Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin refuses to warm up to weather edge

The Pittsburgh Steelers should have an advantage when it comes to the weather conditions Sunday. The high is expected to be only 23 degrees with wind child dipping into the teens or single digits. The Dolphins played the majority of their games in much warmer weather, including eight games in sunny Miami.

If the Steelers are expecting the weather to be a factor in the game, they're not voicing it.

"I just don't subscribe to that," coach Mike Tomlin said. "I never really have. When I was in Tampa Bay, we talked about cold-weather teams coming down there and dying on the vine in September. As a defensive coach down there, if we didn't get off on third downs, we died on the vine in September.

"By the same token, I would imagine we have just as many Florida boys on this team as the Dolphins. I would imagine we have more guys from Florida on our team than the Dolphins. It's a global game at this level. I am not ready to subscribe to that and probably never will."

--Tomlin isn't banking on his team's playoff experience being a big factor in the game, either. The Steelers are in the playoffs for a third consecutive season and for the fourth time in the past six years while the Dolphins are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

The experience factor is most noticeable at quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger will be making his 16th playoff start while Matt Moore will be making his first.

"If it is one, it's not an acknowledged one from my perspective," Tomlin said. It's not something we're going to use in preparation, or lean on in terms of preparing for the game. We're going to focus on the things that are in our control. That's our preparation, and ultimately, our play. We have very little control over how they're preparing, what their mindset is, or what they intend to do to us schematically. We just better respect them and be prepared for their very best."

--Receiver Antonio Brown didn't quite have the type of season he anticipated. Coming off a campaign in which he caught 136 passes for 1,834 yards, Brown had goals of setting NFL records for catches and receiving yards in a season.

But after falling short of those goals - he finished with 106 catches for 1,284 yards - Brown isn't stressing about his stats. He said the one and only goal is winning a championship. Receivers are sometimes the last players to associate with being a team player, but Brown has made some big strides in recent years when it comes to the way he approaches the game.

"It's awesome to hear him say that because we have had quite a few discussions over the years about that," Tomlin said. "How many balls can you catch? 110? 125? At the end of the day, he is dynamic. He steps into the stadium, and he is a guy that you better prepare to reckon with. What he is chasing is a little bit of football immortality. It's legacy. Those things are always involving championship play."