Miami is all set to get back to action this week, as the Dolphins will play host to the Los Angeles Rams at Hard Rock Stadium for a clash between two teams that both hold postseason aspirations. One team, the Rams, has been there and done that. The other is looking to continue the progress established throughout the first year and a half of a massive rebuilding effort — and a win over the Rams could potentially declare the Dolphins as formally “back”. Right now this is a young team looking to make some noise. But they’ll have to execute.
Some of the projection models for the remainder of the season seem to think Miami can do exactly that.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has updated the record projections for both the AFC and NFC after Week 7 action and after spending the majority of the first month of the season being projected as one of the worst teams in football, the Dolphins suddenly find themselves right in the middle of the pack. FPI takes the individual team rankings and uses them to simulate each remaining game on the schedule as a means of forecasting what the final records (and playoff field) will look like.
For the Dolphins, FPI currently projects the Dolphins to finish the season at 8-8 (rounding up from 7.7 average wins throughout all of the simulations).
That number puts them tied with the Las Vegas Raiders in the AFC standings and one game behind the Indianapolis Colts for the final Wild Card seed in the 2020 playoffs — so if this indeed becomes reality, Miami will have no shortage of meaningful football games ahead of them this fall. With 10 games left, Miami could be one or two lucky bounces of the ball away from extending their season beyond this final 10-game sprint. And, if QB Tua Tagovailoa becomes what the Dolphins clearly feel he can be, they may not need lucky bounces if his assimilation into the starting lineup goes well.
The simulation models are continuing to tweak their expectations for Miami — and the returns are looking promising.
