Well that wasn’t exactly ideal. The Miami Dolphins’ emotions each weekend ride not just on the end result of their own games (for better or for worse) but also lie in the rooting interests of two prominent AFC franchises — the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is, of course, because the Dolphins own the 1st-round picks from both of those teams, so the more they lose, the better off Miami will be.
The rest of the AFC isn’t cooperating. The Pittsburgh Steelers won a 16-10 game against the winless Cincinnati Bengals, moving to 6-5. The Houston Texans won at home on Thursday Night, moving to 7-4 and sole possession of first place in the AFC South. And competition for the postseason had a bad week, too. The Raiders fell to the New York Jets and the Colts falling to 6-5 didn’t help the barricade in front of Pittsburgh for a wildcard spot.
But the Dolphins? They lost once again. Here’s where Miami’s picks currently stand:
Miami’s Pick: 3rd overall
Washington winning over Detroit can’t be considered too big of a surprise, but the decision bumps Miami up a spot in the draft order, trailing the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Giants. Should the Dolphins want a quarterback with their first pick, they’ll likely get their choice of everyone besides who the Bengals choose, given New York’s status with rookie Daniel Jones under center.
Pittsburgh’s Pick: 22nd overall
The bad news here is Pittsburgh, as things currently stand, is in the playoffs. The good news here is if you’ve watched Pittsburgh’s offense as of late, you’ll know they aren’t very good. If Pittsburgh played just about any other team in football this past weekend, they would have lost. Pittsburgh’s next three are against Cleveland, Arizona and Buffalo — all challenging games that a similar effort on offense would result in a loss.
Houston’s Pick: 25th overall
The Texans play the New England Patriots next weekend, so as painful as it is to say, the Patriots are friends to Miami this week, not foes. Houston’s in pretty good position in the AFC South, they hold a one game lead over both the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans.
Miami’s hope? The Titans continue to come on strong, as they play Houston in two of the final three games this season.
