Miami Dolphins Hoping for Repeat of 2022 Final Week

The Miami Dolphins obviously would love not being in the position of having to depend on outside help to secure a playoff spot in the final week of the 2024 season, but that’s where things are.

While there are some differences involved, this overall is the same position they were in two years ago when they did get the necessary help and made the playoffs in Mike McDaniel’s first year as Dolphins head coach.

As all Dolphins fans should know by now, the Dolphins need to make the playoffs a victory against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, coupled with a Denver Broncos loss against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High, with both key matchups kicking off at 4:25 p.m. ET.

The Dolphins are among the three teams, along with Denver and the Cincinnati Bengals, still in contention for the final AFC playoff berth and currently are in the second spot among those three teams.

Just like it was in 2022.

The Dolphins also faced the New York Jets in their 2022 season finale, though that time at Hard Rock Stadium, in a 1 p.m. game going on at the same time as two others involving the other two candidates for the final AFC playoff berth that year.

Heading into Week 18 two years ago, it was the New England Patriots who were in control of their playoff fate, needing only a victory (with no outside help) to clinch a playoff spot, with the Dolphins second and the Pittsburgh Steelers third.

The Dolphins took care of their part Jan. 8, 2023 with an ugly-but-clutch 11-6 victory against the Jets and got the help they needed when the Patriots lost 35-23 against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Pittsburgh defeated Cleveland that day to finish eighth in the AFC standings.

The victory gave the Dolphins a 9-8 record on the season, the same record they’ll produce if they defeat the Jets on Sunday.

And the Dolphins’ first-round matchup in those 2022 playoffs was against the Bills at Highmark Stadium, same as it will be if the Dolphins do land that final playoff spot this season.

The biggest difference, of course, is the Bills played Josh Allen and the rest of their starters in that finale against New England because they needed the victory to secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, whereas the game at Denver on Sunday has zero playoff ramifications for Kansas City after the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs on Christmas Day.

So the Dolphins are left to hope that either Coach Andy Reid decides to give his starters some work because of the long gap between games (December 25 to January 18 or 19) if he sits Patrick Mahomes and others, or Carson Wentz can show the form that made him the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

The expectation is that Mahomes and others like Travis Kelce and Chris Jones won’t play for the Chiefs, but Reid declined to make any announcements Monday because he said he wanted to discuss the issue with his players first.

However it needs to happen, the Dolphins obviously would love nothing better than a repeat of that 2022 final weekend.