The Miami Dolphins can’t afford a misstep after digging themselves into a hole in the first half of the 2024 season. But after four wins in their last five games, the Dolphins could get back to .500 on Sunday if they manage to beat the Houston Texans.
That’d put the Dolphins very much in the mix for a wild card berth with three weeks left. They still need help, though.
Three 8-5 teams currently occupy the trio of AFC wild card entries into the NFL playoffs, and the 6-7 Indianapolis Colts own a tiebreaker over the 6-7 Dolphins thanks to their head-to-head victory back in Week 7.
Getting a win at NRG Stadium on Sunday is paramount for Miami. But here’s what else Dolphins fans should be rooting for in Week 15:
Giants win vs. Ravens (1 p.m. ET)
To catch the Ravens, the Dolphins would need two more wins than Baltimore in the last four weeks. Baltimore would be in serious jeopardy of not doing enough if it can’t go through the easiest opponent left on its schedule.
If the two-win Giants somehow ended an eight-game losing streak by getting a home win against the Ravens, it’d leave the door pretty wide open for Miami. The Ravens would likely need to win at least two — or maybe all three — of its remaining games against the Steelers, Texans, and Browns to hold off the Dolphins.
A Giants win is a long shot, but it’d be a dream come true for Miami.
Buccaneers win vs. Chargers (4:25 p.m. ET)
The likeliest path to the playoffs for the Dolphins is to track down one of the two AFC West teams ahead of them in the standings. The Broncos and Chargers meet in Week 16, meaning that (barring a tie) Miami has an inevitable chance to make up a game on one of them.
So a Chargers loss to the Buccaneers could even mean the Dolphins climb into a wild card spot as early as next week.
Colts win vs. Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET)
The good news for the Dolphins is that (again, barring a tie) one of these teams will lose. The bad news is one will win.
While Miami probably needs Indianapolis to lose at least once down the stretch, the priority for now is catching one of the eight-win contenders.
And even if the Colts rattle off four consecutive wins to end the season — which isn’t outlandish considering they play the Titans, Giants, and Jaguars to close out the year — it might not be a nightmare scenario. That’d move Indianapolis to 10-7, which may be enough to take the AFC South title from the Texans, especially if the Dolphins hand Houston its sixth loss on Sunday.
