Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Over the final three weeks of the regular season, no NFL team had a bigger opportunity to prove how it good is than the Miami Dolphins.
In consecutive weeks, they played the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Buffalo Bills, with two of the games at Hard Rock Stadium. At the start of the three-game stretch, the Miami Dolphins were 10-4 and were holding onto the No. 2 seed in the AFC, with a chance to move up to No. 1.
It didn’t happen. Not even close. After holding off the Cowboys in the first of three, the Dolphins dropped the next two, losing the Ravens’ game in blowout fashion to end their hopes at the No. 1 seed and then falling to the Bills to then lose the AFC East title and plummet to the No. 5 seed.
Against those three teams, one out of three might not seem to be too bad. After all, those three teams currently occupy the top two seeds in the AFC (the Ravens and Bills, respectively) and the No. 2 seed in the NFC (Cowboys).
But that’s little solace for the Miami Dolphins, a team that aspires to be better than that, as they should.
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While they once looked destined to be hosting at least one playoff game in the warm climate of Miami, the Dolphins find themselves in the ignominious position of having to play in Kansas City, where the sub-zero conditions are expected to make their wild-card matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs one of the most frigid games in NFL playoff history.
It’s a cold-hearted outcome for the Miami Dolphins, who haven’t won a playoff since 2000 and have the worst record in the NFL in sub-40 degree weather.
Those stats predate Mike McDaniel, who has led the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2001. But the obstacles continue to mount, some of their own making.
For as good as the Miami Dolphins have been all season, they have been the AFC’s version of the Dallas Cowboys. It’s ironic that the Dolphins beat the Cowboys at home three weeks ago because both teams have similar issues winning big games.
For the Cowboys, it’s all about their performance on the road. They can destroy just about any team that sets foot in AT&T Stadium, going 8-0 on their home field. Yet away from home, they become more docile, with a 4-5 record.
As for the Miami Dolphins, it has little to do with the home-road splits. It’s more about how they fare against good teams vs. bad teams. Miami is 10-1 against teams with losing records (losing only to Tennessee), and 1-5 against teams with winning records (beating only Dallas). And that includes a loss to the Chiefs.
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When they are at their explosive best, the Dolphins can turn games into a track meet, with players like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, getting the ball from Tua Tagovailoa with amazing precision. Just ask the Denver Broncos, whom the Dolphins lit up for 70 points.
But then there’s a game like Sunday’s against the Bills, when Miami — No. 1 in the NFL in total offense — went scoreless in the second half.
True, the Dolphins’ injuries have taken a serious toll, cutting deeply into their roster. They’ve been without Mostert and Waddle on offense, although it appears both will play this weekend.
On defense, however, they’ve been decimated with season-ending injuries to linebackers Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel, and a foot injury to cornerback Xavien Howard that is expected to keep him out one more week.
Honestly, the Miami Dolphins don’t have one more week. This is it, the end of the road. They are beat up, can’t either beat good teams, or win in cold weather. Don’t expect Saturday’s game to be any different.