Dolphins Week 14 Power Rankings Roundup

How the national media stacks the Miami Dolphins following their 30-17 loss against the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes the ball against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, November 28, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won the game, 30-17. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins took a big step backward when they failed to come up to the challenge in their Thanksgiving showdown against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

The 30-17 loss dropped the Dolphins' record to 5-7 and halted their momentum toward making a second-half push for a playoff spot, reviving the concerns about the team's ability to beat upper-echelon competition.

Based on our survey of NFL power rankings from 10 national outlets — Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, NFL.com, The Ringer, USA Today, Pro Football Network, The Athletic, Yahoo! Sports, and Bleacher Report — the Dolphins dropped up an average of 1.8 spots after the loss against the Packers.

The Dolphins' average ranking in the 10 outlets went from 16.2 to 18.0, with a high of 16 (Pro Football Network) and 21 (Pro Football Talk) being the low.

Here's the breakdown of the Dolphins' 10 power rankings spots heading into Week 14 of the 2024 regular season, along with the associated commentary.

MIAMI DOLPHINS POWER RANKINGS

Sports Illustrated

Ranking: 17

Last Week: 12

Analysis: Jason Garrett lazily chalked up the gut-punching fumble on the opening punt as the product of Miami being in Florida, but I don’t think that’s anywhere near the truth. Malik Washington is an aggressive returner and I think he got taken for a ride by a screwy Daniel Whelan punt. As many times as I've tried to slow down the broadcast angle, I can’t get a read on it, but Mike McDaniel admitted after the game it was a late-breaker. Given how scattershot Jordan Love and the Packers offensive line looked on the opening drive, this was an early death knell in a critical game in which I actually liked Miami’s chances. 

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Pro Football Talk

Ranking: 21

Last Week: 18

Analysis: Narratives are stubborn things.

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CBS Sports

Ranking: 18

Last Week: 15

Analysis: The loss against the Packers basically ends their playoff chances. They have to get past the cold-weather narrative at some point, too.

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NFL.com

Ranking: 18

Last Week: 16

Analysis:  Thursday's loss hurt Miami's playoff chances, but not irreparably. The Dolphins can still hit the inside straight by winning out, which would give them a 10-7 record, but it's going to be a stretch. Three of their final five games are on the road, including at Houston and two chilly locales (at Cleveland and the N.Y. Jets in Weeks 17 and 18). The good news is that most of their remaining opponents are not playing their best ball now. The Dolphins aren't exactly peaking, either, coming off the disappointing loss in Green Bay, but they're among the warmest of those teams, even if they still have to prove themselves in cold conditions. There's also the tackling issue (20 missed tackles against the Packers), which is not a weather-related concern. It has been a problem almost all season long and could be one of the sneaky-big reasons they miss the postseason.

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The Ringer

Ranking: 19

Last Week: 18

Analysis: Tagovailoa’s final stat line in Miami’s Thanksgiving game against the Packers looked incredible, but both touchdowns and 247 of his 365 passing yards came in the second half, when Miami was already chasing a three-score deficit. In yet another high-profile game against a legitimate contender, the Dolphins had zero control at the line of scrimmage and were forced out of their comfort zone. Miami’s 39 rushing yards were a season low, and we still haven’t seen the receiving tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle warp defensive secondaries like we’re accustomed to. Miami is still technically in the hunt, but I needed to see a better performance on Thanksgiving Day if I was going to buy in.

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USA Today Sports

Ranking: 17

Last Week: 16

Analysis: Those ugly "narratives" are alive and well, Tua, though your 5-0 record against the Jets should fuel a more favorable one this week.

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Pro Football Network

Ranking: 16

Last Week: 16

Analysis: Thanksgiving likely saw the Miami Dolphins’ margin for error evaporate completely. In the words of famous Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, it is “squeaky bum time” for this team. Miami is now two losses behind the Broncos and Ravens, with both of those teams only having four more games to play. Therefore, even to tie one of them for a Wild Card spot, the Dolphins would need to be perfect in the next five weeks and hope they both lose twice. Miami would have a better conference record than either team in that scenario. However, that relies on the Dolphins going 5-0, which is far from certain. They should be favored in nearly all of their remaining games, with only the game in Houston being a question mark. The offense stumbled a little in Green Bay, which is a concern given they have to go on the road to the Browns and the New York Jets in the final two weeks of the season. Miami will also probably have to start the playoffs on the road in either Buffalo or Kansas City as a reward for the late-season sprint.

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The Athletic

Ranking: 20

Last Week: 18

Analysis on worst-case scenario: We would say a cold playoff game, but this team probably isn’t going to the playoffs. The Dolphins have lost 12 straight games when it was 40 degrees or lower at kickoff, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is 0-6 all time in such games. Maybe more depressingly for Miami, the Dolphins are 0-4 this season against teams projected to make the playoffs, and the average margin of defeat was 14.5 points.

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Yahoo! Sports

Ranking: 17

Last Week: 16

Analysis: Tight end Jonnu Smith has taken on a strangely large role. He had 11 targets last week; Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle had 13 combined. It’s really confusing, given how good the Dolphins' offense is when Hill and Waddle are both giving Miami explosive plays.

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Bleacher Report

Ranking: 17

Last Week: 17

Analysis: Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was just the fact that the Packers are a really good team. But Miami was soundly outplayed in all phases in Week 13, and that puts the Dolphins' backs against the proverbial wall. Winning out would probably be enough to get the Dolphins into the postseason, and the schedule is manageable—a trip to Houston in two weeks is the hardest remaining game on paper. But given how inconsistent these Dolphins have been, peeling off five victories in a row doesn't feel especially likely.

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DOLPHINS OPPONENT RANKING

For the record, the Dolphins' upcoming opponent, the New York Jets, has an average ranking of 27.0, with a high of 22 and a low of 29.