The Miami Dolphins are 1-2 and there’s plenty of cause for optimism for the Dolphins has the team continues to find their identity as a football team. But how do the forecasts favor the Dolphins?
ESPN’s Football Power Index simulates each remaining game of the season 10,000 time to produce average win-loss totals for all 32 franchises. As of the start of Week 4 in the NFL season, the Dolphins are forecasted to finish the season with 6.2 wins. That figure is better than 10 other teams across the NFL and serves as a big improvement for Miami based on the early-season expectations for Miami.
Ahead of the season, Miami was generally regarded as a bottom-five roster in the NFL, but with the horrid play of the New York Jets and Miami’s impressive team win against Jacksonville, the Dolphins appear primed to outperform their early season predictions and rise out of the bottom few teams in the league.
Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight has the Dolphins also currently projected for 6 wins. But the big difference is the rest of the league. Miami is currently forecasted to own a better record than eight teams and tied with four others in the standings. In the preseason forecast for FiveThirtyEight, the Dolphins were projected to only be better than five teams across the league.
Of course, getting additional wins is going to be critical for the Dolphins’ cause on that front — and Week 4 is about as tough of a test and you’ll find. If the Dolphins could somehow pry a win away from the Seahawks in Week 4, they will be well on their way to earning added respect and continue to outproduce even the updated forecasts for the Dolphins’ season.