The Miami Dolphins are historically a poor team in the cold. With the Pittsburgh Steelers welcoming them in a game that will occur in below-freezing temperatures, the Dolphins flew up to Pittsburgh early and practiced in a snow storm on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh area received anywhere from five-to-eight inches around the city and its suburbs, and the Dolphins practiced at Joe Walton Stadium on Robert Morris University’s campus near the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is trying to turn around a narrative that his team can not win in cold weather situations. They have run the ball well over the last four games, amassing over 160 yards in each game for the first time since the 1970s.

“(Practicing in Pittsburgh on Saturday night) was something that was considered in the offseason,” McDaniel said. “The odd part of the schedule is a Monday night on the road. It always feels like you’re so far removed from the last time you were on the football field. Doing it this way allows us to have our final full-speed practice about 48 hours from kickoff. It’ll be good, I think it’s an added bonus that we get to get ourselves into the environment, but realistically, that’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while to keep consistency about 48 hours from kickoff, having your last activity.”

When the temperature is below 40 degrees, the Dolphins have lost 12 straight games. That is the stat the Dolphins hope to crack by acclimating to the cold earlier than just Monday night, but the Steelers have also practiced outside at Acrisure Stadium as they prepare for this game.

The Detroit Lions (8-6) and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) will square off in a Week 16 interdivisional battle between two teams with NFL playoff aspirations. While we know the outcome of the Lions’ Week 15 game, the Steelers have yet to play—they take on the Miami Dolphins on “Monday Night Football”—but that won’t prevent the sports betting sites from taking a look ahead to Week 16.

The Steelers currently sit atop the AFC North, but that is more an indictment of how much of a mess the division has been in 2025, rather than praise for Pittsburgh. After starting the season with a 3-1 record, they’ve gone 4-5 since and have not recorded back-to-back wins—something they’ll be hoping to accomplish on Monday night.

While the Steelers are in a prime position to make the playoffs and potentially host a playoff game, Pittsburgh fans and analysts are frustrated with the team’s performance and have spent most of the season hoping for change.

Steelers fans have squarely pointed their fingers at the Pittsburgh coaching staff as the root of the team’s problems, blaming coach Mike Tomlin for his decisions in staffing, offseason player acquisition, and lack of change/adaptability in their scheme. While Steelers fans have started “Fire Tomlin” chants during games, no coach has come under more fire than defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

“The defensive scheme is ass. The DC needs to get the (expletive) up out of there. Teryl Austin. He was the DB coach when I was there. I didn’t think he was that great then, you know what I’m saying? Now he’s the DC. It’s an opportunistic defense. … They’ve been running the same (expletive) every year with no adjustment.”

On offense, despite the addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, they’ve struggled to stay on the field and create consistent drives. While his passer rating of 96.2 is decent, the rest of his statistics are mediocre, as he has become more of a checkdown artist in his later years. Rodgers has thrown the ball beyond 10 yards on only 22.7% of his passing attempts, is averaging 5.8 air yards per attempt, and just 3.3 air yards per completion; all three stats are the lowest in the NFL. He’s coming off a 284-yard passing performance against the Ravens (his highest total on the season), but it’s also the first time in a month he’s thrown for more than 161 yards in a game.

Despite the inconsistency and underachieving play, the Steelers remain in contention for the postseason, making them a dangerous opponent for a Lions team that likely needs to win their remaining three games.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the teams expressing interest in Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., according to Francys Romero on Twitter/X. Romero notes that the New York Mets and San Diego Padres are also interested.

After being named an American League All-Star for the first time in 2023, Robert had his second straight subpar season for the White Sox in 2025. The 28-year-old slashed just .223/.297/.364 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 53 RBI in 100 games. He did, however, finished fifth in the American League with 33 stolen bases and was in the 93rd-percentile with seven outs above average in center field.

Though he’s struggled at the plate over the last two seasons, Robert looked to be emerging as one of the game’s top young players after a breakout campaign in 2023. Robert has battled injuries in his career but played in a career-high 145 games that season. He finished 12th in the American League MVP race and won a Silver Slugger after batting .264 with an .857 OPS, 36 doubles, one triple, 38 home runs, 80 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Strikeouts have been an issue for Robert and are a big reason for his struggles in recent seasons. Over the past two years, he’s struck out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Even in his breakout season in 2023, he struck out 172 times in 595 plate appearances.

Robert is owed $20 million this coming seasons and has a club option valued at $20 million again for 2027 with a $2 million buyout.

The Pirates have been looking to make lineup upgrades all offseason. They’ve been aggressive on the free agent market — including empty pursuits of Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Polanco — but have yet to add a bat via free agency. The only free agent agreement the Pirates have made so far is with left-handed reliever Gregory Soto for one year and $7.75 million.

As for the offense, the Pirates acquired Jhostynxon García from the Boston Red Sox but have come up short in adding established help to their lowly offense.

Given that the Pirates have already been outbid on multiple players this offseason, general manager Ben Cherington could choose to focus his attention on the trade market to land an impact bat.

In addition to Robert, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil are among the players the Pirates have reportedly expressed interest in.

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