It’s going to be cold tonight in Pittsburgh. Like, seven pairs of socks cold. However, there’s no snow expected and the wind won’t play too large a role. So we’re simply left with the narrative that Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa ($9,600) can not win when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. The funniest part — at least as it pertains to this incarnation of the Dolphins? Miami is a team built to run the football. It should do well in these types of conditions. Conversely, it’s the Steelers who have questions about their ground game and, frankly, ability to stop the run.
Which team will come out on top on Monday Night Football? It’s unclear. What’s more important is figuring out which players you need to be rostering in tonight’s Showdown slate on DraftKings. Let’s break down my three must-start assets to close out Week 15’s slate.
Set your DraftKings NFL DFS lineups here: NFL Showdown $1.2M Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (MIA @ PIT)
RB De’Von Achane, Dolphins | $19,200 CPT, $12,800 FLEX
It’s rare to see a player flirt with a $13,000 price tag in Showdown, but that’s how good De’Von Achane has been this season for Miami. That’s also how much of a monopoly Achane has had on the Dolphins’ touches since Tyreek Hill (knee) went down with a season-ending injury in Week 4 against the Jets. If it wasn’t enough that Achane leads the NFL in yards per rushing attempt (5.8), he’s also third in the league in targets for a running back (73) and fourth in the league in rushing yards (1,126). To top it all off, Achane started Week 15 squarely inside the top 10 in both overall touches (248) and total touchdowns (11). In a world of running back committees, Achane is a “bell cow” that also happened to run a 4.32 at his 40-yard dash at the combine. He’s an athletic freak.
Last we saw Achane, he was well on his way to another massive fantasy performance against New York in Week 14. In fact, by the mid-way point of the second quarter, the former fourth-round pick had already racked up 105 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on only eight touches. However, that’s when Achane awkwardly landed on the football when being tackled, which caused a rib issue that prevented him from taking another snap. Fortunately, Achane practiced in full on Saturday and does not carry an injury designation for Monday’s tilt with the Steelers.
If you’re like me, your now obsessed with what Achane’s stat line could have looked like eight days ago. Would he have rushed for 200 yards? Would he have set some kind of record? Thankfully, tonight’s matchup with Pittsburgh might give us another opportunity to watch greatness. Not only do the Steelers rank below the Jets in EPA per play on opposing rushing attempts (0.04), but the team has allowed a jaw-dropping 188.3 rushing yards per contest dating back to Week 12. That includes giving up over 200 yards to both the Ravens and the Bills. Look for Achane to run wild, which is why he needs to be in your lineup by any means necessary.
RB Kenneth Gainwell, Steelers | $10,500 CPT, $7,000 FLEX
Unlike the Dolphins, the Steelers feature a committee at the running back position. What that’s meant in the past four weeks is almost an exact 50/50 split of the snaps between Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren ($9,000). If that same time share were to play out again against Miami, I’d significantly favor Gainwell from a DFS value perspective, who is $2,000 cheaper than his teammate. Obviously, if Warren were unable to play through the questionable tag he picked up this morning due to an illness, Gainwell’s viability would vault even higher, as the veteran RB posted 134 scrimmage yards, a pair of touchdowns and 31.4 FPTS in his last opportunity with Warren sidelined all the way back in Week 4.
Simply put, Gainwell has been the more efficient fantasy asset of the two during this recent stretch, averaging a 1.39 PPR points per touch since the beginning of Week 11, while Warren’s been held to an underwhelming 0.81. The biggest reason for this is Gainwell’s import in the Steelers’ aerial attack, with his 167 receiving yards in this same span serving as the second-most of any RB in the NFL. Heck, Gainwell’s 50 receptions for the season as a whole rank second on Pittsburgh’s roster, with DK Metcalf ($9,400) barely edging the running back out with 52 catches of his own.
It’s almost easier to think about Gainwell as a receiver who also happens to get some work in the rushing game, except unlike a lot of third-down backs, the 26-year-old gets his share of goal line carries, too. Gainwell isn’t ever a “slam-dunk” DFS asset in a full-slate setting, but in Showdown, with salary far below Warren’s, he’s a must-start versus Miami.
K Chris Boswell, Steelers | $8,100 CPT, $5,400 FLEX
This is projected to be a low-scoring affair, which already makes those building lineups gravitate towards kickers and defenses in Showdown. I’ll be honest. I thought long and hard about suggesting Steelers D/ST ($4,000) as a must-start on Monday night, particularly with the aforementioned Tagovailoa’s well-documented woes in the cold. However, I believe Miami will attempt to keep the ball on the ground in this matchup, which limits the opportunity for quarterback sacks and quarterback mistakes. Not to mention that Pittsburgh will be mourning the absence of T.J. Watt, who will not play in this evening’s contest after undergoing surgery earlier this week for a collapsed lung.
That leaves Boswell and Riley Patterson ($5,000) as the mid-tier “specialty” options that I’d consider in an attempt to save some salary — which you’ll especially have to do with how expensive Achane is to roster. Patterson is in the midst of a fantastic campaign for the Dolphins, yet it’s Boswell that’s been kicking at the always difficult Acrisure Stadium for over an decade, so I’ll side with experience and the former All-Pro. Plus, the Steelers have averaged 2.5 field goal attempts in home games in 2025, which is the seventh-highest mark in the NFL. Boswell’s made 15 of his 17 attempts in Pittsburgh this season.
