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, game-winning, 69-yard touchdown for the Dolphins last week against the Patriots.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to anymore miracles because I don’t think my heart can take any more of that.”
The Dolphins are 7-6, hitting the over on OddsShark.com’s mark of 6.5 wins for Miami before the season began.
The Dolphins are technically eighth in the AFC playoff race, but have the same record as the Baltimore Ravens, Colts and Tennessee Titans. They are all vying for the sixth and final AFC wild-card playoff spot.
After the Patriots win, ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index raised the Dolphins’ chances to make the playoffs from 3.2 to 11.7 percent, with a one-game bump for a projected final record of 8-8 this season.
Still, exists.
“The work ethic is as good as I’ve been around,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said of his team. “They’re relentless. There’s kind of that never-say-die attitude.”
The Dolphins arrived in Minneapolis on Friday, a day earlier than typically scheduled for road games this season, hoping an extra day could provide a different outcome.
The Dolphins have three games left, including two on the road, where they have won only one game this season. Miami has only won three road games in the past two seasons (14 road games), and just six road wins under Gase in 20 opportunities (30 percent).
“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve screwed things up. We didn’t help ourselves,” Gase said this past week of the disparity in his road record.
“But there are two games. That’s what it comes down to. If we win those two games, it’s a different deal,” Gase added regarding the Dolphins’ blown leads to the Bengals and Colts.
The Dolphins will face a Vikings team that fired their offensive national doubt deservedly coordinator last Tuesday after Minnesota’s offense struggled at Seattle on Monday Night Football. The Vikings have lost three of their past four games to teams in the postseason mix.
Minnesota signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in the offseason, hoping he could vault the Vikings further than where they ended last season in the NFC title game. Instead, they enter this game against the Dolphins hoping to hold onto the sixth seed in the NFC playoff race.
Still, Minnesota’s talent is daunting behind receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, running back Dalvin Cook, and the NFL’s fifth-best defense.
But there is something said for momentum.
The Dolphins dominated the NFL news cycle this past week with replays of the final play against New England — a hook and two laterals on a play called Boise.
Tannehill threw a pass to receiver Kenny Stills, who tossed it to receiver DeVante Parker, who got it in Drake’s hands for an improbable finish aided by blocks from receiver Danny Amendola and guard Ted Larsen.
The play will be remembered in Dolphins lore as the Miami Miracle.
It could have a deeper meaning if it results in a playoff berth for the Dolphins this season.
“[We’ve] really stuck together through thick and thin, believed in each other [and] trusted in each other. But when you have a moment like that, that can really be the significant moment that unifies the team completely,” Tannehill said of the final play against the Patriots.
“Only time will tell, but I kind of felt that when it happened. I felt it in the locker room. You can kind of feel it in the building. But there’s still a lot of work to do. We have to use that as a springboard.” to be