Dolphins in a rough spot going into huge season finale

The Miami Dolphins limped out of Baltimore and right into an AFC East championship game they didn’t want.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the Dolphins — they certainly could win a home game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, after all — but a regular season that was so promising just a few weeks ago looks like it could come to a disappointing end.

When the Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders on Dec. 3, they were 9-3 with a three-game lead over the Bills in the division. The Dolphins were closer to having the No. 1 seed in the AFC than losing the division. The Bills were closer to being out of the playoffs altogether than dreaming about a division title.

The final few minutes in a Monday night game the following week started to bring down the Dolphins. They took a 14-point lead on the Tennessee Titans with less than five minutes to go and somehow lost. Then they lost in Week 17, with an embarrassing 56-19 blowout to the Ravens. That’s how they find themselves needing to win in Week 18 just to secure one home playoff game. The winner of the Bills-Dolphins game on Sunday night will be the AFC East champion and the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Dolphins were the exciting story of the first couple months of the NFL season, with an offense that seemed to be unstoppable in a low-scoring season. Miami looked like Super Bowl contenders. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was an MVP candidate and Tyreek Hill was going to run away with NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

The Dolphins’ story shows how fragile the NFL can be. Injuries piled up. The Dolphins had lost pass rusher Jaelan Phillips for the season, then lost Bradley Chubb for the season late in Sunday’s loss. Miami played Sunday without running back Raheem Mostert and receiver Jaylen Waddle, and it can only hope those players return for Week 18. Cornerback Xavien Howard was carted off due to a foot injury. Hill is playing through a sprained ankle. The offensive line has…


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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-01-02 04:31:30

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