The Miami Dolphins have plenty to worry about on their own in Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are parading into town on their repeat tour after winning last year’s Super Bowl. There’s plenty for Miami to aspire to mirror from the early years of Patrick Mahomes’ career in Kansas City now that they’ve acquired a young, talented quarterback of their own in Tua Tagovailoa, but Miami needs to be dialed into stopping the unstoppable this week and can save the admiration for a later date.
And while Miami and Kansas City clash early this afternoon, there are still plenty of other games that can benefit the Dolphins.
If Miami brews an upset and each of the following results comes to pass, Miami can leave Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season with a projected 80% chance to make the postseason according to FiveThirtyEight’s current 2020 NFL projections.
Wins from the Colts and Browns
The Ravens and Raiders are both currently in hot pursuit of the Dolphins entering this weekend. If Miami can win and add a game of separation between them both, it gives Miami terrific odds to close the deal and punch their ticket to the postseason over the final three weeks of the season.
Indianapolis is a rival in the AFC standings but they’re Miami’s friend today in putting down a team hot on Miami’s heels.
Cleveland is a team the Dolphins are currently looking up at in the standings — and again would benefit the Dolphins this week more by winning and pushing Baltimore to the brink. It feels counterintuitive to root for the other Wild Card teams — but the more this field narrows, the better.
A Steelers win
A Pittsburgh win keeps Miami hot on the heels of the Buffalo Bills. Paired with a Dolphins upset win, the Dolphins and Bills would both be 9-4 with three games left to play (and a head to head matchup looming) on the schedule. That’s still easier said than done given that the Dolphins must beat the Chiefs today to reach that point. But the good news is that the Steelers are playing the Bills at the perfect time for a Pittsburgh win — the Steelers fell last week to Washington and will be motivated to reestablish themselves as an AFC contender for the playoffs.
A Texans loss in Chicago
If this isn’t self explanatory, we don’t know what is. And this game doesn’t necessarily have any postseason implications for the Dolphins — it has offseason implications. The Dolphins are going to benefit from every Texans loss this month in a big way with their 2021 NFL Draft capital; and while a sliding Chicago team isn’t the best draw for Miami to see Houston drop in the standings, it is still being played in Chicago.
Miami fans aren’t likely to be caught channel surfing this afternoon — but keep an eye on the scoreboard. There’s plenty of gains to be had for the Dolphins today outside of winning against Kansas City.
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