My point from a few days ago has been proven already...that we would acknowledge the Patriots win as fortunate for a very brief period. Then it would be banked as a given, and we'd go back to bemoaning the Bengals and Colts defeats.
The scoreboard loves Adam Gase. That could never be emphasized enough. Nothing in his three seasons aligns with the won/loss record he owns, except the final score of the games. Every time I watch games not involving a Dolphins, a 40 or 45 yard field goal seems so routine. But I'm thinking if the Dolphins are on defense the one place that ball doesn't go is smack down the middle. It either misses or barely sneaks inside either upright. Some of it is pressuring the kicker but some of it is an incredible run of good fortune this team is enjoying, particularly deep in the fourth quarter as games are decided. Bill Simmons described that Patriots game as the biggest giveaway in Belichick's tenure in New England. Impossible to disagree, and we were the beneficiary.
The Dolphins are not a playoff caliber team by any measure of the most important statistical categories I have followed since 1987. I'd still like to see them in the playoffs anyway. If everyone else in a golf tournament is disqualified, you have to be entered to bogey every hole and win it.
However, I know darn well that if everything were switched around and the current Dolphins were actually the current New York Jets, then this forum would be mocking the Jets for ruining their draft pick and keeping their quarterback.