Lucky 7: Is Miami for real?

WHO ARE the Miami Dolphins? The team that was 1-7 on Halloween? Or the team that takes a sevengame winning streak into Sunday’s must-win game against the Titans in Nashville?

The Dolphins (8-7) are the first team in NFL history to win seven consecutive games and lose seven consecutive games in the same year.

“I think it revealed a lot,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said of how his team responded to the losing streak. “It revealed the character of the guys in this locker room.’’ That it did. But did it reveal how good his team really is?

Consider the Dolphins’ path to that seven-game winning streak that has allowed them to control their own playoff destiny — a win over Tennessee Sunday and a win over New England next week and they’re in the dance for the first time since 2016.

The combined record of their opponents in the winning streak is 36-69. The Dolphins played the Jets (4-11) twice, the Giants (4-11), Texans (4-11) and Panthers (5-10). Their latest win, last Monday, came against a Saints (7-8) team that was so ravaged by COVID-19 (21 players were out) that a fourth-string quarterback, rookie Ian Book, was forced to make his first NFL start.

Predictably, it didn’t go well for the Saints, a 20-3 loss to Miami.

Miami’s one quality win in the streak was the second of the seven, against the Ravens (8-7), whose quarterback, Lamar Jackson, was completely stifled.

Still, credit is due to the Dolphins, whose defense during the winning streak has allowed an NFL-low 257 yards per game and a league-low 28.6 percent third-down conversion rate. The Dolphins, who lead the NFL with 45 sacks, have held six of its past seven opponents to fewer than 200 total yards.

The challenge for the Dolphins is proving that this seven-game winning streak has not been a mirage, the result of playing the league’s have-nots. As the level of competition rises with the Titans, we’ll find out exactly who these Dolphins are on Sunday.