The 2024 Miami Dolphins were 2-4 through six games. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had missed four of them with a concussion. The Dolphins lost three of those games, and their offense wasn’t the same without Tua. He returned for a Week 7 home game against the Arizona Cardinals. After leading by nine in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored the final 10 points to win 28-27. The Dolphins then became 2-6 after a close loss to the division-rival Bills in Buffalo. Things weren’t looking promising.
Going 2-7 would all but eliminate the Dolphins from the playoffs. Miami traveled to Los Angeles to face the Rams in a must-win situation. Never trailing, the Dolphins showed up and came away with a 23-15 victory. Their next two games were at home against two rebuilding teams. The Dolphins came away with easy wins against the Raiders and the Patriots, and at 5-6, they are right back in the Wildcard discussion.
2023 Collapse
The Dolphins got off to an amazing start in 2023. They were 11-4 with two games to go, good for second place in the AFC. Miami only needed to win one of those games to win the division and secure a home playoff game. If they beat both the Ravens and the Bills, they would win the division and secure the coveted #1 seed in the AFC. That would include a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
That is when the wheels fell off for Miami. The Ravens destroyed the Dolphins 56-19 in a cold weather game in Baltimore. That was followed by a 21-14 home loss to the Bills, giving Buffalo the AFC East title. The Dolphins then had to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs in another cold-weather game. Miami lost 26-7 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They were never in the game and the Dolphins lost both games last season in cold conditions.
Miami is not going to win the AFC East this season. The Bills have built an insurmountable lead. However, Miami is only a game and a half from the final playoff spot with six games to go. The good news is the schedule isn’t too difficult. They have two games left with the New York Jets and one with the Cleveland Browns, both three-win teams. They also have the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans on the schedule. Both of them have struggled of late, and are coming off their worst losses of the season. The Dolphins may be getting those teams at the right time.
Cold Weather Game
Like I said earlier, the Dolphins struggled in cold-weather games last season. The temperature in their game against the Chiefs last postseason was -4 degrees with a wind chill of -27. Some fans even got frostbite and a dozen of them had to have fingers or toes amputated. That’s quite a difference from Miami weather. The Dolphins head to Lambeau Field this Thanksgiving to play the Green Bay Packers.
The temperature in Green Bay is expected to be below freezing on Thursday night. Snow is possible, and the temperature could drop into the teens. This is by far the hardest game left on Miami’s schedule. The Packers have won 6 out of 7 with the only loss being to the 10-1 Lions. If the Dolphins pull off the upset, they are in great shape, with only one team left on their schedule with a winning record.
Final Thoughts
The Dolphins are a better team than their record indicates. But like Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” Miami may have to win out to make the postseason. At worst, they can afford to lose one game. Their last two games are on the road against the Browns and Jets. Miami is better than those teams and should win those games. But those should also be cold-weather games. If the Dolphins can improve their play in colder conditions, they could become the third team to ever start 2-6 and still make the postseason.
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