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Well that stunk. The Miami Dolphins entered Week 11 riding a 5-game win streak and hoped to continue to push the ceiling of how high this team can climb the rankings, but instead the Dolphins got physically pushed around on both sides of the ball and ended up succumbing to the Denver Broncos by a final score of 20-13, snapping their five-game win streak and leaving the Dolphins amid the murky mess of football teams that are hoping to claim a postseason berth over the next six weeks.
What a missed opportunity this was for the Dolphins. Pushing their record to 7-3 would have not only put Miami firmly in control of their own destiny, it would have put them into the driver’s seat for a postseason berth as a potential wild card contender. The Raiders? They lost. The Ravens? They also lost. Had Miami defeated Denver, they’d have a game up on both with a promising schedule left over for the next few weeks of play.
But they didn’t. It’s a hard pill to swallow and a tough lesson to take. But Brian Flores’ Dolphins have not been immune to cold, hard reality checks — even going back to 2019. The Dolphins dropped games in December to the New York Jets and the New York Giants after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in stunning fashion and going 3-2 over a five game stretch. How did that Dolphins team respond? By winning their next two games against the Bengals and the Patriots to close the season 5-4 over their final nine games.
There will be plenty of successful Sundays ahead for this team.
But outside of the first 5 minutes, just about everything about the Week 11 script was flipped out of Miami’s favor. The Dolphins thrive on putting you under pressure and teeing off on you defensively. The Broncos weathered the initial storm, found the right counter-punches to move the ball early on enough to claim a 10-7 lead, and from there kept the Dolphins’ defense on their heels all afternoon. And while Miami ideally would have have more answers in the tank for once the game script flipped, we really need to bear in mind that this football team is 12 months removed from having the worst roster in football. They’re not a finished product yet. The Dolphins play close to the vest at times for a reason: because they have to. They don’t have a star-studded, explosive supporting cast for their young quarterback. They also don’t have the brick wall defenders necessary to stiffen against an effective running game that can stay persistent for four quarters.
And that’s okay. This is still a long-term project underway in Miami. And it can still be a playoff season in 2020 for the Miami Dolphins. Let’s face it, it was inevitable that the Dolphins would catch another loss. The team found magical wins over the Rams and Cardinals, two NFC playoff teams, during this winning streak and had some fortunate bounces of the ball along the way. But the Dolphins need to use this loss as a sobering reality check: there’s not a lot of margin for error week in and week out.
Get your mind right, Miami. It’s Jets week.