Dolphins Week 12 Rooting Guide Follow-Up

The Dolphins started Sunday atop the AFC standings, but ended it in fourth place

For the second time in three weeks, the Miami Dolphins did not have a game on Sunday, but as expected, this mini-bye wasn't quite as good to them as their full bye was two weeks ago.

At the start of the day, the Dolphins were tied for best record in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens at 8-3 but stood in first place in the conference standings — and we all know that means home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and the one bye — by virtue of a better conference record (6-2 to 5-3).

By the end of the day, though, the Dolphins were back where they started the Week 12 action, in fourth place.

These were our Dolphins rooting rankings for this Sunday, Nov. 26 and how things played out:

THE TEAMS THE DOLPHINS MOST WANT TO SEE WIN SUNDAY

1. Philadelphia Eagles (at home vs. Buffalo Bills), 4:25 p.m. ET — WIN

No, this game did ot affect the Dolphins' position in the AFC standings, but Mike McDaniel stated very clearly the first goal this season — any season actually — is to win the division title. And the overtime Buffalo loss extended the Dolphins' cushion in the AFC East to 2.5 games and increased the chances of the Dolphins clinching the division title before the Week 18 rematch at Hard Rock Stadium.

2. Las Vegas Raiders (at home vs. Kansas City Chiefs), 4:25 p.m. ET — LOSS

The Chiefs lost their one-game lead in the loss column in the AFC standings Monday night against the Eagles, though they still have the tiebreaker edge over every team and — as the saying goes — control their own fate. The Raiders gave the Dolphins a battle in Week 11 and could have done a lot of teams in a favor in this one, but the Chiefs ran away with this one after falling behind 14-0 in the first half.

3. Los Angeles Chargers (at home vs. Baltimore Ravens), 8:20 p.m. ET — LOSS

Those Dolphins fans who constantly take shots at Justin Herbert really should have rooted for a big performance from him in the Sunday night game because the Chargers are far down the AFC standings and they could have dropped the Ravens from the three-loss category. But Herbert and the Chargers offense came up way short in a 20-10 Baltimore win.

4. Denver Broncos (at home vs. Cleveland Browns), 4:05 p.m. ET — WIN

As we said last week, it was crazy to see the Broncos with a 5-5 record after what we saw at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 3, but here we are. Denver actually now is tied for the last playoff spot after their 29-12 victory against the Browns, who lost QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to a concussion and star defensive end Myles Garrett to a shoulder injury.

5. Houston Texans (at home vs. Jacksonville Jaguars), 1 p.m. ET — LOSS

Who would have believed at the start of the season that this would be the best game of Week 12? But that was exactly the case because of the surprising Texans and the work of rookie QB C.J. Stroud. Jacksonville, meanwhile, was among the three-loss AFC teams, and it stayed that way after the Jaguars' 24-21 victory.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (at home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers), 1 p.m. ET — LOSS

The Bengals no longer looked like a contender after the loss of Joe Burrow to his wrist injury and the Steelers didn't look like a major threat until their offense awakens, which is just happened when they ended their long streak of games without reaching 400 total yards. Pittsburgh now is just one game behind the pack in the loss column with a favorable schedule to close out the season.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Indianapolis Colts), 1 p.m. ET — LOSS

As with the previous game, the likelihood of the Colts ever being an issue for the Dolphins in the AFC standings is remote, but it was an interconference game and Indy was 5-5. Now they're 6-5 after their 27-20 victory, though they're still not likely to be able to win their division title.

SUNDAY GAMES OF NO CONSEQUENCE TO THE DOLPHINS

These are games for Dolphins fans to watch for pure enjoyment or fantasy football purposes because they don't involve AFC contenders, though we should add that since the Dolphins own the Bears' 2024 sixth-round pick as a result of the training camp trade of center Dan Feeney, Minnesota should be the choice for Monday night (if only to gain a spot or two near the top of the sixth round of the draft).

But here's the rest of the slate, in the interest of thoroughness:

New Orleans at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET — Falcons win to take over first place in the NFC South

New England at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. ET — Patriots miss a last-second field goal to drop to 2-9

Carolina at Tennessee, 1 p.m. ET — The Titans get only their fourth win of the season

L.A. Rams at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. ET — The Rams get themselves into the NFC playoff picture with a 37-14 victory

The Dolphins Playoff Picture Through Week 12