The Miami Dolphins improved to 7-8 with a 29-17 win against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 that kept their playoff hopes alive for another week.
While it’s still an uphill climb with a small chance of coming to fruition, the Dolphins are hoping to sneak into the last wild card spot in the AFC. As it currently stands, those three berths belong to the 10-5 Baltimore Ravens, 9-6 Denver Broncos, and 9-6 Los Angeles Chargers.
The Ravens have clinched their spot, but the 7-8 Dolphins, as well as the 7-8 Indianapolis Colts and 7-8 Cincinnati Bengals are still mathematically able to track down one of the final spots.
Here’s what would need to happen for Miami to get in:
- Dolphins win against Browns (Week 17) and Jets (Week 18)
Along with at least two of the following three:
- Chargers lose against Patriots (Week 17) and Raiders (Week 18)
- Broncos lose against Bengals (Week 17) and Chiefs (Week 18)
- Colts lose against Giants (Week 17) and/or Jaguars (Week 18)
The Dolphins would win a tiebreaker against every other 9-8 team with the exception of the Colts.