The Miami Dolphins Are In A Must Win Situation
By Matt Patrick
The Miami Dolphins are officially half way through their season sitting at 4-4. Considering most NFL experts and analysts only predicted us to win four games all year, I guess we should all be content with our current record. Up until this past Sunday’s meltdown in Indianapolis, the Dolphins have played very well and given this fan base hope for a legitimate playoff berth. If this pipe dream has any chance of coming true, it all starts this weekend against the Tennessee Titans. With only eight games left on the schedule, the Dolphins are already in a must win situation.
Oct 7, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) gestures at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE
For the purpose of this article let’s assume the New England Patriots will win the AFC East as they have done nine out of the past eleven years. As much as I would love to see Miami win the division this year, I am not holding my breath and let’s just stick with hopes of a wild card berth.
Many of you may think the title of this article is premature and too soon to predict. But can Miami really afford to lose at home to the Titans, falling to 4-5 and still have hope for a wild card spot? In my opinion, Miami can’t lose this pivotal AFC matchup considering we still have four very difficult games left on the schedule.
Those games include two tough ones on the road at San Francisco and New England, as well as two home games against Seattle and New England. If you watch football, then I don’t need to explain in detail how difficult it will be to beat the 49ers and Patriots. We all know that San Francisco has arguably the best overall defense in the entire NFL, boasting a 6-2 record.
As for New England, as long as Tom Brady is behind center, they will always be in contention for the Super Bowl. Sure, you can make the argument that their secondary is garbage. But please don’t forget our secondary just gave up 433 passing yards to a rookie QB this past weekend. Moral of this story: don’t assume we will beat the Patriots. At least not yet….
But most importantly, please don’t sleep on the Seahawks. Their defense is very talented and their rookie QB, Russell Wilson, has been nothing short of outstanding. As much as I like QB Ryan Tannehill and hate to admit this, Wilson is statistically better in just about every passing category thus far. Not to mention Seattle has one more win than us at the moment. Again, I will repeat, please don’t sleep on the Seahawks.
Based on what I have seen from these opposing teams thus far these games will be a challenge to win. However, I am optimistic and think we can win two of these four games. Assuming we will sweep the Buffalo Bills and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, that will put us around 9-7 for the year if we do lose this weekend against the Titans. Considering we are shaping up to be in a dog fight with the San Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts for the two wild card spots, a projected 9-7 record may not cut it. If Miami wants to make it to the playoffs, it all starts this weekend in a must win game against the Titans.