Running back Jay Ajayi was the main reason the Miami Dolphins defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers during the regular season.
The rematch in Sunday's AFC wild-card game will likely be decided by quarterback play. Which quarterback is the question?
While the third-seeded Steelers are solid with sturdy veteran Ben Roethlisberger behind center, Miami is leaving the door open for a possible return by Ryan Tannehill when the sixth-seeded Dolphins visit Pittsburgh on Sunday (1:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
Tannehill sprained his left knee in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 11 and is healing faster than forecasted. Coach Adam Gase declined to rule him out of the contest on Wednesday, but did indicate that journeyman Matt Moore is the likely starter.
"Matt is preparing for the game, he's the starter," Gase said. "Unless something changes drastically here in the next two days or three days, he's going into this thing. He's the starter.
"We've got a little ways to go. I don't want to rule (Tannehill) out yet, because I want to see him try to get out there and do something. But if he's not ready to go, we're not just going to put him out there and put him in harm's way."
The Dolphins (10-6) produced a 30-15 regular-season victory over Pittsburgh when Ajayi rushed for 204 yards as part of a stretch of three consecutive 200-yard outings by the second-year back.
And regardless of who quarterbacks for Miami, the Steelers (11-5) are focused on preventing a repeat occurrence at running back.
"We are not going to pretend like Jay Ajayi's 200-yard day was a lightning strike," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "No, it was very real. I don't think it's appropriate to take that approach. He ran for 200 yards twice against the Buffalo Bills this year.
"There is tangible evidence that we need to respect this preparation process. We need to have an understanding that what occurred the last time we played these guys was by no means a lightning strike."
Roethlisberger was intercepted twice by Miami during the regular season but his high amount of postseason experience could be a crucial element in this contest if Moore is the Dolphins' quarterback.
Roethlisberger is making his 18th career playoff start while Moore would be making his first. Roethlisberger has an 11-6 postseason record with two Super Bowl victories.
Another factor is that the Steelers finished the regular season with seven consecutive victories as one of the NFL's hottest teams.
"This game is about when you can get hot, when you can play your best football," Roethlisberger said. "It's important to play your best football late in the season when it matters the most. Staying healthy is such a key component to that.
"We have had so many injuries in years past, it's hard to play your best football when you have guys down. To go into the postseason as healthy as I can remember, me feeling that way and the guys around me, that's very important and huge for us."
Running back Le'Veon Bell will be in the backfield on Sunday and that is a welcome sight to Roethlisberger.
The fourth-year pro rushed for 1,268 yards and had 616 receiving yards in just 12 games this season. But injury issues led him to miss all three of Pittsburgh's playoff games during his standout career.
"I know how hyped I'm going to be. I think I deserve it," Bell said. "This is going to be my first playoff game in my fourth year in the league. I'm going to be pumped and I need that. I need to keep my energy up, help my teammates feed off my energy, let them know how important this game is to me. I obviously want to go out there and show some people what I can do."
Slowing down the Pittsburgh offense that includes star receiver Antonio Brown (106 receptions for 1,284 yards and 12 touchdowns) will be a challenge for a Dolphins' defense that ranked just 29th in total defense at 382.6 yards per game. Miami gave up more than 30 points in three of its final five regular-season games.
"They're going to make a lot of plays both in the pass and the run game, so we've got to tackle." Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "We've got to make plays and counteract that, and that's our job as defensive players to really corrupt what they're trying to do on the offensive side of the ball."
The Miami players say who plays quarterback for them on Sunday isn't an issue. That mindset is part of helping make sure there isn't extra pressure heaped on the 32-year-old Moore, who did not start a regular-season game since 2011 before starting the final three games of the regular season.
Moore says the uncertainty involving Tannehill will have no effect on him.
"No. I'm preparing like I have the past couple of weeks," Moore said. "That's all I can do. There is enough to worry about with Pittsburgh, so that's where my focus is."
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