In October, the Dolphins beat the Steelers in Miami, 30-15. But with Pittsburgh riding a seven-game winning streak and playing at home, many believe the Steelers will prevail in the rematch.
Bolstering that belief is the reality that, for the first time ever, the Steelers will line up in a playoff game with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown in the lineup.
Indeed, someone has to win the game. The Steelers are the popular pick.
Today in Miami, a reporter twisted that reality into the notion that the Dolphins are being wronged in some way.
“There is more disrespect from the national media,” the reporter asked receiver Jarvis Landry, via the transcript circulated by the Dolphins. “A lot of the national guys don’t think you guys are going to win. Have you seen any of that?
“That’s fine,” Landry said. “That’s fine. It’s perfect. We don’t need more motivation. We’ll take it, but we already know where we want to be and we know where the end goal is, so the only people that care about and know what it takes to get there are in this building and that’s all we care about.”
It’s the right response from Landry, and it’s erroneous to view the picking of the Steelers to win as “disrespect.” It’s not disrespect; it’s an effort to accurately predict the outcome of the game.
Could those picking the Steelers be wrong? Yes. Could the Dolphins find extra motivation in the fact that people who hope to accurately predict the outcome of the game are picking the Steelers? Maybe.
It happens every year in the postseason. But picking one team to win is hardly a sign of disrespect for the other.
I respect what the Dolphins have accomplished this year. It’s beyond impressive, especially since they managed to secure a young coach who could provide the foundation of years of success. It’s quite possibly the beginning of great things to come in Miami. But given the circumstances and the opponent, it’s no surprise that neutral observers believe the Steelers will win.
To hear more from Landry, who deserves far more respect than he has gotten for the accomplishments of the first three seasons of his career, tune in Friday to PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio and NBCSN.
