Miami Dolphins Get Sunday Gift From NFL

The Miami Dolphins should have a little more inspiration heading into tonights game against the New York Jets thanks to the outcomes of several games on Sunday. With a win tonight the Dolphins could move into the 6th seed based on tie-breakers.

On Sunday the Dolphins needed to have a few things go their way in order to open up their playoff chances and they got exactly that. Here is what happened on Sunday and what it means for the Dolphins, if the playoffs started today. Which of course they do not. It still gives you and idea of what the next five weeks could mean.

The Cleveland Browns got knocked off by Buffalo which put both teams tied at 7-5. Yes the Bills are still hanging around but the Dolphins with a win tonight own the head to head with the Bills based on a better divisional record. That eliminates the Bills. Cleveland is battling for a division title but the loss knocked them down a game and half from Cincinnati who won on Sunday. Should the Dolphins win tonight, Cleveland is eliminated by both Baltimore and Pittsburgh based on divisional records which would move the Dolphins up.

Pittsburgh was going to be a formidable opponent for the Dolphins to leap frog simply because Miami has no head to head with them this season. Pittsburgh held a one game lead on Miami going into this weekend but lost to the New Orleans Saints giving Miami a shot to gain that game back tonight. NFL.com has Baltimore listed in front of Pittsburgh which eliminates the Steelers. The Dolphins play Baltimore next Sunday and a win would give the Dolphins the head to head.

Baltimore played San Diego and lost. Ideally the Chargers would have lost that game and fell back into a tie with the other teams leaving Baltimore for Miami to take care of next week. The Chargers have a tough schedule ahead of them so it’s still likely they could lose a game or two which would move them out of the 5th seed that they took over yesterday. With the loss however, Baltimore drops back to 7-5 and is tied with everyone else.

Kansas City played a tough divisional game last night against the Broncos. They enter today holding the 6th seed but a win by the Dolphins could change that. With Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Baltimore, Miami, Kansas City, and Cleveland all tied it gets a little crazy trying to figure out who eliminates who which makes it good that there are still more weeks of football to play.

Of course there was also Green Bay and New England. The loss last night by New England opens the door just a bit for Miami. The Dolphins will still face the Patriots one more time but should they beat the Patriots a second time the Dolphins would only need New England to drop one more game to give Miami a shot at the division. New England travels cross country to San Diego next week before returning home to face the Dolphins in Foxboro. They close the season out with the Bills and Jets. The window is not open yet.

The tie breakers would come down like this.

Miami would eliminate Buffalo based on division record. In the North the Browns would be eliminated by the Steelers who have a better divisional record. Pittsburgh would be eliminated by the Ravens according to the NFL.com conference standings. I honestly can’t figure out why. Both teams have split this season and the Ravens have a worse division record with one more loss but we will go with what the NFL has up on their site. That would leave Baltimore, Miami, and Kansas City all tied at 7-5.

In the NFL head to head match-ups don’t mean anything when there are more than two teams tied that are not in the same division. In this case Miami who lost to Kansas City would not lose out because K.C. beat them. Now if the Dolphins lose on Sunday next, to the Ravens then a three way tie would eliminate Miami because both the Ravens and Chiefs had beaten Miami. This week however it won’t matter as the Chiefs have not played the Ravens and the Dolphins haven’t lost to them.

Miami has a better conference record than both teams so they would jump over both K.C. and Baltimore and could, if my reading of the league tie breaking rules is correct, be in the 6th seed. Of course it all changes next week and losses by other teams could effect the Dolphins regardless of whether they win or lose. For example they could beat Baltimore next Sunday and then be tied with Kansas City and would lose head to head. So it get’s very interesting moving forward.

First and foremost the Dolphins need to win tonight or none of it will matter much anyways. A loss tonight would for the most part put the Dolphins out of any realistic shot at the playoffs. Miami can’t afford to finish less than 10-6 this season and they still have Baltimore and New England left on the schedule.

So why is any of this important? In the grand scheme of things it puts the Dolphins in position to make the playoffs and frankly if you can’t use a potential post-season birth as an inspiration to fight hard and win then nothing will motivate you enough to win. A lot happened yesterday that gives the Dolphins more control over their post-season fate but each game must be played like their entire season hinges on it.