The Miami Dolphins are headed to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers on Sunday in an AFC Wild Card matchup, and Jay Ajayi is chomping at the bit to prove doubters wrong about his team.
Of the two teams, it’s not surprising that most of the hype surrounds the Steelers and what they can do on offense. After all, you have a team that has won two Super Bowls with Ben Roethlisberger since the 2006 season, and he has some incredible weapons to work with. Most notably, receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell are arguably the NFL’s top players at their position.
But Miami’s offensive weapons aren’t chump change, which is something Ajayi touched on during an media session Thursday.
“We hear a lot of talk about the other team and who they have and the players that they have,” Ajayi said, via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “And it’s kind of starting to get to me where you have to understand we have players too, you know? We have guys that are playing at a high level and are showcasing their abilities. And I think it’s time people need to respect that we have players on our offense, too, and we can get some stuff done when we’re on our game.”
Ajayi personally has plenty of room to feel confident about his ability to impact the upcoming wild card game. After all, the last time he lined up against Pittsburgh’s defense, he shredded it to the tune of 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Further proving Ajayi’s point about Miami’s offensive players, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and emerging star DeVante Parker are all capable of blowing a game wide open as receivers down the field. They have combined to catch 17 touchdowns this year, with Stills coming down with nine of them as the team’s deep threat.
It’s going to be fascinating to see if Matt Moore can stay hot this weekend against Pittsburgh and keep up with what we presume will be a high-flying Pittsburgh offense. The Dolphins are capable of providing defensive resistance, but Roethlisberger has been hot at home during the second half of the season.
Ajayi will likely have to have another big game for the Dolphins to emerge victorious in this one. Based on his comments, it’s clear he isn’t lacking an extra bit of motivation to make it happen.