Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Shot at a winning season, playoffs on the line vs. Bucs
The excuses are gone, and the fight remains.
The Miami Dolphins realize that this is the point in the year where the season will be saved, or lost.
Don’t let Monday’s embarrassing 45-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers fool you. The quitting attitude that once tarnished many Dolphins seasons this past decade hasn’t arrived — yet.
Losing three consecutive games — all three of which were on national television — didn’t rattle this team’s confidence.
“We’re so close. So close,” Dolphins center Mike Pouncey said. “All we need is that one game that sparks it.”
Pouncey’s referring to a performance where all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — play well and the team that made the playoffs last year unleashes its potential.
A performance like that, one that is reminiscent of Miami’s 30-15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last season could spark a strong
finish — like winning nine-of-11 games during last year’s rebound from a 1-4 start.
Heading into Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was postponed from Week 1 because of Hurricane Irma, the Dolphins are still talking about the playoffs.
A winning season is still within reach.
“I think everybody is still in it,” said Damien Williams, who is in his fourth season with the Dolphins. “I’ve been on teams where if you lose two games, everybody thinks it is downhill from there. I feel like we have the right guys in here who have the right mindset to come here every day to keep working and wanting to get better.”
But to achieve this postseason goal the Dolphins would likely need to win nine games to keep pace with the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, the four teams contending for two AFC wildcard playoff spots.
If the Dolphins lose to the Buccaneers, Miami would need to win five of its remaining six games, which includes two games against the New England Patriots and Bills.
The Dolphins can’t afford to stumble Sunday at home, where the team has a 8-3 record the past two years under coach Adam Gase.
While the anemic offense has been a problem most of this season, the Dolphins are averaging 23.6 points in games played inside Hard Rock Stadium, which is just slightly behind the NFL average.
Many players are encouraged by the fact Miami scored 21 points on the road against the Panthers, who has the NFL’s best defense.
While Miami’s offense has struggled, the Dolphins do have the NFL’s secondbest red-zone offense. Miami has converted 70.6 percent of its red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, and the only team better is the Philadelphia Eagles (72.4).
“We’re putting drives together. We’re scoring in the red zone, which we didn’t do pretty much since I’ve been here,” said receiver Jarvis Landry, who is in his fourth season with the Dolphins. “We’re just hurting ourselves with penalties.”
The problem is that only one team (Chicago) has gotten to the red zone less than Miami, which has made its way into scoring territory 17 times in nine games.
Miami’s slow starts, which have produced an NFL-low of 4.3 points in the first half of games, is also a problem, one that weighs down the defense, which typically has to play from behind.
“Every week is like either disaster or you’re the best team ever,” Gase said, addressing the roller-coaster of a season his team is on.
“You just keep plugging along. You have so much time. You want to just keep getting better and doing things right. That’s the key to everything and if you do that, that gives you your best chance.”