Miami Dolphins fans face dreaded decision in week14: Root for the Chiefs or the Bills
By Brian Miller
Miami Dolphins fans have to decide if they want the Buffalo Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs to win in week 14.
It is a weird situation when fans find themselves wondering if a rival's victory is more important than rooting against them. This week, the Dolphins find themselves in an odd situation where they could actually be rooting for a full AFC East sweep in week 14.
There is no bigger game this weekend, outside of the Dolphins game of course, that will have an impact on Miami than the Buffalo Bills adventure to Arrowhead on Sunday. The question is who do you root for? Normally, that would be a dumb question.
Miami finds themselves three games up on the Bills in the AFC East and one game above the Chiefs in the AFC. Assuming Miami takes care of their own business against the Titans on Monday night, a loss by the Chiefs would give Miami a two-game lead over the Chiefs in the AFC.
That lead could come into play later as it relates to the top seeding in the conference. A two-game cushion could be very important. On the other hand, a loss by the Bills would give Miami a four-game lead heading into the final four weeks of the season. That would give Miami the magic one-game needed to clinch the AFC East.
Do you root for the Bills and gain the extra lead on K.C. or do you root for K.C. and take the 4-game lead in the division?
There are benefits to both for certain and this very well may be one of those games that the Miami Dolphins win regardless. There is no bad choice here provided Miami wins on Sunday as well.
Before that game arrives, Dolphins fans may want to consider rooting for the Patriots against the Steelers on Thursday night.
This too comes with a hard choice. A win by the Patriots inches Belichick closer to the "all-time" win record held by Don Shula. A win would also hurt the Steelers' playoff hopes as well as lessen the draft slotting for the Patriots. On the other hand, a win by the Steelers could make it much harder for the Bills to earn a Wild Card spot and we would get to watch Belichick squirm on national TV.
Then there is the Jets who will play the Texans. Houston holds the 8th spot in the AFC, one game out of the Wild Card spot. A loss to the Jets will make it harder for them to get to the post-season but also could open a door for the Bills to jump ahead.
For each Dolphins fan there is a different reason to vote for another team. You may simply not like them. For me, this weekend is pretty simple. I want the Jets to lose because I would rather deal with the Texans and hurt the Bills. I will root for the Steelers because I really don't care about Belichick's draft position (he can't draft worth a garbage anyway).
In the other game, that's a tough one but the Dolphins have to win the AFC East before they worry about what other teams are doing in the AFC and as such, K.C. beating the Bills will bring Miami closer to achieving a division title. I won't complain if the Bills win but I would rather watch them lose and perhaps get knocked out of any real competition for the post-season.