AFC: Miami Dolphins
Talk about coming out of nowhere. The
Miami Dolphins were 1-15 a season ago, and their performance cost coach Cam Cameron his job and persuaded owner Wayne Huizenga to sell the team. A year later, the Dolphins are the team that won't go away in the AFC playoff race. At 7-5, the Dolphins are a contender, and their remaining schedule makes them a danger. During the next three weeks, the Dolphins will face teams with a combined record of 12-24 -- Buffalo (6-6), San Francisco (4-8) and Kansas City (2-10). If they win those three games, they could go into the season finale against the Jets with a 10-5 record. With four conference losses compared to the Patriots' five, the Dolphins would win the tiebreaker with New England and end up in the playoffs if both teams finish with 10 wins.
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Kirby Lee/US Presswire
Discarded by the Jets, Chad Pennington has led the Dolphins into playoff contention.
Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum might have earned executive of the year honors by making trades to acquire
Brett Favre and
Kris Jenkins, but how would it look if a Dolphins team coming off a 1-15 season were to catch New York in the AFC East? The Jets cut
Chad Pennington to make room for Favre, but Pennington has quietly put together a nice season. Pennington made it to the playoffs three times with the Jets, but the Jets questioned his arm strength.
So much of the Dolphins' playoff run comes down to Sunday's game against the Bills. The Dolphins get a break because the game is in Toronto rather than Buffalo. The roof will be closed, so the Dolphins won't have to play in the wind and cold weather. That's a big benefit to Pennington, who would have trouble with the winds in Buffalo.
The Dolphins have been fortunate all season. They have played the fourth-easiest schedule in the league. They've gone 5-1 against the NFC West and AFC West and have the chance to go 7-1 against those divisions if they beat the 49ers and Chiefs. First-year coach Tony Sparano has done a great job of motivating his players and adding toughness to the team.
