An Historical Analysis of AFC East Rivalries | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

An Historical Analysis of AFC East Rivalries

PYPER

PYPER

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I think the degree of a rivalry is directly related to the amount of pain the two teams cause one another.

Losing games when you think you've got a real good team is MUCH more painful than losing games when you're in rebuilding mode.

Therefore when you look at head to head records, you need to take them with a grain of salt. The important games in any rivalry are the games when both teams are "up". Therefore, obviously, playoff wins over division rivals are especially sweet or especially painful depending on which side you're rooting for.

So let's analyze how each rival has done vs the other when they were both competitive. By competitive, I mean that they had legitimate playoff aspirations heading into the final stretch of the season.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Common Years of Competitiveness:

Jets vs Dolphins: 11 Years: 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002

Jets vs Patriots: 10 Years: *1961, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002

Jets vs Bills: 7 Years: 1981, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002

Patriots vs Dolphins: 16 Years: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003

Patriots vs Bills: 13 Years: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002

Dolphins vs Bills: 16 Years: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
______________________________________________________________________________

Most Competitive Years Amongst AFC East Rivalries:

1) Patriots Vs Dolphins - 16 Years
1) Bills Vs Dolphins - 16 Years
3) Patriots Vs Bills - 13 Years
4) Jets Vs Dolphins - 11 Years
5) Jets Vs Patriots - 10 Years
6) Jets Vs Bills - 7 Years
___________________________________________

Head-to-Head Records Vs Rivals in Competititive Years:

Jets Vs Dolphins: 15-7-1, 0-1 in Playoffs

Jets Vs Patriots: 10-10, 0-1 in Playoffs

Jets Vs Bills: 6-9, 0-1 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Jets are 31-26-1, 0-3 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Patriots Vs Dolphins: 18-16, 2-1 in Playoffs

Patriots Vs Jets: 10-10, 1-0 in Playoffs

Patriots Vs Bills: 15-11-1, 1-0 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Patriots are 43-37-1, 4-1 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Dolphins Vs Jets: 7-15-1, 1-0 in Playoffs

Dolphins Vs Patriots: 16-18, 1-2 in Playoffs

Dolphins Vs Bills: 16-20, 1-3 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Dolphins are 39-53-1, 3-5 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Bills Vs Jets: 9-6, 1-0 in Playoffs

Bills Vs Patriots: 11-15-1, 0-1 in Playoffs

Bills Vs Dolphins: 20-16, 3-1 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Bills are 40-37, 4-2 in Playoffs
_______________________________________________

Research based on info from www.NFLArchives.com
 
excelent post...Ive always wondered this and was never motivated enough to actually find it out.

kinda sucks that the only positive one we have is Playoffs vs. the Jets :(
 
No comments???

Here's a question a Patriots fan asked me on another site.


Who has caused us the most pain on your analysis? The Fish
(because we've had more common years of competitiveness and have lost more games to them during that period (16)) or the Jets (because our win/lose record is worse (10-10) during
periods of competitiveness)?

But I'm not a good subject because the team I really hate is
not in our division. It's the Raiders and I don't care -- even
if we never played them again and they went 1-15 every season
I'd still hate them and be sorry it wasn't 0-16.


Good question. Like I said, the key to FEELING a rivalry is how much pain has that rival caused us. So which team has caused us the most pain? When it comes to painful losses, I, like you, have to reach outside of our division. We really haven't suffered at the hands of our divisional opponents. We've been fortunate in that whenever we've been good, nobody in our division has ever been able to stand in our way.

The only playoff game we ever lost to a division rival was in the strike shortened season of 1982. We made the playoff tournament that year with a record of 5-4 but none of us had any real expectations or even hopes of going anywhere.

When I look at my most painful losses, NONE of them come against AFC East rivals. The three losses I think are most painful are:

1) 1976 @ Oakland (playoffs)
2) 1986 @ Denver (playoffs)
3) 1997 @ Pittsburgh (playoffs)

Denver also knocked us out of earning a playoff bid in 1988 when they beat us in the season finale and Elway finished his career a perfect 11-0 against us.

Therefore the three teams I love beating more than any others are Oakland, Denver, and Pittsburgh. The Steelers qualify because my family is all Steelers fans. My dad grew up in Western PA and tried to raise me as a Steelers fan until I rejected his efforts when I was 7. True fans aren't made, they're BORN!

When it comes to Miami and New York, it's tough to tell. It seems like we've always had Miami's number in BIG games. We beat them in the AFC Championship in 1985. We beat them in the season finale in 1986 on MNF when we needed a win to make the playoffs. We beat them three times in 1997, including a win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. We beat them in 2001 when the division title was at stake. We beat them in 2002 when our playoff lives depended on it. And we swept them again last season.

When it comes to BIG games, we've DOMINATED Miami.

But the thing about Miami that make them easy to hate is that they've NEVER been down. They're ALWAYS competitive. They're never great but they're always good. I still remember the 1-15 and 2-14 seasons and I want Miami fans to suffer through those types of experiences.

We haven't really had too many BIG games vs the Jets because they've been losers for like 90 percent of their franchise's history. But they're an interesting rival because of the geographic rivalry with Boston and the histories involved with other sports like baseball and basketball.

The only BIG games we've been involved with the Jets was the 1985 Wild Card game that we won and the 2002 week 16 matchup that we lost.

The 2002 game was painful but it was also obvious that we had a too many injuries late in that season at key positions where we lacked depth (like the secondary) and that even if we would have won that game and the division we wouldn't have done anything in the playoffs. In essence, losing that game has allowed us to build a 6 game playoff winning streak. So looking back, I don't really feel ANY pain from that loss.

So when it comes to the division, I think our biggest rival is whoever is the most competitive at the moment. If the Jets could ever sustain a long period of excellence, then our rivalry with them could be special but until they do, it's not quite there yet.

My biggest rivals are Oakland, Denver, and Pittsburgh.
 
It was a bogus argument on kffl and it's a bogus argument at Finheaven. Don't punish the Fins for being good when the Pats, Bills, and Jets sucked.
 
Exactly. Why tanish our records because we haven't had a terrible year in some three decades(give or take a year)?
 
By that logic, perhaps, one might claim that the Bengals are a storied franchise.
 
Yup, what the above two posts said. Pyper, it seems like you put a lot of work into this thread, so I commend you on that, but these stats are what I like when it comes to rivalries:
DOLPHINS VS AFC EAST all time record

VS Patriots---45-32
VS JETS----38-38-1
VS BILLS----49-30-1
:goof:
 
I think you guys are just getting defensive because the Dolphins have poor records vs the rivals in mutually competitive years. You're defensiveness is causing you to miss the point.

The Dolphins have, BY FAR, the most sucessful franchise in the AFC East. No one is arguing that point.

If that's all you guys want to focus on, then by all means, continue to pat yourselves on the back and go on your mary little way.

This thread was about the essence of rivalries. The pain. The heart break. I guess you'll either get it or you won't.

Sorry if I've upset you.

Peace,

);p
 
Huh....1961 ??? How would the Fins have been in competition with the Pats in '61 ?? We were just a gleam in Joe Thomas' eye at that time....
 
Originally posted by LarryFinFan
Huh....1961 ??? How would the Fins have been in competition with the Pats in '61 ?? We were just a gleam in Joe Thomas' eye at that time....
Click to expand...


What are you talking about? :confused:

I think it's time you invest in some new reading glasses. :cool:
 
Originally posted by PYPER
I think the degree of a rivalry is directly related to the amount of pain the two teams cause one another.

Losing games when you think you've got a real good team is MUCH more painful than losing games when you're in rebuilding mode.

Therefore when you look at head to head records, you need to take them with a grain of salt. The important games in any rivalry are the games when both teams are "up". Therefore, obviously, playoff wins over division rivals are especially sweet or especially painful depending on which side you're rooting for.

So let's analyze how each rival has done vs the other when they were both competitive. By competitive, I mean that they had legitimate playoff aspirations heading into the final stretch of the season.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Common Years of Competitiveness:

Jets vs Dolphins: 11 Years: 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002

Jets vs Patriots: 10 Years: *1961, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002

Jets vs Bills: 7 Years: 1981, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002

Patriots vs Dolphins: 16 Years: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003

Patriots vs Bills: 13 Years: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002

Dolphins vs Bills: 16 Years: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
______________________________________________________________________________

Most Competitive Years Amongst AFC East Rivalries:

1) Patriots Vs Dolphins - 16 Years
1) Bills Vs Dolphins - 16 Years
3) Patriots Vs Bills - 13 Years
4) Jets Vs Dolphins - 11 Years
5) Jets Vs Patriots - 10 Years
6) Jets Vs Bills - 7 Years
___________________________________________

Head-to-Head Records Vs Rivals in Competititive Years:

Jets Vs Dolphins: 15-7-1, 0-1 in Playoffs

Jets Vs Patriots: 10-10, 0-1 in Playoffs

Jets Vs Bills: 6-9, 0-1 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Jets are 31-26-1, 0-3 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Patriots Vs Dolphins: 18-16, 2-1 in Playoffs

Patriots Vs Jets: 10-10, 1-0 in Playoffs

Patriots Vs Bills: 15-11-1, 1-0 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Patriots are 43-37-1, 4-1 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Dolphins Vs Jets: 7-15-1, 1-0 in Playoffs

Dolphins Vs Patriots: 16-18, 1-2 in Playoffs

Dolphins Vs Bills: 16-20, 1-3 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Dolphins are 39-53-1, 3-5 in Playoffs
__________________________________________

Bills Vs Jets: 9-6, 1-0 in Playoffs

Bills Vs Patriots: 11-15-1, 0-1 in Playoffs

Bills Vs Dolphins: 20-16, 3-1 in Playoffs

Overall Vs Rivals: Bills are 40-37, 4-2 in Playoffs
_______________________________________________

Research based on info from www.NFLArchives.com
Click to expand...

Excellent post my friend. I find this subject very interesting......
 
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