Steelers vs. Dolphins prediction: Pittsburgh looking to pad AFC North lead while eliminating Miami

The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting the Miami Dolphins in the Week 15 edition of "Monday Night Football." Pittsburgh is coming off its biggest win of the season, a 27-22 thriller over the Baltimore Ravens that gave the Steelers control of the AFC North race. The Steelers had lost three of their previous four games and five of their previous seven after starting the season with a 4-1 record, so it was massive for them to get back in the win column ahead of the stretch run.

Miami has won four in a row since losing to Baltimore back in Week 9, and is now on the fringes of the playoff race in a season that started off in disastrous fashion. The Dolphins have been running the ball like crazy during their winning streak, while also turning over the opposing team multiple times in each of those games. 

Will the Steelers make it two in a row, or will the Dolphins pull off the upset? We'll find out soon enough. But before we detail some key storylines, here's a look at how you can watch the game.

Where to watch Steelers vs. Dolphins

• Date: Monday, Dec. 15 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• Location: Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh)
• TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) 
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Odds: Steelers -3, O/U 42.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook

Key storylines

• AFC North race. Pittsburgh currently holds a half-game lead in the division over the Ravens. The Steelers will maintain their AFC North lead no matter the result of this game by virtue of having defeated Baltimore last week, but it would obviously be beneficial to hold onto the one-game cushion heading into the stretch run. After this game against Miami, the Steelers close out the season with games in Detroit, in Cleveland and then at home against the Ravens. Baltimore closes by hosting New England and then traveling to Green Bay and Pittsburgh.
• AFC wild card race. The Dolphins are 2.5 games back of the Texans for the No. 7 seed in the AFC and technically still alive in the wild card chase. They're going to need to win out and they'll need to get a whole lot of help from other teams along the way. Following this game against the Steelers, they close the season by hosting the Bengals and Buccaneers and then traveling to New England to take on the Patriots. The Steelers are obviously still alive for a wild card spot as well with their 7-6 record, but they're far more likely to make it by holding off the Ravens in the division race than by sneaking in as a wild card, which by contrast is Miami's only path to the postseason.
• Revenge games for star DBs. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey will each be playing against their former teams in these games after they were involved in a trade for each other this offseason. Fitzpatrick spent five-plus seasons in Pittsburgh after being traded there (by Miami) early in the second year of his NFL career, only to be sent back to the Dolphins this past offseason. Ramsey played two years in Miami before being traded to Pittsburgh. 

Steelers vs. Dolphins pick, prediction

Did you know that the Dolphins are 5-1 in their last six games since dropping to 1-6 and looking like their season was done? Mike McDaniel has this team playing really well! They can run on anybody, and we've seen that you can run on the Steelers. (Look at what the Bills did a couple weeks ago.) If they can control the game on the ground, I like their chances to pull off an upset here, considering that the Pittsburgh offense still isn't explosive enough to put an opponent away. 

Pick: Miami 21, Pittsburgh 17 | Dolphins +3, Under 42.5