The Miami Dolphins caught the toughest of breaks on Sunday afternoon — they lost at the hands of an official review. Miami had numerous other opportunities to put away a second win against the New York Jets, but the sting of seeing 4th and 17 wiped away most certainly hurts. Even for a team that now sits at 3-10.
In the big picture, Miami’s loss to New York is one that has a silver lining: a Dolphins win would have catapulted them up the NFL Draft order with just three weeks remaining in the 2019 regular season.
As things currently stand, Miami’s draft selections are still hovering right around where you’d expect — but footing is anything but secure.
Miami’s pick: 4th overall
If the Dolphins would have held on to defeat the Jets yesterday this pick would sit 8th in the draft order, having jumped over Detroit, Arizona, Jacksonville and the Jets. The Dolphins don’t have a very clear picture of what the “right” move is to make with this pick, but having it sit higher in the order is still preferred. And the Dolphins will get a chance to make up some ground with teams ahead of them — the Giants play Miami this week and play Washington the following week. Someone in the top four will be collecting wins.
Pittsburgh’s pick: 22nd overall
The Steelers’ string of good fortune continues, as they smothered the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Steelers still own the 6-seed in the AFC and are looking pretty comfortable in their playoff projections. The good news for Miami? The Steelers schedule stiffens. Pittsburgh plays Buffalo and Baltimore over the next three weeks. Could that be enough to bump them from the playoffs?
Houston’s pick: 23rd overall
Houston’s loss to Denver yesterday was the big shock of the week. While the Texans still own first place in the AFC South, they’re now tied with the Tennessee Titans at 8-5. With two games remaining against Tennessee, the Texans could very realistically get dumped from the playoffs all together, which would push this pick into the top-20.
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