Can the Dolphins Play Spoilers Against New England Again?

Mike McDaniel has been consistent in saying he wants his Miami Dolphins team to finish out the regular season playing good football even though the playoffs haven't been part of the equation for a bit, and he said it again kicking off the week that will end with the finale at Gillette Stadium.

But there's another element at play for this game, and that's the idea of playing spoilers for the New England Patriots.

McDaniel referenced the teams' first meeting this season when the Patriots came to Hard Rock Stadium and pulled out a 33-27 victory in Week 2 and talked about some payback.

A Dolphins victory in the game not only would be a great way to finish what overall was a disappointing season because it would give Miami a 6-2 finish after the dreadful 2-7 start, it also conceivably could cost the Patriots the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

As it stands, New England can't even lock in that top seed without some help because the Patriots are tied for first with the Denver Broncos at 13-3 and Denver owns the tiebreaking advantage.

Denver's season finale will be at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, who have clinched a playoff spot and currently stand sixth in the AFC standings. The Chargers could move up to fifth with a victory and a loss by the Houston Texans against the Indianapolis Colts, who are expected to start second-year player Riley Leonard and not veteran Philip Rivers in their finale now that they've been mathematically eliminated.

The likelihood of the Chargers winning took a major dip late Monday afternoon when head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that Justin Herbert would not play against Denver in Week 18.

But a loss against the Dolphins combined with a victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars would drop New England to the No. 3 seed and would force the Patriots to play on the road in the event the two teams were to face each other in the divisional round of the playoffs.

THE DOLPHINS' PREVIOUS SEASON-ENDING UPSETS AGAINST NEW ENGLAND

A Dolphins victory, given that New England has a 13-3 record, would be a significant upset, though probably not on a par to what Miami did in the 2019 season finale.

That was the famous "Tank for Tua" season — or major rebuilding project, if you prefer — and the Dolphins stunned Tom Brady and the Patriots with a 27-24 victory that began with a pick-six by former New England DB Eric Rowe and ended with Ryan Fitzpatrick's late touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki.

The loss cost the Patriots a first-round bye and then wound up losing at home against the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the playoffs the following week in what became Brady's final game with New England.

For the record, there are four players involved in that game still on the Dolphins or Patriots roster, including IR, though two have switched teams. Punter Jake Bailey was with New England then, is with Miami now; wide receiver Mack Hollins was with Miami then, is with New England now.

The two who have remained with their team from that game are Dolphins DT Zach Sieler and kicker Jason Sanders.

But that's not all.

Ten years ago, New England went into its finale at Hard Rock Stadium (then called Sun Life Stadium) with the best record in the AFC but needing a win to secure the top seed in the conference playoffs.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, were 5-10 in a season that including the firing of head coach Joe Philbin after four games.

In an absolute shocker, the Dolphins handled Brady and the Patriots, outgaining them 438-196 on their way to a 20-10 victory.

The loss moved New England to the No. 2 seed, and that came into play when the Patriots had to travel to Denver for the AFC Championship Game instead of having the game at Gillette Stadium. Denver won that game, 20-18, and then went on to defeat the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl.