Plenty of bumps in the road

Dolphins hanging around in contention after wacky roller-coaster ride this season

Before looking ahead to Sunday’s Miami Dolphins road game against the Minnesota Vikings, consider how the Dolphins are in contention for a playoff spot this season:

They started the season 3-0 thanks to timely turnovers and big plays by the likes of receivers Jakeem Grant and Albert Wilson. They suffered a demoralizing, 31-point blowout loss to the New England Patriots that soured a 4-0 start and led to a stretch of six losses in eight games, including five on the road.

They also lost a string of players to injury, highlighted by Wilson, two starting offensive linemen signed in the offseason and two defensive linemen. Their injured reserve list has grown to 12 players.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill suffered a capsule injury to his right throwing shoulder during a road game at Cincinnati in Week 5, in which Miami blew a 17-point lead and lost. The Dolphins were 2-3 in the five games Tannehill missed, and blew a 10-point lead in his first game back at Indianapolis in Week 12.

Now, the Dolphins are on a two-game winning streak after escaping with home wins that came down to the final play of each game.

“We just hope we have more wins,” said running back Kenyan Drake, who put the finishing touches on a miraculous, gamewinning, 69-yard touchdown for the Dolphins last week against the Patriots.