Without anyone hardly saying a word, the Miami Dolphins are all the sudden one of the hottest teams in the NFL. At least that's what Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin believes.
“The Dolphins are as hot as any team in the NFL,” Tomlin told reporters earlier this week ahead of their Week 15 Monday night showdown.
And he’s not wrong. After starting the season 1-6, Miami has rattled off four straight wins and five of its last six, holding opponents to just 15.1 points per game during that stretch. But context still matters.
Three of those wins came against the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets — teams that rank no higher than 24th in scoring offense. That said, Miami’s 30-13 home win over the Buffalo Bills shouldn’t be brushed aside either.
Now comes a real test, and it won’t just be the opponent. Miami heads on the road, where it’s 2-4 this season, to face Pittsburgh — and one major factor could stand in the way of the Dolphins leaving with a win.
Dolphins set to face harsh weather conditions against Steelers
When the Dolphins travel to Pittsburgh for Monday night’s matchup, they’ll need to bundle up. The forecast calls for a high of 22 degrees and a low of 16, with wind gusts up to 16 mph.
That might qualify as a normal winter night in Pittsburgh. In Miami, it’s borderline arctic.
The Dolphins’ struggles in cold-weather games are well documented — and they’re ugly. ESPN Research notes that Miami has lost 13 straight games when the kickoff temperature is 40 degrees or colder, including playoff contests. Monday night’s kickoff is expected to hover around 21 degrees.
To make matters worse, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has never won a game played in temperatures below 40 degrees, according to Kevin Patra.
The quarterback shrugged off the notion that the weather will play a factor.
“It’s football, bro,” Tagovailoa said, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It is what it is. We got to play them in Pittsburgh, whether it’s negative-20, whether it’s 20 degrees. We got to play football.”
Again, facts haven't proven that yet, as December and on hasn't proven to be the most wonderful time of the year for the Dolphins.