Last week in my “Dolphins’ Demerits” column I suggested seven games that Miami needed to go there way, a couple of them were long shots (hoping for a Lions W for one), but none the less, these teams need to lose for the Fins to have a fighting chance for the final Wildcard spot. I hoped for three of the games to go Miami’s way, and they got four. Not a bad Bye Week to gain ground on playoff challengers. Below is the excerpt from last week:
“Miami only has 4 games left (on their schedule) to make up two, so here are the teams to root for this week (if you’re a FinsFan).
- Vikings vs Steelers (Go Vikings SKOL!)
- Ravens vs Browns (C’mon Lamar, stop throwing picks!)
- Chiefs vs Raiders (sorry to my Los Oakland Vegas Raiders friends, but they need to lose)
- Giants @ Chargers (Go NY, win one for the Parcells)
- Niners @ Bengals (Jimmy GarapaGO!)
- Bills @ Bucs (@TB12 pretend it’s the last 18 years in the AFC East and crush the Bills)
- Lions @ Broncos (can the Cowardly Lions find enough courage to win two in a row?)
Many dominos must fall into place, I’m rooting for at least 3 of the 7 starting Thursday night.”
Four of the seven games this past Sunday went in favor of the Fins [Vikings, Chiefs, Niners, and Bucs] The Ravens/Browns game was a toss up, as either team losing helps the Dolphins. Miami has to win four games. Next week vs the Jets is a “should” win game. If they have a slip up at home vs a team in shambles, Miami doesn’t deserve a Wildcard. Much like last week, Miami still needs much help. Getting to .500 would be great. But they still need teams to lose. Here are the games most important to Miami (besides their own):
- Chiefs at Chargers (One of these teams will win the division, as the Chiefs have an extra game up on the Fins, I’m rooting for them to beat the Chargers)
- Raiders at Browns (The Raiders own a tie break against Miami, the Browns have a better record currently)
- Pats at Colts (Pats need to win 3 of their final 4 to really help Miami, then they will have seeding and division wrapped and hopefully be resting players come the final game of the season vs Miami.)
- Carolina at Bills (hoping for a Bills collapse)
- Titans at Steelers (Steelers are even in the Win column, but that tie keeps their L column ahead of Miami. The Steelers need to lose at least one more game.)
- Bengals at Broncos (This is a toss-up/push game as well. Both teams are ahead of Miami, both have 6 losses, I’ll take any outcome here, except for a tie)
- Packers at Ravens (Go Packers! I’ll actually be saying that a few times over the course of the final weeks, assuming Miami keeps up their end, without vomiting in my mouth.)
Miami with a win this Sunday vs the Jets would be .500 for the first time this year since the end of week 2 (1-1). At 7-7 depending how the above games play out, Miami could be sitting in the 8th or 9th spot with three games to play. The Colts, Bills, and Raiders hold head to head tie-breakers over Miami, they all would need to be sitting at 8 losses for the Fins to have a real chance. If the Dolphins win out, regardless of any other outcomes, they have an 80% chance to make the playoffs. But as you put in more scenarios, it gets tricky. You can see for yourself here. No matter how I fudged the games, if the Fins lose just once in the next four games, they’re out.
Miami can’t focus on the help they need. Winning should be their only concern, then see how the cookie crumbles.
POLITASPORTS 