Miami Heat Could Regain Control Of South Florida Fans Base With A Win Today And A Dolphins Loss

The Dolphins' playoffs hopes could take a major hit with a loss at Buffalo while the Heat could move above .500 for the first time this season

The Miami Dolphins have somewhat taken the spotlight from the Miami Heat this season. 

The Dolphins fast start gave them more attention from a fan base that has been mostly dominated by the Heat. Today, the Heat have a chance to possibly reclaim the perch they have held the past 20-plus years. 

The Dolphins face the Buffalo Bills tonight in matchup with major AFC East implications, with the winner gaining the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the conference. This isn't a must-win for the Dolphins but would improve their playoff chances. 

After being undefeated with Tua Tagovailoa fully under center, they have dropped two straight games against the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers.

The defense has allowed at least 23 points in their seven road games while Tagovailoa has just four touchdowns in the last three games. After consecutive games with triple-digit passer ratings, Tagovailoa has back-to-back games with rating below 80. 

“Initially I was gonna say that they were a playoff lock,” ESPN analyst Sam Acho said. “Now I look at their schedule. I’m actually a little concerned about who they’re playing. The teams are competing for the playoffs or division leads.”

The Miami Heat, meanwhile, have the chance to further their lead in the Southeast Division and move up in the Eastern Conference. Despite a slow start, the Heat are starting to turn things around with the emergence of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

The Heat have the chance to get a winning record for the first time this season against the San Antonio Spurs. Herro says this is the goal for the team during their span of road games.

“This whole trip was important for us,” Herro said. “We wanted to come out on this trip and take care of business.”

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.