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A Remarkable Story Rolls On
If you haven't taken the Dolphins seriously as a legitimate playoff contender, it is time to re-adjust your thinking.
All they did on Sunday in Toronto was complete a two-game sweep of the Buffalo Bills for the first time in five years, win for the sixth time in seven games, and place themselves in a solid position to keep things interesting for the remainder of the regular season, if not beyond.
What a remarkable story this has become. A 1-15 ugly duckling becomes a prince in less than one full calendar year. No, they aren't dominating people. No, they aren't scoring touchdowns in bunches. But you can't argue with the bottom line. It is early December and the Dolphins are 8-5 and looking like they aren't going to stop now.
The win over the Bills raised their AFC East record to 3-2. More importantly, it left them tied with the Jets and Patriots for first place. Win the final three games against Kansas City, San Francisco and the Jets, and they are AFC East champions.
Think about that. Roll it off your tongue a few times. The Dolphins, AFC East champions? It has suddenly become a very real possibility.
If the season ended right now with eight victories, who wouldn't proclaim this a monumental success? But with three games left, it's easy to be greedy, easy to ask: Why stop now?
If they don't get too full of themselves, if they can maintain a level of consistency, if Chad Pennington can keep his firm grasp on the pulse of this team, why can't they beat the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs the following week? Why can't the season finale against the Jets be for the AFC East title?
More shocking turnarounds have occurred before. I'm just not sure when and where.
The formula Sunday against the Bills centered around a defense that refused to budge, a kicker who made it 14 in a row before finally missing and a quarterback in Pennington who isn't really fancy, just highly efficient.
I often talk about the flaws of this football team and how the coaching staff does such an admirable job concealing them. Perhaps I don't spend enough time talking about the strengths. The resiliency of this group. The way they seem to turn things up a notch in the fourth quarter. The way Pennington rarely makes significant mistakes.
Check the stats. The Dolphins have turned the ball over 10 times all season, fewest in the league. That is amazing after 13 games, and it is the one statistic that best outlines why these Dolphins matter once again.
Want some perspective? A season ago the Dolphins turned the ball over 29 times. A year before that it was 25 times. Those are statistics for losers. When you turn it over just 10 times, you are always giving yourself a chance.
What's more, and just as noteworthy, the Dolphins are now consistently making plays that winners simply have to make.
Will Allen's tremendous third-quarter interception in the end zone as the Bills were on the verge of making it close; Yeremiah Bell's fourth-quarter tackle on a fourth-and-5 play that stopped Buffalo a yard short; Pennington hitting all 11 of his second-half passes.
The list goes on and on. Joey Porter is on the verge of rewriting the team's sack records; Carpenter has made just about every big kick he has been asked to convert; and an injury-depleted offensive line somehow remains solid, if not spectacular.
What happens from here? The Dolphins need to find more consistency scoring touchdowns. Sooner or later, the reliance on field goals could prove costly. But mostly, they need to keep doing what they've been doing. Making plays. Limiting the mistakes to a minimum. Playing with confidence in the fourth quarter.
Sunday in Toronto, we saw two teams heading in opposite directions. And when the Bills were 5-1 and the Dolphins 2-4 earlier this season, who could have imagined which direction each would be traveling after 13 games?
My best guess is that the Dolphins will have to win the AFC East to make the playoffs. Indianapolis is 9-4 and should get one wild-card spot. You would then think either Pittsburgh or Baltimore, whomever doesn't win the AFC North, will be the second wild card.
But why can't the Dolphins win the AFC East? The Jets have lost two in a row to come back to the pack and the Patriots are not what they used to be.
Intriguing possibilities now exist. It is December and the Dolphins are playing with the poise of a team intent on playing into January.
Nobody, not even the most wide-eyed optimist, could have expected something like this.
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