The Dolphins will play their their fourteenth football game of the season this weekend against the New England Patriots, providing Dolphins fans with yet another meaningful football game after so many Decembers have been a moot point. The Dolphins aren’t just “in the hunt”, they’re currently the AFC’s No. 7 seed. With three wins, the Dolphins will guarantee themselves a spot in the postseason. With two wins, Miami will afford themselves a fair chance to sneak in.
But what will the next few weeks actually look like? Miami gets the New England Patriots, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Buffalo Bills over the next three weeks with the Bills needing just one win to clinch the AFC East and the Patriots needing just one loss to be formally eliminated from postseason play. Miami will be very dialed into the play of the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts in addition to eyeing their Week 16 opponent, the Raiders. All are also “in the hunt” and looking to lock in one of the AFC’s wild card berths.
Let’s take a look at each week, the contests of interest and — most importantly — make some predictions as to where the Dolphins’ season goes from here.
Week 15
Games to watch:
- New England Patriots (6-7) @ Miami Dolphins (8-5)
- Los Angeles Chargers (4-9) @ Las Vegas Raiders (7-6)
- Buffalo Bills (10-3) @ Denver Broncos (5-8)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-12) @ Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
- Cleveland Browns (9-4) @ New York Giants (5-8)
- Houston Texans (4-9) @ Indianapolis Colts (9-4)
The first domino to fall will be the Raiders’ game, who will face off against the Chargers on Thursday night. Las Vegas has fired their defensive coordinator after averaging over 30 points allowed per game through their first 13 games on the season. The Chargers are playing for pride and for coach Anthony Lynn’s job — will that be enough to score an upset? We’d like to think so, but we’ll ultimately side with the Raiders, who are playing for more.
Come Sunday, we predict that the Dolphins will be able to exact some revenge on New England at home and formally eliminate the Patriots from postseason play. Elsewhere, the Colts, Ravens and Bills hold serve, which will clinch the Bills the AFC East with two games left to play and keep Miami in the wild card picture.
One upset to watch? Cleveland playing the New York Giants. The Giants have an outside chance to win the NFC East and they own the NFL’s 7th best run defense this season; giving them a chance to lock horns well with the Browns’ No. 3 ranked rushing offense.
Predicted AFC Standings after Week 15:
- Kansas City Chiefs — 13-1*
- Pittsburgh Steelers — 12-2*
- Buffalo Bills — 11-3*
- Tennessee Titans — 10-4
- Indianapolis Colts — 10-4
- Miami Dolphins — 9-5
- Baltimore Ravens — 9-5
In the hunt: Cleveland Browns (9-5), Las Vegas Raiders (8-6)
*denotes clinched playoff berth
Week 16
Games to watch:
- Miami Dolphins (projected 9-5) @ Las Vegas Raiders (projected 8-6)
- Cleveland Browns (projected 9-5) @ New York Jets (projected 0-14)
- Indianapolis Colts (projected 10-4) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (projected 12-2)
- New York Giants (projected 6-8) @ Baltimore Ravens (projected 9-5)
The Dolphins must travel to Las Vegas for a Saturday night primetime showdown against the Raiders. The good news for the Dolphins? The Raiders’ defense is abysmal and the team doesn’t do a lot of the “little things” that Miami does to separate themselves from the pack. That bodes well for Miami, as does the recent downturn of Las Vegas’ rushing attack, which hasn’t logged over 100 yards as a team since Week 10. The Raiders’ last four weeks rushing? 89 yards, 40 yards, 72 yards and 79 yards. Oh, right. With 11 turnovers over those four games as well. Look for a Dolphins victory to gift Miami fans a late present this holiday season.
The rest of the AFC playoff field feels destined to once again hold serve as well — except for the loser of the Colts and Steelers game. Indianapolis is an indoor team that must play outside against a ferocious Steelers defense. We’ll take the Steelers here.
Predicted AFC Standings after Week 16:
- Kansas City Chiefs — 14-1*
- Pittsburgh Steelers — 13-2*
- Buffalo Bills — 12-3*
- Tennessee Titans — 11-4*
- Miami Dolphins — 10-5
- Baltimore Ravens — 10-5
- Cleveland Browns — 10-5
In the hunt: Indianapolis Colts (10-5)
*denotes clinched playoff berth
Week 17
Games to watch:
- Miami Dolphins (projected 10-5) @ Buffalo Bills (projected 12-3)
- Baltimore Ravens (projected 10-5) @ Cincinnati Bengals (projected 2-12-1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (projected 13-2) @ Cleveland Browns (projected 10-5)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (projected 1-14) @ Indianapolis Colts (projected 10-5)
The silver lining for the Miami Dolphins? Facing a 12-3 Buffalo Bills team with nothing to gain by winning in Week 17 sets them up for a potential stolen win at the end of the season. The Bills will either be the AFC’s No. 2 or No. 3 seed and either way will be hosting a home playoff game on Wild Card weekend the following week. So with that in mind, why would the Bills push their starters out onto the field in the first year that each conference only gets one team on a bye?
That sets up favorably for the Dolphins to win and, consequentially, lock in a playoff spot.
Elsewhere, the same goes for Pittsburgh and the Browns, although Pittsburgh was eons better than the Browns the first time they played. Both Baltimore and Indianapolis feel destined for wins as well — and if both Cleveland and Miami lose, the Dolphins would still claim a tie-breaker to make the postseason.
Predicted AFC Standings after Week 17:
- Kansas City Chiefs — 14-2
- Pittsburgh Steelers — 13-3
- Buffalo Bills — 12-4
- Tennessee Titans — 11-5
- Miami Dolphins — 11-5
- Baltimore Ravens — 11-5
- Indianapolis Colts — 11-5
Just missed: Cleveland Browns (10-6)
