What If the Dolphins Had Been in the Playoff Bowl?

The most recent sporting event at Hard Rock Stadium didn't involve the Miami Dolphins, but rather the FIFA World Cup.

It was the third-place game between England and France after each country was eliminated from title contention with semifinal losses against Argentina and eventual champion Spain, respectively, and the existence of the game itself was a big topic of conversation.

The question, of course, is whether the game should be played at all considering every country is aiming for one goal in the World Cup, and that's to take home the championship trophy.

The NFL once had a third-place game, and it's one that legendary coach Don Shula won twice — but with the Baltimore Colts before he arrived in Miami in 1970. That also was the year the NFL did away with that third-place game. The NFL hasn't listed those games in its record book and Shula's two victories in those games were not counted among his record victory total, which can be a whole other debate at some point.

In any event, the idea of reviving that third-place game, officially known as the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl but most commonly referred to as the Playoff Bowl, came up over the weekend.

While we can't imagine players signing off on a third-place game, putting their bodies on the line for the pretty small reward of finishing third instead of fourth, the whole third-place game topic got us revisiting Dolphins history to imagine what it would have been like.

THE DOLPHINS IN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

For all their well-documented playoff shortcomings through the years, the Dolphins have fared remarkably well in the AFC Championship Game.

Miami has a 5-2 record in that game, tied for sixth-best winning percentage among all NFL teams. The New York Giants (5-0) and Seattle Seahawks (4-0) are tied at the top, followed by the New England Patriots (12-4), Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) and Denver Broncos (8-3).

The Dolphins haven't appeared in an AFC Championship Game since the 1992 season, losing that game against the Buffalo Bills (29-10) in Miami. Their other loss also was in Miami, the 31-14 disappointment against New England at the Orange Bowl that prevented a rematch of the famous Monday night game against the powerhouse Chicago Bears.

Those losses came after Miami won in its first five AFC title games — in 1971 at home against Baltimore, in 1972 at Pittsburgh, in 1973 at home against Oakland, in 1982 at home against the New York Jets, and in 1984 at home against the Steelers.

THE DOLPHINS AND HYPOTHETICAL "CONSOLATION" GAMES

If the NFL had kept the third-place game, the Dolphins would have been involved twice, in the 1985 season and in 1992.

And in those seasons, they would have faced the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, respectively.

Looking at those hypothetical matchups objectively, the Dolphins likely would have gone 1-1 in those games.

The Dolphins finished 12-4 in 1985, just one victory more than the Rams, but they won their final seven games of the regular season in Dan Marino's third season in the NFL.

Miami lost in the AFC Championship Game mainly because it committed six turnovers (four fumbles, two interceptions), but still had more firepower than the Rams, who got shut out 24-0 by the Bears in the NFC title game.

In 1992, though, the Dolphins very well might have suffered the same fate against the 49ers that they did in Super Bowl eight years earlier.

That San Francisco team was loaded, but just ran into the Dallas Cowboys at the start of their Super Bowl run in the 1992 title game. The 49ers were an NFL-best 14-2 that season, while the Dolphins finished 11-5.

The 49ers had a 195-point differential on the season, while the Dolphins were at a modest plus-59.

So, yeah, things likely wouldn't have gone well for the Dolphins in that matchup.

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