Tiers along the way
Are the Dolphins, at this point, legitimate Super Bowl contenders?
MIAMI GARDENS — In the past week, Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey have both said this Miami Dolphins team has the potential to be just as good as or better than the Super Bowl champion teams they were on, the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs and 2021 Los Angeles Rams, respectively.
So, it’s worth asking: Can we legitimately use the words “Miami Dolphins” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence?
Hill, the Dolphins’ All Pro wide receiver who is on his way to a NFL-record 2,000 yards receiving, gave the 2023 Dolphins their Super Bowl credibility on his podcast, “It Needed to be Said,” and in interviews with numerous media outlets.
Ramsey, the Dolphins’ All Pro cornerback who has electrified the defense with three interceptions and lockdown coverage, said it in the locker room on Friday.
“This team has the capability to be better,” Ramsey said, later adding, “I understand it’s y’all’s job to ask about our goals and our future and all that, but I’m being so serious, we cannot think about that all the time. We have to go game-bygame, week-by-week, day-by-day really, because if you get caught up in all that, you’re going to get lost and there’s no need for that. You have to keep growing every day.
“But yeah, we definitely have the capabilities of doing that. We have to put that work in.”
So, I ask again, can we legitimately use the words “Miami Dolphins” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence?
Before you answer, consider the huge caveat, the thing that coach Mike McDaniel almost derisively refers to as “the narrative” — the Dolphins, the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture, haven’t beaten a high-quality team all season.
They get their next chance to clear that hurdle when Dallas visits on Christmas Eve.
Miami has something in common with Dallas (9-3), its Christmas Eve opponent, in that sense. The Cowboys also haven’t beaten a high-quality team.
Worse, Dallas has a loss to Arizona (3-10) to go along with losses to San Francisco (9-3) and Philly (10-2).
Miami (9-3), of course, has lost at Buffalo (6-6), projected to be one of the NFL’s top teams at the start of the season, at Philadelphia, the Super Bowl runner-up, and against Kansas City (8-4), the Super Bowl champion, in Germany.
You can term that any way you’d like, and you can invoke exceptions if you’d like.
You can say the Dolphins haven’t beaten the top three teams on their schedule (yes, Denver is now a .500 team at 6-6, like Buffalo).
You can say they haven’t beaten a top team away from Hard Rock Stadium (yes, the Los Angeles Chargers victory remains a quality win even though the Chargers are 5-7).
You can say they haven’t beaten a team with a winning record (yes, Denver will have a winning record if it beats the Chargers on Sunday).
Does any of that matter when you consider whether Miami is a legitimate Super Bowl contender?
Ask yourself if it matters when you consider whether Dallas is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
We know Dolphins players have their eye on the Super Bowl trophy as their ultimate prize, and that’s a legitimate goal. It’s much more legitimate than, say, the 7-5 Houston Texans saying the Super Bowl title is their ultimate goal.
To me, the Dolphins aren’t considered a top Super Bowl contender such as Philly, San Francisco or Kansas City.
Miami resides in my second tier along with Dallas, Baltimore and Detroit.
Since the Dolphins bye week, every AFC playoff contender, or put another way, every AFC team that is .500 or better — Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Denver, Cleveland, Pittsburgh — has lost except for Miami and Indianapolis.
So perhaps the Dolphins are getting hot at the right time.
Miami, which is on a three-game winning streak, is in the midst of what we think will be a five-game winning streak.
Of course, this five-game winning streak, which would include Las Vegas, the New York Jets, Washington, Tennessee (Monday night) and the Jets again (Dec. 17), would be similar to last year’s five-game winning streak in that it would include all sub-.500 teams.
But I think this year’s Dolphins team is better than last year’s, and I’ve said that recently. I think this year’s Dolphins team will definitely win its opening playoff game, whenever and wherever they play. After that, let’s see what happens.
So, my answer is yes, you can legitimately consider the Miami Dolphins a Super Bowl contender. But for now, until I see how they fare against the best three teams remaining on their schedule, they remain in my second tier of Super Bowl contenders.