Dolphins at Steelers: How will Miami slow down Pittsburgh's dangerous, rested Big 3?

Eric Edholm wrote:DOLPHINS AT A GLANCE

Key player: QB Matt Moore. The longtime backup was thrust into the starting role when Ryan Tannehill went down at the worst possible time down the stretch and will be the starter after Tannehill was ruled out for this game on Thursday. Moore has started 28 career games (2-1 down the stretch in 2016) in his nine NFL seasons but has yet to take a postseason snap. He has thrown for 721 yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions in his three late-season starts and has been mostly solid. His job will be to avoid back-breaking mistakes, get the ball into the hands of the Dolphins’ playmakers and take advantage of stacked boxes against Jay Ajayi when the opportunities present themselves.

Why they’ll win: Well, they already have beaten this Steelers team. Ajayi was a monster in the first matchup in Miami (25 rushes, 204 yards, two TDs), and they churned out first downs, owned time of possession, won the turnovers battle by plus-two and outgained the Steelers by nearly 200 yards. The Dolphins held Ben Roethlisberger to 189 pass yards and picked him twice. The Dolphins did a good job on Le’Veon Bell in that game, but why he got only 16 touches is a mystery for the ages.

Why they’ll lose: Of course, so much has changed since that last matchup. Roethlisberger was banged up with a knee injury, and the two Dolphins DBs who picked him off — Isa Abdul-Quddus and Reshad Jones — are out for the season. No. 1 corner Byron Maxwell also is doubtful, so this patchwork secondary will have a whale of a challenge against Antonio Brown and Co. Tom Brady picked this group apart last week, and the linebackers are shaky at best, too. The Patriots barely blitzed Moore and still held him under 100 yards passing into the third quarter. Ajayi will have a giant target on his back this time around.