Dolphins Now Have Another Dubious Mark

The Miami Dolphins already owned the dubious distinction of having the longest playoff victory drought in the NFL, but they've now got a new badge of dishonor.

With the Washington Commanders' upset of the top-seeded Detroit Lions on Saturday night, the Dolphins now are tied for the longest absence from a conference championship game at 32 seasons.

The Dolphins last played in the AFC Championship Game at the end of the 1992 season, dropping a 29-10 decision against the Buffalo Bills at Miami.

The Cleveland Browns also have a 32-year drought, though their began after the 1989 season and includes three years out of existence after the franchise moved to Baltimore following the 1995 season and Cleveland regained a team in 1999. The Browns do have the distinction of being the only team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger never to win two playoff games in one season; the Dolphins haven't done it in 40 years (since 1984), the second-longest such drought.

The Dolphins have lost their past four divisional round playoff games, losing 27-0 against the Oakland Raiders in the 2000 season, 62-7 against the Jacksonvill Jaguars in 1999, 38-3 against the Denver Broncos in 1998, and 22-21 against the San Diego Chargers in 1992. All those games were on the road.

A TALE OF TWO FRANCHISES

While the Dolphins continue to flounder, Washington was able to complete an incredible turnaround in one year with a new coach, new GM and, most importantly, one of the most impressive rookie quarterbacks the NFL has seen in Jayden Daniels.

The Commanders find themselves a step away from the Super Bowl after finishing 4-13 last season, which gave them the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Washington, which will face the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday, hadn't been to the NFC title game since 1991 when it defeated Detroit before handing Buffalo its second of four consecutive Super Bowl losses.

The Dolphins' last playoff victory, of course, came Dec. 30, 2000 when Lamar Smith rushed for 209 yards in a 23-17 overtime victory against the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

The Lions owned the longest playoff victory drought before ending it last season with a wild-card round victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Dolphins have appeared in seven AFC Championship Games and have a 5-2 record.

The Dolphins defeated the Baltimore Colts in the 1971 season, Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972, Oakland Raiders in 1973, New York Jets in 1982 and the Steelers again in 1984. They lost against the New England Patriots in 1985 before the loss against the Bills in 1992.

Ironically, the only one of the seven AFC title games the Dolphins played on the road was the one during the perfect season of 1972, and that was the result of the NFL at the time awarding home-field advantage based on a rotation system between the divisions.