The Miami Dolphins entered Week 13 atop the AFC East and in fourth place in the conference with an 8-3 record. Luckily for them, they handled their own business and got some help around the conference.
As of Saturday, the teams ahead of Miami in the playoff picture were the Baltimore Ravens (9-3), Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) and Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3) in order from top seed to third seed.
With the Dolphins downing the Washington Commanders 45-15 on Sunday, they moved to 9-3 in a tie atop the conference with the Ravens. Baltimore had a Week 13 bye, so they remained at 9-3, and Miami currently has the tiebreaker.
However, the Chiefs still had to play on Sunday night, and the Jaguars were in action on Monday night.
Kansas City, partially due to some horrendous officiating late in the game, was handed a loss by Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. The result was great for the Dolphins, as a victory for an NFC team does nothing to them, while the Chiefs loss dropped them to 8-4, now behind Miami.
Then, on Monday night, Jacksonville hosted the Cincinnati Bengals, who were playing without Joe Burrow at quarterback. The Jaguars were expected to roll over the Jake Browning-led Bengals, but the teams were tied at the end of four quarters, and Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawerence suffered an injury that knocked him out as well. Cincinnati ended the contest with a game-winning field goal by Evan McPherson.
Jacksonville’s loss dropped them to 8-4 as well.
With all of the dust settled following Week 13’s slate of games, the Dolphins are currently the top seed in the AFC, meaning if they win out, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Hard Rock Stadium where Miami has been dominant in head coach Mike McDaniel’s tenure.
In Week 14, the Dolphins face the 4-8 Tennessee Titans with a chance to separate from the Ravens, who play the Los Angeles Rams, at the top of the conference.
