Super Bowl Sunday is a reminder that Miami Dolphins are getting closer

The Miami Dolphins are not playing in this year’s Super Bowl but at least the Buffalo Bills are not either. Next year? Well, that’s an unknown.

If we are being honest, the Miami Dolphins are closer to having a Super Bowl roster than perhaps at any time in the last 20 years. But how close, in reality, are they? That depends on who you ask, what side of a certain fence you stand on, and whether or not you feel Miami is a defensive coordinator away from making a mega-push.

Tonight, Miami fans will endure another season-ending game without seeing the aqua and orange on display. Kansas City and Philadelphia should make for an entertaining game but it reminds us that we are either getting closer or drifting further away.

Consider that the Bengals began their rebuild at the same time the Dolphins did. They were in the Super Bowl last year and missed this year after losing in the AFC Championship game. Consider that the Eagles beat the Patriots in 2017 to win a Super Bowl.

The Eagles didn’t win more than nine games in the following four years, still made the playoffs in three of those four (now four of five), switched quarterbacks, fired their Super Bowl winning head coach, and hired a new guy in 2020.

Now, here we are watching them race through a season. So where are the Miami Dolphins? Are they rising or falling? Do we really even know?

Here are some of the key reasons that the Dolphins are inching closer to making a deep run in the post season and potentially a Super Bowl appearance.