Dolphins 2025 Bye Week Rooting Guide

The Miami Dolphins remain massive long shots to make the playoffs in 2025, but it shouldn't stop us from looking at all the possibilities

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel walks onto the field prior to the 2025 NFL Madrid Game against the Washington Commanders at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will be off in Week 12 as they have their one bye of the 2025 season.

While the argument could be made that it's silly to be scoreboard watching with the Dolphins standing at 4-7 and extremely long shots to make the playoffs — the figure usually is 1 percent chance or lower — they're still mathematically alive.

The Dolphins currently are 11th in the AFC standings, 1.5 games behind Houston, Kansas City and Baltimore, and 2.5 games behidn the seventh-place Jacksonville Jaguars.they will need to improve their performance if they hope to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

To have any realistic shot at making the playoffs, the Dolphins will have to finish strong with at a minimum five wins in their final six games, and even then they're likely to need some help.

With that in mind we offer our Dolphins rooting rankings for Week 12:

THE TEAMS THE DOLPHINS MOST WANT TO SEE WIN IN WEEK 12

1. Chicago (vs. Pittsburgh), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

The Steelers currently lead the AFC North, but the Baltimore Ravens are hot on their trail and the Dolphins need some Pittsburgh losses (along with winning at Acrisure Stadium on December 15, of course).

2. Arizona (at home vs. Jacksonville), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

The Jaguars could end up being in the mix among AFC wild-card teams, so let's root for former Dolphins backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett after he put up massive numbers (albeit in a loss last week against the San Francisco 49ers).

3. N.Y. Jets (at Baltimore), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

The Ravens figure to be part of the wild-card mix in the AFC if they don't overtake the Steelers in the North and their head-to-head victory against the Dolphins could prove problematic down the stretch.

4. Indianapolis (at Kansas City), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

While both teams are playoff contenders, we'll assume at this time the Colts are going to win the AFC South, so they're not really a factor as far as the Dolphins are concerned. Giving K.C. one more loss would be good for Miami.

5. Buffalo (at Houston), Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Based on the teams' records and the closing schedules, the Dolphins would seem to have a lot better chance to catch the Texans than the Bills in the standings, so let's put division rivalry aside for this one. Besides, the Dolphins have Houston's third-round pick in the 2026 draft, so the worse their record, the better for Miami.

6. Cincinnati (vs. New England), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

The Dolphins really aren't likely to catch the Patriots in the standings, but they'll have to win against Cincinnati anyway to have any shot at the playoffs, so why not give New England a third loss here?

WEEK 12 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. While the Dolphins will get the Philadelphia Eagles' third-round pick from the Jaelan Phillips trade, it's going to be late in the round regardless, so maybe a small preference in rooting for the Dallas Cowboys against them this weekend, though it's not relevant to the 2025 playoff picture.

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

N.Y. Giants at Detroit, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Minnesota at Green Bay, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Seattle at Tennessee, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Cleveland at Las Vegas, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

Philadelphia at Dallas, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

Atlanta at New Orleans, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

Tampa Bay at L.A. Rams, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET

Carolina at San Francisco, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Teams on a bye: Miami, Denver, L.A. Chargers, Washington

REMAINING SCHEDULES OF AFC PLAYOFF HOPEFULS

Teams listed in current order of standings:

1. Denver Broncos (9-2) — bye, at Washington (SNF), at Las Vegas, Green Bay, Jacksonville, at Kansas City (TNF), L.A. Chargers

2. New England Patriots (9-2) — at Cincinnati, N.Y. Giants (MNF), bye, Buffalo, at Baltimore, at N.Y. Jets, Miami

3. Indianapolis Colts (8-2) — at Kansas City, Houston, at Jacksonville, at Seattle, San Francisco (MNF), Jacksonville, at Houston

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) — at Chicago, Buffalo, at Baltimore, Miami (MNF), at Detroit, at Cleveland, Baltimore

5. Buffalo Bills (7-3) — at Houston (TNF), at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, at New England, at Cleveland, Philadelphia, N.Y. Jets

6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) — Bye, Las Vegas, Philadelphia (MNF), at Kansas City, at Dallas, Houson, at Denver

7. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) — at Arizona, at Tennessee, Indianapolis, N.Y. Jets, at Denver, at Indianapolis, Tennessee

8. Houston Texans (5-5) — Buffalo (TNF), at Indianapolis, at Kansas City (SNF), Arizona, Las Vegas, at L.A. Chargers, Indianapolis

9. Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) — Indianapolis, at Dallas, Houston (SNF), L.A. Chargers, at Tennessee, Denver (TNF), at Las Vegas

10. Baltimore Ravens (5-5) — N.Y. Jets, Cincinnati (TNF), Pittsburgh, at Cincinnati, New England, at Green Bay, at Pittsburgh

11. Miami Dolphins (4-7) — Bye, New Orleans, N.Y. Jets, at Pittsburgh (MNF), Cincinnati (SNF), Tampa Bay, at New England