The Miami Dolphins deserve credit for completely turning their season around. After a 2-7 start, they looked dead in the water. The thought of them even being mentioned in the playoff conversation was laughable.
The Dolphins didn’t throw in the towel though. Instead, they buckled down and turned their season around by winning four straight games to climb into the postseason picture in the AFC. But, that dream could come to an end against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.
Dolphins will be eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Steelers
If they’re able to best the Steelers and win a fifth straight game, they’ll keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But with a loss, they'll be officially eliminated from contention.
Here's a brief breakdown of exactly what a loss to Pittsburgh would mean for Miami's playoff hopes from the Orlando Sentinel:
If Miami was to lose, falling to 6-8, it would only have a chance to catch the Houston Texans, who currently hold the final playoff spot in the AFC at 9-5. That would take three Dolphins wins to finish the season and three Texans losses. But even then, the Texans would own the conference record tiebreaker.... A Dolphins loss would mean they can’t catch up to either the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars — all who are 10-4.
If the Dolphins are able to beat the Steelers on Monday night, there’s a world where they could conceivably catch the Texans for the final playoff spot in the AFC. In order for that to happen, the Dolphins would have to win out, and the Texans would have to lose all three of their remaining games, or lose two and tie one.
This would also require other teams ahead of Miami in the playoff picture – the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills – to lose the majority of their remaining contests. Buffalo would have to lose all three of their remaining games and the Colts would have to lose two out of three for the Dolphins to potentially catch them.
That situation isn’t impossible, but it’s extremely unlikely, so Dolphins fans shouldn’t hold their breath.