Miami Dolphins Exit Sunday As 6th Seed In AFC
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins could do nothing more than sit back and watch other game unfold on their televisions screens. Everything they could have done they took care of on Thursday night. Now it was all a matter of watching, waiting, and wondering. At the end of the day on Sunday the Miami Dolphins moved from 9th to 6th in the playoff standings.
The Dolphins now will wait for the outcome of the New England Patriots game to see if they can gain a game on the division leader. While the Dolphins end the day with the sixth seed they will likely find themselves in the 7th seed by the end of tomorrow night. The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently 6-4 and a victory over Tennessee on Monday night will move them up to the 6th spot. Pittsburgh has not yet had their bye week.
The Dolphins will face the Denver Broncos next Sunday and while on paper you would think it would lean heavily towards the Broncos, they lost three key offensive players today in their loss to St. Louis. Denver will be looking to take out their frustrations on a visiting Dolphins team that could give Peyton Manning fits.
So how did the Dolphins move up and what was the shakeup after Sunday’s games?
1: The loss by the Cleveland Browns knocked them from first two worst in their division. Cleveland moved from being the 4th seed to the 10th seed in a matter of three hours. It shows how close the races are for this years playoffs and in particular their own division.
2: Cincinnati’s big win in New Orleans catapulted them into the drivers seat of the AFC North. They have Pittsburgh and Baltimore breathing down their neck.
3: San Diego moved up to the 7th seed on Sunday but will likely drop back one if Pittsburgh wins on Monday night.
4: Denver’s loss to St. Louis puts them in a tie with Kansas City who beat Seattle at Arrowhead. The Broncos own the head to head match-up for now but the two teams will play again by seasons end. The loss today as stated above will make next weeks Miami game that much more important.
5: Four teams are tied at 6-4 heading into next Sunday with Pittsburgh at 6-4 heading into Monday night. The Bengals are 6-3-1 and Indianapolis is also at 6-3 but are far ahead in their division. The Dolphins have not lost to any of the teams that are tied but still play Baltimore in three weeks. Miami has the best conference record of any of the teams vying today for the final spot. They are 5-2. Of Miami’s remaining six games, five are against AFC opponents.