Miami, FL
Dolphins playoff picture: Scenarios, chances for Miami to make postseason
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Mackenzie Salmon reacts to some blind stats between some of the front runners of the NFL MVP race.
Sports Seriously
The Miami Dolphins weren’t considered serious playoff contenders after starting the season with a 2-6 record.
However, the Dolphins have gone 5-2 in their last seven games to emerge as a potential wild-card threat in the AFC. Their path to the postseason isn’t easy, but if Mike McDaniel’s squad can keep winning, it might have a chance to go to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Miami isn’t in control of its own destiny. To make the 2025 NFL playoffs, it must win out and receive help from several teams.
How can the Dolphins make the playoffs? Here’s a look at their postseason chances as the final weeks of the 2024 NFL season unfold.
Dolphins playoff chances
The Dolphins have a 16% chance to make the playoffs, according to The Athletic’s playoff prediction model. That ranks as the second-lowest chance among the four AFC teams vying for the conference’s No. 7 seed.
Dolphins playoff odds
The Athletic’s model is much more optimistic about the Dolphins’ chances than DraftKings Sportsbook. DraftKings lists Miami with +1600 odds to make the postseason. That gives the Dolphins an implied probability of just 5.88% to qualify for the playoffs.
What needs to happen for Dolphins to make playoffs?
The Dolphins need three things to happen to make the playoffs. They are as follows:
That represents the Dolphins’ only path to a postseason appearance.
Dolphins remaining schedule
The Dolphins don’t have an overly difficult finish to the 2024 NFL season. They are playing against the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets in the final two weeks of the season. That gives Miami the sixth-easiest schedule league-wide entering play on Sunday, Dec. 29.
However, both of Miami’s games are on the road in outdoor stadiums. That could hurt the team’s chances of winning if the weather is inclement.
The team is also expected to be without Tua Tagovailoa in Cleveland due to a hip injury, so the team will need backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to guide it to a win to stay alive in the NFL playoff race.
Below is a full look at Miami’s schedule:
Broncos remaining schedule
The other good news for the Dolphins is that the Broncos have a difficult matchup to close out the 2024 NFL season. Denver is scheduled to host Kansas City in Week 18. The Chiefs have a 15-1 record and beat the Broncos in a tightly contested 16-14 Week 10 matchup.
That said, it isn’t clear whether the Chiefs – who clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed on Christmas with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers – will play their starters in the final week. If not, that could make Denver’s path to a playoff-clinching win a bit easier.
As such, Miami’s postseason fate may ultimately rest in the hands of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
Below is a look at Denver’s schedule:
Colts remaining schedule
Here’s where things get problematic for the Dolphins. They need the Colts to lose, but Indianapolis has the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL.
The Colts are playing against the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a combined 5-25 record, over the final two weeks of the season. They will be favored in both of those games despite having to start backup quarterback Joe Flacco against the Giants with Anthony Richardson (back, foot) injured.
So, unless the Colts lose to one of the NFL’s worst teams, the Dolphins won’t be able to make it into the postseason, even if the Broncos stumble.
Below is a full look at Indianapolis’ schedule:
Dolphins potential playoff opponents
The Dolphins can only be the No. 7 seed in the NFL playoffs if everything breaks right for them. That leaves Miami with only two possible opponents to face. They are as follows:
The Bills have the inside track to the No. 2 seed in the postseason and can wrap it up with a Week 17 win over the Jets. The Dolphins are 0-2 against the Bills this season, losing by a combined score of 61-37.
AFC playoff picture Week 17
AFC
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners, No. 1 seed)*
- Buffalo Bills (12-3, AFC East winners)*
- Baltimore Ravens (11-5, AFC North leaders)*
- Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South winners)*
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, wild card No. 1)*
- Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, wild card No. 2)*
- Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Cincinnati Bengals (8-8), Indianapolis Colts (7-8), Miami Dolphins (7-8).
NFC
- Detroit Lions (13-2, NFC North leaders)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, NFC East leaders)*
- Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West leaders)
- Atlanta Falcons (8-7, NFC South leaders)
- Minnesota Vikings (13-2, wild card No. 1)*
- Green Bay Packers (11-4, wild card No. 2)
- Washington Commanders (10-5, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Seattle Seahawks (8-7), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.
Miami, FL
Can Jason Marshall push for a starting spot – The Splash Zone 7/10/26
The Miami Dolphins will have new starters at their cornerback positions since both Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas are not back with the team. The team drafted Chris Johnson in the first round and it’s pretty likely he’ll have a large role and should claim the one starting spot. The other starting spot should be up for grabs among the rest of the group. Jason Marshall is one of those players who has a better chance of claiming that starting spot after showing some flashes his rookie season. Jeff Hafley has already said he envision Marshall playing on the outside and the second-year corner should get plenty of chances to prove himself during the preseason.
You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.
Phinsider News You May Have Missed
Miami, FL
Miami-Dade Schools names six semifinalists for superintendent
With Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres’ contract ending in February 2027, school board members are now looking to have his replacement by August.
Dotres has served as the superintendent for the third-largest school district since 2022. The school board started the search for his replacement in April.
More than 20 people applied for the position, but now only six have secured spots as semifinalists.
Here’s a closer look at who Miami-Dade’s superintendent might be:
Jose Bueno
With roughly 33 years of experience within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Bueno currently serves as Dotres’ Chief of Staff.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bueno’s tasks include coordinating and implementing major projects “that have significant district-wide impact on the goals of the district and involve coordination of other divisions and offices.”
He started as a teacher within the country back in 1993 and is a Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University graduate.
Ernie Lozano
Lozano is currently Broward County’s Public Schools Chief Human Resources Officer.
His passion is creating a safe and secure environment for both students and staff.
“He has been recognized for his contributions to the District’s safety and security initiatives, receiving accolades for his exceptional leadership and commitment to student and staff well-being,” according to a bio on the site for the National Student Safety and Security Conference & Workshop.
Before his career in human resources, Lozano served within education as a teacher, assistant principal and more.
Sylvia Mitchell
Hope builder, executive leadership coach and seasoned superintendent are all descriptions Mitchell has on her LinkedIn.
Living in Houston, Texas, Mitchell is familiar with the Sunshine State since she was a principal at Charter Schools USA in Fort Lauderdale back in 2012.
She has also served as superintendent twice in Texas and is currently Executive Vice President, Curriculum, Design & Development for Per Scholars.
Carlos Perez
Perez is a charter school principal in West Palm Beach and the former executive director of the Education Reform Project, a nonprofit organization based in Miami Beach.
According to the nonprofit, Perez has over 25 years of experience within education, mainly in New York, but now in Florida.
Perez has also been an assistant superintendent in the past, as well as taking part as an Executive Board Member for the New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators.
Christopher Ruszkowski
Currently based in South Carolina as CEO of South Carolina’s Children’s Fund, Ruszkowski has moved all over the country, and Florida will be no exception.
According to his LinkedIn, he served as New Mexico’s Secretary of Education back in 2019. Before living in South Carolina, he was a conservator for the Texas Education Agency. A conservator oversees the state’s takeovers of large school districts and charter school networks.
Getting his master’s at Stanford, Ruszkowski was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institute located within the university.
Rafael Villalobos
Since 2022, Villalobos has been the South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Before that, he was a principal for over ten years.
The Nova Southeastern alum has been in Miami for most of his life, even graduating from South Miami Senior High School in 1990.
Miami, FL
I went to 2 famous Miami restaurants, a flashy steakhouse and a Cuban hot spot. Here’s how they compared.
Café La Trova celebrated the city’s Cuban heritage through live music, warm hospitality, and dishes that felt deeply rooted in local culture.
Papi Steak, meanwhile, embraced Miami’s flashy, see-and-be-seen reputation with theatrical presentations, celebrity appeal, and an atmosphere that often felt more like a nightclub than a standard steakhouse.
Despite Papi Steak’s over-the-top reputation, nearly every dish I tried — from the wagyu pastrami to the hamachi crudo — was thoughtfully prepared and tasted just as good as it looked. If you’re looking for an indulgent, special-occasion dinner where the spectacle is part of the fun, it’s easy to understand why the restaurant has become such a phenomenon.
Still, if I could only recommend one restaurant to a first-time visitor, I’d choose Café La Trova.
While Papi Steak offered the more decadent, once-in-a-lifetime meal, Café La Trova delivered a more authentic Miami experience, pairing outstanding food and cocktails with a genuine sense of the city’s history and culture.
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