Don’t look now, Miami Dolphins one game out of 7th seed

The Miami Dolphins road to the post season was near impossible only a few weeks ago. Riding a six game winning streak has changed all that.

It is a matter of irony that the Dolphins will be playing for their 7th consecutive win a week from Monday against the Saints. If they win, the streak will extend to 7 games matching their 7 game losing streak that put them in this mess to begin with.

Miami should be looking at 10 wins. They lost to the Jaguars and the Falcons and could have beaten the Raiders. That didn’t happen so instead, the Dolphins have had to bite and claw and kick their way out of a deep hole. A hole that no other team in NFL history has successfully done. That’s right, no team has ever made the playoffs after a 1-7 start. The Miami Dolphins find themselves one game out of being in the discussion for real.

On Sunday, the Dolphins held off a surprisingly tough Jets team. They then watched the Bengals beat the Broncos and the Ravens beat themselves with another failed two point conversion in the final seconds of the game.

The loss by the Ravens opened the door for the Bengals to take over the top spot in the AFC North. The Bengals are now in the 8th spot and could drop further if the Browns beat the Raiders on Monday.

The Broncos losing allowed Miami to move up a spot in the playoff chase. It’s a minor move and one that could become two if the Browns win.

Currently, the Dolphins find themselves in the 11th spot awaiting the Raiders/Browns game. No matter what though, the Dolphins at 7-7 are one game behind the three teams holding the three Wild Card spots. The Colts, Chargers, and Bills are all sitting at 8-6. The Ravens who are 8th are 8-6 as well.

If the Browns win on Monday, they take the division lead and the Bengals drop down.

Miami’s remaining games are against the Saints, Titans, and Patriots. If the Patriots lose to the Bills next week, the Dolphins and Patriots could be looking at a win and your in scenario come week 18 as both would be sitting with potentially 10 wins.

What seemed like a major hill to climb, the Dolphins have climbed back into a real chance for the post season. They are not there yet but they have definitely earned the right to have their names mentioned. Here are the remaining schedules for the teams ahead of the Dolphins.

• Titans:
  • San Francisco, Dolphins, @Texans
• Browns:
  • Raiders, @Green Bay, @Steelers, Bengals
• Colts:
  • @Arizona, Raiders, Jaguars
• Bills:
  • @Patriots, Atlanta, Jets
• Patriots:
  • Bills, Jaguars, @Miami
• Chargers:
  • @Texans, Denver, @Raiders
• Ravens:
  • @Bengals, Rams, Steelers
• Bengals:
  • Ravens, Kansas City, @Browns
• Steelers:
  • @Chiefs, Browns, @Ravens
• Broncos:
  • @ Raiders, @Chargers, Kansas City
• Raiders:
  • Browns, Broncos, @Colts, Chargers