After losing their fifth game in a row, falling from 8-3 to 8-8, the Miami Dolphins have just one week left in the regular season and no longer control their own fate in regards to making the playoffs.
There’s only one way they can punch their ticket in Week 18, and it requires a little help from an AFC East rival.
First, Miami must win their matchup with the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium. The Jets were eliminated from contention in a Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While they won’t have anything to play for, sometimes playing spoiler is just as fun.
However, for the Dolphins to make the postseason, they’ll also need the Buffalo Bills to defeat the New England Patriots, who currently hold the seventh seed in the AFC playoff picture, on Sunday.
The NFL did Miami no favors this week, as Buffalo has a chance to play for the first seed in the conference, but depending on the result of the Kansas City Chiefs-Las Vegas Raiders matchup on Saturday, the Bills could rest their starters.
Mike McDaniel’s team can only focus on the things they can control right now, and they have to prove that they can win a game, something they haven’t done in over a month, before worrying about what other teams do.
