After a 1-7 start to the season, the Miami Dolphins were written on. Now, they have a path to make the playoffs and one road is quite simple.
Despite the high hopes that the Miami Dolphins came into the season with, success was hard to come by early in the year. With an abysmal offensive line and Tua Tagovailoa both struggling and getting injured, the team won just one of their eight games.
But since that abysmal start, the tides have turned dramatically in South Beach. Miami won their next six games and sat at 7-7 heading into Monday Night Football against an extremely depleted Saints team.
It may have looked like a pipe dream at one point but there is a very real opportunity for the Dolphins to make it to the playoffs, especially with a win over the Saints. And really, there is a simple path to the postseason for Miami — at least simple on paper.
Dolphins playoff scenarios: Simplest path to the postseason for Miami
Let’s first start out with this. With a win over the Saints, Miami’s chances to make the playoffs would go up to 33 percent.
And that really paves the way to the simple path to the postseason: Win.
If the Dolphins can win their final two games after the trip to New Orleans against the Titans and Patriots, they are locked into a playoff spot at 10-7 on the season.
Now, obviously, that is not a given. Both Tennessee and New England are playoff-caliber teams in their own right, meaning that they won’t be easy outs. With that said, both clubs have looked vulnerable in recent weeks, even in victorious efforts.
A loss in either game would require a ton of help from other teams. For instance, if they lost to the Titans, they would then need to beat the Patriots in Week 18 while also needing New England to lose to the lowly Jaguars in Week 17.
So there it is. Keep the winning streak alive, and the Dolphins are in the playoffs. Simple, right?