Week 17 Goes Perfectly For Miami Dolphins, Who Can Somehow Still Make Playoffs

The Buffalo Bills clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a win Sunday against the New York Jets. That means they will host the No. 7 in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs and three teams remain alive for that spot: the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals. 

A few weeks ago, it seemed almost unfathomable that either the Dolphins or Bengals would be alive heading into the season’s final week, but here we are. The Broncos have lost their last two games, putting their playoff position in peril. 

Still, Denver just needs to win in Week 18 against the Kansas City Chiefs to earn that trip to Buffalo. That might seem like a tall task, but the Chiefs have already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and have nothing to play for against Denver. 

But Miami was 2-6 after losing to Buffalo in Week 9 before winning three in a row with Tua Tagovailoa under center after the quarterback missed a large chunk of the season with a concussion. 

That put the Dolphins in the playoff picture, but they lost two of their next three games and their postseason hopes seemed dead, particularly after losing to Houston in Week 15. Miami needed pretty much everything to break its way to get into the playoffs. 

Well, that’s what has happened since then. The Dolphins upset the San Francisco 49ers last week before beating the Browns, without Tagovailoa, on Sunday. 

The Miami Dolphins had everything go right in Week 17 and now have a chance to make the NFL playoffs with a win and a Broncos loss in Week 18.

(Getty Images)

Denver, as mentioned, has lost its past two games. The Indianapolis Colts, who had the tiebreaker over Miami, lost to the Giants on Sunday and eliminated themselves from the playoffs. 

That leaves two hurdles left to clear: the Dolphins must defeat the 4-12 New York Jets in Week 18 and hope the Broncos lose to the Chiefs. That would be a nightmare scenario for the Cincinnati Bengals, who clawed their way back into the postseason picture and kept their season alive with a win over the Broncos on Saturday. 

Having the Broncos finish with a better record is one thing, but losing a tiebreaker to the Miami Dolphins would be the most devastating scenario, which would happen if the Bengals beat the Steelers, the Dolphins beat the Jets and the Chiefs beat the Broncos. 

Speaking of nightmare scenarios, the Bills’ preference is certainly to have Miami sneak into the playoffs, since Buffalo has beaten Miami twice this season already. While the Bills probably aren’t “scared” of any team, Cincinnati would represent the toughest test, thanks to Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. 

Ultimately, none of the scenarios matter if Denver can beat Kansas City in Week 18. The question is whether Kansas City decides to rest its starters. 

It seems unlikely that Patrick Mahomes would not play in Week 18 at all because then he would have played his last competitive NFL game on Christmas Day before taking the field in the Divisional Round, which starts Jan.18. 

That would be 3.5 weeks without playing an NFL game for the Chiefs starters, and head coach Andy Reid probably wouldn’t want that. It’s more likely that Mahomes and the Chiefs starters play the first half and then rest in the second half. 

The Denver Broncos control their destiny, but destiny might also be aligning with the Miami Dolphins. Week 18 is going to be fun.