The Miami Dolphins are kicking off their Week 6 contest against the New York Jets at 4:05PM EST, a later kick that leaves the Dolphins faithful with a few unexpected hours of flexibility this afternoon. The good news? There will be plenty of action to be had — the NFL appears ready to rock with a full slate of Week 6 contests that will provide Miami with plenty of rooting interests ahead of their own kickoff at 4:05 PM.
So, with that in mind, what should you be rooting for this afternoon before the Dolphins kick off? We’re glad you asked.
Another big day from Ryan Tannehill
Former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is enjoying his new digs quite a bit. He exploded onto the scene in 2019 with the Titans after taking over for Marcus Mariota and has seen himself win nearly 75% of his starts with the Titans. It’s been an incredible run. And we should hope to see at least one more big win for Tannehill this week, given that the Titans are hosting the 1-4 Houston Texans in Week 6. Remember: the Dolphins own the Texans’ No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
What better parting gift for Tannehill to provide the Miami faithful than do sweep the Texans this year and boost the draft value of those picks? A win today for Tennessee drops the Texans to 1-5, which almost ensures the team won’t be in the postseason picture.
A Washington Football Team win
Huh? How is the Washington/New York Giants tilt relevant to the Dolphins, you ask? Because if the Texans are bad at 1-4, the Giants are miserable at 0-5. And the Giants won’t find very many games more winnable than this one on their schedule: they’re home against Washington.
But if the Dolphins are going to avoid seeing Clemson QB Trevon Lawrence call the AFC East home with the New York Jets, they’ll need another team to be equally as bad as the Jets. The Giants can be that team — but a loss to Washington is a necessary domino to help keep that trajectory on pace to become reality.
A Denver Broncos upset
We are living in a world in which the Miami Dolphins may be in second place in the AFC East and a game out of the lead by the end of the day tomorrow. But the Dolphins will need several breaks to go their way. The Buffalo Bills, who lost last week in blowout fashion to the Titans, host the Kansas City Chiefs tomorrow afternoon. Yikes. That’s a tough draw and presumably a loss.
That would drop the Bills to 4-2, whereas a Dolphins win against the Jets moves the team to 3-3. But because the Patriots have already had their bye week, the team will sit at either 2-3 or 3-2 at the end of the 1 PM kickoffs; should the Denver Broncos pull off an upset, Miami would enter their bye in 2nd-place in the AFC East if they hold up their own end of the bargain and beat the Jets.