The Dolphins have won back to back games, and are starting to shoot up the rankings.
In the words of the great Lou Brown, “That’s two in a row. If we win tomorrow, that’s called a winning streak.” Yes, I know the Dolphins don’t play tomorrow, but I’m sure you get the gist.
The Miami Dolphins have won back-to-back games for the first time this year, and the media is starting to buy some stock in Miami. With their first prime-time win in recent memory, beating the Los Angeles Rams 23-15, and their most recent win, drumming the Las Vegas Raiders 34-19, the Dolphins have set the table for a late-season run.
For the fanbase, the answer to that would be “about time,” but with football, health plays a huge part in the team’s success, especially at the quarterback position.
The Dolphins had to overcome that hurdle early in the season, but with how quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has played since his return from IR, the media can’t help but give the Dolphins a second and third look.
Sitting at 4-6, on the surface it’d be easy to dismiss the Dolphins, but the Dolphins are two game losing field goals away from being 4-0 in Tagovailoa’s return, with three of those being high-quality teams.
The Dolphins look to continue their winning ways at home against another division rival, the New England Patriots, but the second go around will look a bit different. They will play against a promising young rookie in Drake Maye at the helm of the offense, and he’s shown signs of being their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.
We could chalk this up as one of those trap games with the Dolphins sporting a (-7.5) in the betting markets, but Miami has done well against teams that they’re supposed to beat, giving them the moniker of the team that beats down bad teams and gets embarrassed by good ones.
If the Dolphins can handle the Patriots, as they should, and kick off their winning streak, the media may let them creep back into the top fifteen. They’re already knocking on the door.
NFL
- Ranked #18 – Previously ranked #20 (+2)
“The Dolphins didn’t expand their lead over the Raiders beyond one possession until there was less than five minutes left in the third quarter, so let’s not get too excited. Still, finishing with a season-high 34 points — thanks to touchdowns scored on three straight second-half possessions, plus a late field goal — was a positive development. Miami has taken too long to get the offense cranked up in the four games since Tua Tagovailoa returned to the lineup, with four TDs and five field goals before halftime in that span and eight TDs and four field goals after. The playoffs remain a stretch, and the Bills have all but clinched the AFC East race, but Miami can still mount a run, with two games left against the Jets, plus contests with the Patriots and Browns. If the Fins can keep getting the ball in the hands of their playmakers, with increased roles for Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane, they can make things interesting.”
ESPN
- Ranked #21 – Previously ranked #23 (+2)
“Eichenberg’s current 90.1% pass block win rate is better than his previous career high (90%), set in 2022, but his run block win rate is on pace for a career-low 66.9%. He also is on track to allow seven sacks this season, which would be his most since giving up 14 as a rookie in 2021. He is one of the most versatile linemen in the NFL, capable of playing all five positions. But rebuilding the interior offensive line should be one of the Dolphins’ priorities this offseason, and they must decide whether to bring Eichenberg back, as he will be an unrestricted free agent.” — Marcel Louis-Jacques
CBS Sports
- Ranked #21 – Previously ranked #20 (-1)
“They are far from done in the race to get a playoff spot. Two straight victories over the Rams and Raiders have them alive.”
Bleacher Report
- Ranked #20 – Previously ranked #21 (+1)
“The Miami Dolphins aren’t dead yet. After a 2-6 start marred by injuries and offensive struggles, the Dolphins have peeled off consecutive wins for the first time this season.
Sunday’s win over the Raiders was Miami’s best offensive performance of the season, and the star was someone you might not expect.
Tight end Jonnu Smith had a huge outing against the Raiders, finishing with six catches for 101 yards and a pair of scores. After the win, head coach Mike McDaniel talked up what Smith has brought to the team.
“I knew it was a great add by [general manager] Chris [Grier] and the [personnel] department just because of his skills with the ball in his hands, and then I knew secondhand from a couple of coaches that have been on staffs before the type of person we were getting,” McDaniel said. “But I think the collective of his play and who he is has really added something very important to our offense. Ultimately, he’s making defenses pay for the over attention that Tyreek [Hill] and [Jaylen] Waddle get.”
The Dolphins have momentum, but they also have precious little margin for error. With two games over the next three weeks against AFC East tomato cans, there’s a decent chance that Miami will hit the stretch run with a .500 record, putting it back in the wild-card hunt.
Analyst’s Take
Despite a 2-6 start to the season, the Dolphins are in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Following back-to-back wins, Miami is gaining momentum and scoring in flurries like last year.
Smith will be key to the Dolphins’ offensive attack as wideout Tyreek Hill plays through a torn ligament in his wrist. — Moton
Sports Illustrated
- Ranked #23 – Previously ranked #23 (<—>)
“The Dolphins, along with the Colts and 49ers, all sit between a 23% and 29% chance of reaching the postseason according to The New York Times’s postseason prediction model. One of these teams is going to make the playoffs, and while I don’t know if Miami is capable I will say this: Jalen Ramsey played the final downs of this game like it was the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. If anybody on this team has surrendered, I haven’t seen it yet.”
Fox Sports
- Ranked #17 – Previously ranked #20 (+3)
“ESPN.com projects the Dolphins as a 13% probability to make the postseason, which feels like a miraculous number after the journey these guys have been on. It’s not going to be easy, but the No. 7 seed certainly feels like it’s in play.”
With most outlets ranking the Dolphins between 17-21, it seems like they’re just waiting for Miami to get back to .500 before they let them crack the top ten, and a dominant win over the Patriots could go a long way.
The majority of the media point to their percentage of making the playoffs when dictating how they’re ranked, so they’re about two more wins from putting the NFL on notice.
Even with back-to-back losses against the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals just before the back-to-back wins, the league recognizes the threat that a healthy Dolphins team presents to the AFC, even as a 7-seed.
Their newly formed balanced attack is exactly what the Dolphins need to make waves late in the year and into January, but that’ll be tested over this last stretch of games.
The table is set. Now it’s time to rattle off wins and get streaking!
Let us know in the comments where you think the Miami Dolphins should be ranked in the NFL power rankings.
