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The waiting, as they say, is the hardest part. Welcome to Week 11 of the 2020 NFL season, Dolphins fans. As we brace for Miami’s kickoff against the Denver Broncos at 4PM EST this afternoon, we’re faced with an unenviable gauntlet: we must survive the 1PM early slate of games before the Dolphins take the field. So while Dolphins fans everywhere bide their time and wait, here are a few things you should be rooting to see transpire throughout the 1PM games this afternoon.
A slightly less sad NFC East
The Cleveland Browns are one of the many teams threatening the Dolphins for playoff positioning. They’ll catch the Philadelphia Eagles at home this afternoon but will be playing without perhaps their best player in Myles Garrett. Can the Eagles take advantage and secure a win to move to 4-5-1 on the season and extend their lead on the NFC East?
If they can, they’ll have done the Dolphins a big, big favor. Miami is in a crowded group of teams and every bit of separation helps as the AFC landscape continues to take shape.
A Patriots victory
Sigh. This will never be easy to say; but ‘Go Pats!’
For this week and this week only. The Patriots play the Houston Texans, who of course are of great interest to the Miami Dolphins thanks to the massive Laremy Tunsil deal from last August. Things are working out swell for Miami thus far. They gathered the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and are on schedule to recoup a top-10 pick in 2021.
A loss by Houston to the Patriots this week would drop the Texans to 2-8; making it mathematically impossible for Houston to finish the year with a winning record and extends the possibility of Miami to stay in the running to potentially secure a top-3 pick for yet another week. The silver lining here? If the Texans win, at least the Patriots will have lost in the process.
A repeat of the 2019 AFC Divisional Round
The Tennessee Titans waltzed into Baltimore last spring and ran the ball down the throat of the AFC’s top seed, the Baltimore Ravens. It was a stunning result considering just how dominant Baltimore had been for much of the season — they’d had great success against just about everyone and boasted the NFL’s unanimous MVP in Lamar Jackson. No matter. The Titans pounded them.
Can we see the same today? Both the Titans and Ravens are 6-3 on the season and a win for the Titans would benefit Miami more than a Ravens win would. Why? Because there’s no way that the Ravens are going to catch the Steelers in the AFC North — they trail by 3.5 games with 7 to play. The Titans, meanwhile are in position to claim a divisional title as the Indianapolis Colts schedule stiffens over the next six weeks. In the event that Miami does not catch the Bills in the AFC East, they’ll want to play be the 5-seed. A Titans win best helps that this week in our eyes.