The Miami Dolphins had their playoff ticket in their hands before last week’s game against the Bills. Ryan Tannehill was poised to lead the Dolphins into the postease. To hold onto that ticket and gain admission into the postseason, all the Dolphins had to do was beat the 3rd and 4th best teams in their division. What did the Dolphins do with their ticket on Sunday in Buffalo? They put their ticket into a shredder and threw it in the garbage. The garbage has already been picked up and was taken to a landfill. To find their ticket and reassemble it, the Dolphins are going to need some help.
First, the Dolphins need to find their ticket in the landfill. Not an easy task. Finding their ticket will require the Dolphins to beat an emotional Jets team that is playing with fire to show their front office that they like their coach, Rex Ryan. The Jets were blown out by the Dolphins in New Jersey and would love noting more than to end the Dolphins season. As a reminder, the Dolphins must win on Sunday to have a chance at the postseason. If they lose, their playoff ticket will completely disintegrate.
If the Dolphins are able to find their ticket in the landfill (beat the Jets), they’ll then need some help in putting all of the shredded pieces back together. That help can come in one of two ways, as we detailed here. First, the Dolphins can win and hope for the Bengals to beat the Ravens in their 1pm game. If the Dolphins win and the Ravens win, the only way the Dolphins can get in at that point would be for the Chargers to beat the Chiefs at 425pm.
In the first scenario, the Ravens will be playing for their playoff lives against a Bengals team that has already clinched their division. BUT, the Bengals will be playing with some motivation to help the Dolphins. If they can win and the Bills can beat the Patriots, the Bengals will earn a first round bye. That is motivation, especially since the Patriots don’t play until after the Ravens/Bengals game will be over. The Bengals will be poised to beat the Ravens and the fact that they’re playing at home, helps the Dolphins cause. (continued on page 2, CLICK HERE)