torch the Miami secondary. Rashard Mendenhall provides the Steelers with a hard nosed running attack that they like to use to control the ball and the game temp. If Miami can stop the Steelers running game, they have a chance at getting Ben to make some mistakes throwing the ball.
The game is being played in Miami where the Dolphins are 0-2 this season. The Steelers come into the game an impressive 4-1. The only game the Steelers dropped was a hard fought battle with division rival Baltimore. The Dolphins are looking to keep pace with the New England Patriots and New York Jets. They desperately need to get a win at home against the Steelers. The Steelers would really like to pick up a victory so they have momentum going into their road game with the defending Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints. Both teams want this game, who will come out on top is anybody's guess. What we do know is that this should be a fun game to watch. You never know when Miami will run the wild cat, but will it work against the Steelers?