Miami Dolphins Playoff Path: AFC Wild Card Race, Schedule, Rooting Guide + NFL Playoff Picture

Miami Dolphins Playoff Path: AFC Wild Card Race, Schedule, Rooting Guide + NFL Playoff Picture

We are officially in the home stretch of the NFL season with week 12 already kicking off. And on today’s show, I wanted to take a look at the Dolphins playoff picture. Look at their odds of making the playoffs. look at what they need to root for this weekend, remaining schedule, and ultimately take a look at what the chances are that Miami ultimately actually is playing deep into the season with something on the line and playing in mid January during the NFL playoffs. And before we get into the playoff picture, if you want the Dolphins to make the playoffs, be optimistic. Don’t jinx it. Hit that thumbs up icon. If you want to see the Fins playing in January, hit that like button right now. Let’s start by looking at the AFC playoff picture. This is coming in after Thursday Night Football when the Bills took the Houston Texans on and the Texans got a big win at home. You see Buffalo now at 7-4, Houston at 6 and5. Miami trailing the Jags, Chargers, and Bills for a wildcard spot, but they’re also trailing the Texans, Ravens, and Chiefs in the standings, just outside of the wildard picture as well. So, Miami certainly not out of it yet, but they’re certainly down there in terms of the playoff picture. And when you look at the chances of Miami ultimately making the playoffs, they are not a lot. Just call it how it is. The NFL is giving them a 1% chance to make the playoffs. The New York Times is going less than 1% and ESPN’s playoff picture also going with less than on 1%. So, if you take a look at the standings, the remaining schedules, it’s not very likely. And I’m not going to sit up here and try to act like I think the Dolphins are going to make the playoffs. I think it’s the complete opposite. Actually, I’m here to tell you how Miami could potentially make the playoffs this year. But if you’re asking me if Miami will ultimately be playing in the postseason, I don’t think there’s a chance in the world. Do I think they can rattle off some wins late in the year? I do. But to have a good enough record and have the tiebreakers necessary to make the postseason, yeah, I just think that’s incredibly unlikely. You look at Miami’s last six games of the year after their by-week this weekend. Yeah, they have two very winnable games against the Saints at home and then in New York against the Jets, but then you play the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a cold December night. Then you host the Bengals on Sunday night and then you play Tampa in Tampa. So, not a cold weather game, but you round out the year playing in New England and you have to imagine the Patriots will be playing for something as they look to maybe get the best possible seating. They might have the AFC East locked up by them considering the Bills are now two games behind them. Patriots playing the Bengals this week could go up two and a half games in the division. But if you’re looking at Miami specifically, I do think Miami wins the next two games. I mean, two weeks to prepare for a bad Saints team at home. Yeah, you should be able to win and go to five and seven. And then you go to New York, who I think is the worst team in football this year. It’s either them, New Orleans, or Tennessee. Yeah, I think you win that game even if it is in New York in December. So, if you’re asking me, I think Miami is sitting here going into the final month of the year with a six and seven record. And if that’s the case, well, then maybe there is a chance cuz it’s like, well, six and seven, all right, we’re just not out of it. We’re just right there. And you’re saying there’s a chance, maybe. Like, if the Dolphins do end up winning out, which would ultimately require them to win eight straight games, think about that. eight straight games against the Bills Commanders and then the next six on the schedule. If they finish out 10 and seven on the New York Times playoff simulator, the New York Times gives Miami a 35% chance to make the playoffs if they win out. So, how crazy is that? Miami wins their final eight games, goes to 10 and seven on the year, yet they still only have a 35% chance to make the playoffs. Are you starting to understand that it’s very unlikely? Probably should at this point, but let me know pin comment on today’s show. How many wins do the Miami Dolphins ultimately finish with couple winnable games on there? Miami already has four. Do they get to six? Do they get to seven? Do they get to 10? Let me know your thoughts. But when looking at the Dolphins schedule, the rooting guide, and if they can make the playoffs, I’ll say this. Ironically enough, the Bills losing to the Texans did not help whatsoever. The only way that game would have ultimately helped Miami and if you look back on it in a month or so is if the Bills just utterly collapsed down the stretch of the year and they missed the playoffs altogether. But if the Bills end up making the postseason, which is still very likely in my opinion, you would have needed them in all likelihood to beat the Texans because the Texans are a team not going to win their division. Colts are running away with it, but are fighting for that seven six seed in the wildard picture, which Miami is ultimately trying to get. So, the Bills losing didn’t help. And it’s like, of course, you need the Bills to win, and they they can’t beat Davis Mills on the road. What a terrible team Buffalo is this season, by the way. But if you want to know what the rooting guide for Miami should be this weekend, let me inform you. And I have them ranked in order of how each one would impact the chances of Miami making the playoffs. The number one thing they need this week is the Colts to beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs are 5-5, only a game and a half above Miami in the standings. If they lose to fall to 5-6, well, Miami is right there with Kansas City going into the last six weeks of the year. So, that would be a big win for the Colts. That actually jumps up the chances for Miami to make the playoffs from 35 to above 40% with just that win right there. But a second one would be huge is if the Arizona Cardinals ended up beating the Jacksonville Jaguars. Do I think that’s very likely? No. It’s pretty unlikely if you ask me because the Jags defense is good enough even if the Jags offense isn’t that good. But if the Cardinals and Colts beat the Chiefs and Jaguars, that would help Miami tremendously. I think you need the Steelers to lose. And I am rooting for the Ravens as well. Why? Well, the Miami Dolphins already lost to the Baltimore Ravens. They did. So, you’re not going to have the tiebreaker over them. So, you need the Ravens if they’re going to continue to win some games here down the stretch to ultimately win the North. And since you play the Steelers, if you beat them and you own the tiebreaker, you need the Steelers to lose games. You need the Ravens to win the division and you need the Chiefs and Jaguars to lose. Now, if all of this happens, remember I said if Miami wins out, they have a 35% chance to make the playoffs according to the NY Time Simulator. If all of this happens on Sunday and the Dolphins end up going 10 and seven, you’re now at a coin flip. It raises it up to 50%. So, you’re right there from in the ashes of nothing to, okay, maybe we have a chance now. And if you really want the truth going forward for the rest of the season, we’re going to maybe do these videos every week of a rooting guide and the picture and the chances based on if Miami keeps on winning and other teams help Miamiy’s cause. But if you want a simple truth for the rest of the year, the Dolphins fans should be rooting for the Miami to win every game. And then you need the Jags, Chiefs, Steelers, and Texans to lose almost every week. Now, is that going to happen? No. But it would be very simple just if you root against those four teams every week in my opinion. And in just one second, we’re going to look at the schedules of all of these teams. But first, have you or a friend ever experienced loss, which has you thinking about how to secure your family’s financial future? Well, through Ethos, your family is protected. Life insurance is a perfect way to make sure you’re covered. And right now, you can get your free quote at ethos.com/naily. 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The addition of Quinnon Williams can certainly make them a more formidable defense down the stretch of the year as well. They still got games with the Broncos, Chargers. They play the Texans. So, the Chiefs schedule is not easy. And this Chiefs team, simply put, has not looked good at all this year. Has there ever been a week where you literally watch the Chiefs and are like, “Yeah, that’s a team that’s going to win the Super Bowl.” The only reason why they strike fear into you is because they have Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes still because they’ve done it three times in the past. But if you just take out the past out of it and just look and analyze how the team is playing this year, this is not a good football team. They’re five and five. Like I think there’s a really good chance with those tough seven games where you play the Colts, the Texans, the Cowboys, the Chargers, the Broncos. Like they probably go four and three down the stretch because that’s just who they are. A 500, maybe slightly above 500. And if they do go four and three down the stretch, that ends up making them nine and eight on the year, which isn’t very good. And if you take care of business, the Dolphins should jump them. So, if the Chiefs go four and three in their final seven games and Miami does what we would need them to do and win out, well then you leaprog the Chiefs anyway and don’t really have to worry about them in the standings whatsoever. So, I be honest, if the Dolphins win out and go 10 and seven on the year, I ain’t even really that worried about the Kansas City Chiefs. I know it’s crazy, but that’s really how I’m feeling right now. We’re going to look at the Jaguar schedule here in a second, but we will have you covered every step of the way when it comes to Miami Dolphins football as well as their chances to make the NFL postseason. So, hit that sub button and lock us in every day. Looking at the Jaguar schedule, it’s certainly much easier than the Kansas City Chiefs schedule. They play the Cardinals this week. They still got a game against the Titans twice, by the way. I mean, the Jags getting to play the Titans twice, the Cardinals, and the Jets certainly is not a positive development for the Miami Dolphins. And if you’re an optimist trying to make the playoffs, like I do think the Jaguars ultimately are the largest hurdle Miami is going to have to face. Like, you look at that schedule, you play the Jets tw or Jets, the Titans twice, and the Cardinals. I mean, if the Jaguars just win all four of those games because Jacksonville’s already has six wins this year, that guarantees them 10 and seven. So, you would not only need to win out, but you would need to garner the tiebreaker over Jacksonville, which I think you’d have to see how the rest of the season plays out in terms of conference wins, in terms of uh the similar opponent victories and other tiebreers. But, I just don’t really see a world where Jacksonville isn’t having 10 wins at the end of the year. I don’t think the Jags are that good, but I just think their schedule’s so easy. They’re going to win 10 games no matter what. So, the Jaguars to me certainly are the largest hurdle for Miami if you want the Fins to make the playoffs. Final team schedule we’re going to look at here is the Houston Texans. They’ve also got an absolute gauntlet as well. They play the Colts twice. Oh, boy. They play uh the Chargers, the Chiefs, the Cardinals, the Raiders. So, you look at the Texans schedule and CJ Strad should return for that game against the Colts in week 13. The only like layup game you have is the Raiders. Like I’m not even going to call the Cardinals a layup because they can be scrappy down the year. They certainly can win any game and hopefully you get them to get a win this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But like I just think the Texans schedule is so brutal that I think they only win three of their last six games. If they go three and three, which is totally possible, they finish nine and eight. And if Miami wins out, they would pass them. You’d also likely need the Colts to be playing for something in week 18, which I ultimately think they will be. Like Miami, not Miami, excuse me, New England, um, Denver and Indianapolis are all 8-2 or 9-2. They will all likely be fighting for that number one spot, which is so important because that’s the only one that gets a buy in this day and age in the playoffs. So, like I do think the Colts, unless they just fall out of it and have their playoff spot locked up, will be playing for something in week 18, which you would probably need them to to eventually beat the Texans and maybe help Miami. And we’ve talked a lot about hurdles and stuff like that. You heard me mention rooting against the Steelers every week. Like, I don’t actually think you have to worry about them really at all because remember, this is under the assumption that the Dolphins win out. Go 10 and seven. What does Miami need to happen to make the playoffs? Look, if you win out, you get a win against Pittsburgh, which means you have the head-to-head advantage. Plus, when you look at the Steelers schedule, they still play the Ravens twice. They play the Bills, and they play the Lions. Let’s just say they go two and two in those games against the Bills, Lions, and Ravens twice. They go two and two in those games, and Miami beats them. Well, you have the same record as Pittsburgh. They’d be at 10 and seven, and you have the tiebreaker. So, I don’t really think the Steelers are that much of a concern either. if we’re going to be honest. So, after going through today’s show, do I think the Dolphins can make the playoffs? Absolutely not. Because I do not think they win out to go 10 and seven. But on the off chance Miami does win the final six games of their season after the by-week and finishes 10 and seven, I don’t think it’s the craziest thing in the world that they make the playoffs because some of these other teams, they need to lose in the schedule. Very possible. tough schedules for some of the other wildcard teams out there, but the hardest thing to do is to just win your matchup every single week. Got to take it week by week and we’ll see if Miami ultimately can. That’ll do it for today’s show. Appreciate everybody for hanging out with us here on today’s episode. If you want more on the Dolphins and want to ask me questions, go hit me up over on Twitterx_roll.

Miami Dolphins playoff chances are slim to none. Miami needs to win every game on their schedule and they would only have a 35% chance of making the NFL Playoffs. Dolphins fans will need to root against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers every week going forward. The Dolphins playoff odds are growing thinner and thinner with each week, most prediction algorithms give the Dolphins a 1% chance to secure an AFC wild card spot. Dolphins Today host Nic Rohloff takes a look at the Dolphins playoff chances as well as the latest Miami Dolphins news and rumors in this Dolphins YouTube video.

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Miami Dolphins playoff chances:
NFL: 1%
NY Times: 1%
ESPN: 1%

Miami Dolphins remaining schedule:
Week 13: vs. Saints
Week 14: @ Jets
Week 15: @ Steelers (MNF)
Week 16: vs. Bengals (SNF)
Week 17: vs. Buccaneers
Week 18: @ Patriots

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– Miami Dolphins Make Roster Move + ANOTHER One May Be Coming! Dolphins News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrLihAoeSfI
– JUICY Miami Dolphins Rumors: BENCH Tua & Start Quinn Ewers? Draft Drew Allar? | Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ctiudY32I
– Miami Dolphins 2026 NFL Mock Draft During Bye Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi6YYy3_RiY

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Dolphins NFL Week 12 rooting guide:
#1: Colts over the Chiefs
#2: Cardinals over the Jaguars
#3: Bears over Steelers
#4: Ravens over Jets

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Miami Dolphins coaching staff:
Head Coach: Mike McDaniel
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Weaver
Special Teams Coach: Craig Aukerman
Offensive Coordinator: Frank Smith

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– How many wins do the Dolphins finish with?

Kansas City Chiefs remaining schedule:
Week 12: vs. Colts
Week 13: at Cowboys
Week 14: vs. Texans
Week 15: vs. Chargers
Week 16: at Titans
Week 17: vs. Broncos
Week 18: at Raiders

Jacksonville Jaguars remaining schedule:
Week 12: at Cardinals
Week 13: at Titans
Week 14: vs. Colts
Week 15: vs. Jets
Week 16: at Broncos
Week 17: at Colts
Week 18: vs. Titans

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