Dolphins Week 14 Rooting Guide Follow-Up ... And Why Bills Winning Was a Good Thing
For the third time in five weeks, the Miami Dolphins did not have a game on Sunday.
This time, it's because their Week 14 game against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium is scheduled for Monday night. The Dolphins didn't play on the Sunday of Week 10 because it was their bye or on the Sunday of Week 12 because they played on Black Friday that week.
Currently holding the top spot in the AFC standings heading into Week 14, the Dolphins did not need any help from any team to land the No. 1 seed for the first time since 1984 with wins in their last five games.
The Dolphins began Sunday tied for best record in the conference with the Baltimore Ravens at 9-3, followed the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars at 8-4. Cleveland, Indianapolis and Houston follow at 7-5 and currently occupy the final three playoffs spot.
With that stage set, here were our Dolphins rooting rankings for this Sunday, Dec. 10:
THE TEAMS THE DOLPHINS MOST WANT TO SEE WIN SUNDAY
1. L.A. Rams (at Baltimore), 1 p.m. ET — LOST
This was a painful one to watch because the Rams had a chance to win in regulation before their final drive bogged down, then had the ball in overtime needing only a field goal after stopping Baltimore's first drive of the extra period. And then the game ended on a punt return that featured a pretty clearly missed block in the back (though that's the way it's gone with the officiating this year).
2. Cleveland (at home vs. Jacksonville), 1 p.m. ET — WON
Trevor Lawrence indeed did play after sustaining that scary-looking ankle injury six days earlier, but it was a rough outing that featured three interceptions. On the other side, veteran Joe Flacco passed for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns and showed again that Cleveland could be dangerous as a playoff opponent if they get decent quarterbacking because their defense is very good.
3. Buffalo (at Kansas City), 4:25 p.m. ET — WON
Yes, we get it, it's always tough to root against the Bills considering they have owned the AFC East in recent year and a loss could have put the Dolphins on the doorstep of their first division title since 2008. But the Dolphins still are very likely to win the AFC East title with a magic number of three — any combination of Miami win or Buffalo loss adding to that number — with four weeks left in the regular season. And if the concern is having to face Buffalo in the playoffs and the fact they're potentially more dangerous than other opponents because of Josh Allen and how well he's done against the Dolphins, let's first start by saying that Buffalo landing in the exact spot to face Miami isn't a given by any means. More importantly, if the Dolphins are the team we think they are and are to be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders — and they most definitely are — then having to defeat the Bills shouldn't be viewed as a scary proposition. No, Kansas City losing was big considering the Chiefs own the tiebreakers over every AFC team and there's now a two-game cushion over them. This result was nothing but good for the Dolphins.
4. N.Y. Jets (at home vs. Houston), 1 p.m. ET — WON
This was a potentially catastrophic loss for the Texans, who went down against a struggling team and also saw QB C.J. Stroud leave with a concussion. On the flip side, the Dolphins game against the Jets next Sunday now looks like it could be a bit more of a challenge after Zach Wilson's performance.
5. Cincinnati (at home vs. Indianapolis), 1 p.m. ET — WON
It was another strong outing for QB Jake Browning, and now the Bengals look like a potentially dangerous team as the playoff approach. But they're still not the same without Joe Burrow.
6. L.A. Chargers (at home vs. Denver), 4:25 p.m. ET — WON
There it is, we can again say the Dolphins have defeated a team with a winning record (though it's still zero when it comes to teams with a winning record at the time of the matchup). The bigger issue is the Broncos now stand only a game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West, though Kansas City is likely to get any tiebreaker, making it more like a two-game lead.
7. Minnesota (at Las Vegas), 4:05 p.m. ET — WON
Wow, from the snapshots we got from the Red Zone channel, this was some painful football to watch.
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, Detroit should be the choice in their matchup).
But here's the rest of the slate, in the interest of thoroughness:
Tampa Bay 29, Atlanta 25: Nice comeback by Baker Mayfield, and now we have a three-way tie atop the NFC South — with a 6-7 recor.d
New Orleans 28, Carolina 6: Remember that the Bears own Carolina's first-round pick, so they're getting closer to having the top pick.
Chicago 28, Detroit 13: The Lions are fading as they head into the stretch run.
San Francisco 28, Seattle 16: The 49ers took over the top spot in the NFC standings .
Dallas 33, Philadelphia 13: The Cowboys looked impressive in creating a three-way tie at the top of the NFC with the Eagles and 49ers.
Green Bay at N.Y. Giants, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
