Dolphins 2024 Bye Week Rooting Guide

The Miami Dolphins are off in Week 6, but they still could get help in the standings (yes, even at this early stage)

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel reacts during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Week 5. / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will be off in Week 6 as they have their one bye of the 2024 season.

While the argument could be made that it's way too early for scoreboard watching, the reality is that the games this weekend will count in the standings at the end of the season just the same as games played in December or even early January.

The Dolphins currently are tied for eighth in the AFC standings, half a game behind the seventh-place Los Angeles Chargers, and they will need to improve their performance if they hope to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

But getting some help from other teams never can start too early, so with that in mind we offer our Dolphins rooting rankings for Week 6:

THE TEAMS THE DOLPHINS MOST WANT TO SEE WIN IN WEEK 6

1. N.Y. Jets (vs. Buffalo), Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Since the first goal for the Dolphins always will be to win the AFC East title, a Jets win in this game would be nice because it would leave the top three teams in the division with three losses and the Dolphins a half-game out of first place coming out of their bye. The argument could be made that the Jets losing would help the Dophins in the wild-card race, but again the idea is to first aim for the division title.

2. Tennessee (at home vs. Indianapolis), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

The Colts, who the Dolphins will face in Week 7, look like much more legitimate AFC playoff contenders than the Titans — yes, even with Tennessee defeating Miami in Week 4 — so a loss here would help.

3. Washington (at Baltimore), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

This actually might be the game of the week, given the surprising start by the Commanders. And with any interconference matchup that involves an AFC playoff contender, it's a clear choice to root for the NFC team.

4. Cincinnati (at N.Y. Giants), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET

The Bengals are off to a miserable 1-4 start, but this is a team with a lot of talent that easily could make a run at any point during the 2024 season. There's no downside for the Dolphins for the Giants to win this game.

5. Chicago (at home vs. Jacksonville), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Like Cincinnati, the Jaguars are off to a disappointing 1-4 start, but they were expected to be playoff contenders heading into the season.

6. Philadelphia (vs. Cleveland), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Cleveland doesn't look like much of a playoff threat at this time, but since it's an AFC-NFC battle, another loss for the Browns wouldn't hurt.

7. Houston (at New England), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Since we're assuming (we know that's dangerous to do) that the Texans will win the AFC South, might as well give the Patriots another loss in Drake Maye's NFL starting debut to bury New England even further in the AFC standings.

8. Las Vegas (vs. Pittsburgh), 4:05 p.m.

This is a tough one because the Steelers are 3-2 and the Raiders are 2-3, but maybe it's better that the Raiders win because they don't look as much of a threat for the playoffs. Besides, the Dolphins will face the Raiders in Week 11 and can handle them in head-to-head competition.

9. Denver (vs. L.A. Chargers), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

These are two AFC teams with two losses, so it actually probably doesn't make much of a difference who wins this game.

WEEK 6 GAMES OF NO CONSEQUENCE TO THE DOLPHINS

These are games for Dolphins fans to watch for pure enjoyment or fantasy football purposes because they don't involve AFC contenders, though we should add that since the Dolphins own the Bears' 2024 sixth-round pick as a result of the training camp trade of center Dan Feeney, Detroit should be the choice in their matchup).

But here's the rest of the slate, in the interest of thoroughness:

Tampa Bay at New Orleans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Atlanta at Carolina, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Arizona at Green Bay, 1 p.m. ET

Detroit at Dallas, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET