If Mike McDaniel's job with the Miami Dolphins is tied to making the playoffs, he should be putting his house up for sale. Luckily for him, it's not explicitly tied to that.
The Dolphins entered week 15 with slim hopes that were dashed on Sunday like a 6-year-old's dream Christmas being ruined with socks and underwear. Was it really that bad? Yes, yes, it was. Even the Patriots couldn't give the Dolphins a glimmer of hope.
Miami will need to win Monday night to keep their mathematical chances alive, but by this time next weekend, they will likely be booted from the potential playoff field.
Miami Dolphins' hopes of a playoff miracle got scrooged by the rest of the NFL on Sunday
Entering the weekend, Miami was three games behind the Bills and Chargers and two games behind the Texans. The Chiefs, Colts, and Ravens all stood immediately in front of them. Of those three, only the Chiefs lost. They were immediately eliminated from contention.
If you had told anyone at the beginning of the year that the Dolphins would still be alive and the Chiefs were out of the playoff picture, no one would have believed you. With the Chiefs' loss, the Dolphins moved into the 10th seed. That was the only good news of the day.
The best chance for the Dolphins to make the postseason was a Bills loss. The Patriots led for three quarters, but in the end, even the golden child, Drake Maye, couldn't hold off the comeback surge. The Bills came back from 21 points down to win the game.
The victory means the Bills will need to lose all three of their remaining games for the Dolphins to steal a spot from them. They play the Browns, the Eagles, and the Jets.
Now sitting at 9-5, the Texans dominated the Cardinals 40-20. They retain the 7th seed in the conference. The best path to the postseason now rests on Houston losing at least two of its final three. They play the Raiders, Chargers, and Colts.
Even if either of those scenarios were to play out, Miami would still need the Colts and Ravens to drop games. That isn't far-fetched. The problem is that multiple teams can lose two of their final three games and still edge out the Dolphins. They may not be mathematically eliminated yet, but the writing is on the wall.