At the midway point of the NFL season, the
Miami Dolphins are coming together at the right time with three consecutive victories, a winning record, and finally something to show for all the talent they have on their roster.
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill is making strides in this make-or-break season and when he's on top of his game, the Dolphins represent a tough matchup combined with their stellar defense led by a dominant
Cameron Wake. Several young players such as receiver
Jarvis Landry and linebacker
Chris McCain are giving the team quality contributions as well.
"I think we're playing better," said Philbin. "As I told the staff, we're a better team today than we were October 1, than we were in September. The challenge every week is to find ways to improve and get better. I said to the staff, we can't anticipate we're going to shut out our next eight opponents. That's not real life in the National Football League. We're going to have to find new ways to win and just keep improving and keep getting better. It's a good group."
Even though the Dolphins have been relatively healthy for the most part this year, the team has displayed enough depth to minimize any damage. Running back
Lamar Miller has capably shouldered the load as the No. 1 running back after
Knowshon Moreno was lost for the season, and center
Samson Satele played so well in place of the injured
Mike Pouncey that the coaching staff inserted Pouncey at guard once he was fit to return.
The problem is that their 5-3 record -- while certainly well-earned -- only places them currently in the No. 9 seed in the AFC and they must leap-frog three teams, including the
Kansas City Chiefs who own the tiebreaker thanks to their Week 3 victory at Sun Life Stadium, in order to qualify for the postseason.
The Dolphins have proved that they are playoff contenders, but they will face tough competition in the following weeks and must overcome their inconsistency, particularly on offense, once and for all to make their final playoff push.
