5 burning questions for the Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 06: Jaylen Samuels #38 of the Pittsburgh Steelers stiff arms Chuck Clark #36 of the Baltimore Ravens on October 6, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 06: Jaylen Samuels #38 of the Pittsburgh Steelers stiff arms Chuck Clark #36 of the Baltimore Ravens on October 6, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks onto the field ahead of a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 13, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks onto the field ahead of a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 13, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /

How will the Steelers do against a bad team?

Since 2012, the Balck & Gold have had trouble against losing teams. You would think this would be an area the Steelers would succeed in, but actually not. The Steelers are 12-16 against teams with a losing record since 2012, according to Behind the Steel Curtain.

The truth about this problem is nobody knows why the Steelers have this problem. Many say it’s because Tomlin has trouble motivating his players against bad teams. I think if it were that simple, Tomlin would change his approach.

A hypothesis I have for this is that the parody in the NFL is so good that even bad teams are good. As much as we think there is a gap between good teams and bad teams, the truth is, the difference is very small.

Even if this is true, the Steelers need to capitalize on bad teams and so this Dolphins game is a must-win if they want to stay in the playoff conversation. The Steelers need to play with a must-win mentality against the Dolphins.