Kelly: Keys to the Dolphins Getting the AFC's Top Seed

Here are five enhancements the Dolphins can make to improve performance during this critical three-game stretch, which will dictate Miami's playoffs seeding for the 2024 postseason

We’ve finally arrived at the point of no return.

We are FINALLY at the place in the season that Mike McDaniel describes as “elimination games.”

This season has been building up to this three-game stretch of hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, playing at Baltimore on New Year's Eve, and the regular season finale at home against Buffalo because the outcome of these games will either establish the Miami Dolphins as Super Bowl contenders or identify them as pretenders.

McDaniel, the Dolphins head coach, has strategically set his team up for this stretch of the season because he knows how critical it is to achieving Miami’s ultimate goal, which is to win a Super Bowl.

But McDaniel has encouraged his team to tell every media member who doesn’t take this stretch on a game-by-game basis and tries to raise the stakes to “F off,” and he’s got a point because every one of these final three opponents are jockeying for postseason positioning too.

However, let us not pretend that Miami’s first AFC East division title since 2008 is not within this team’s grasp, as is the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and the first-round bye that comes with it. All the Dolphins have to do is their part, which means win all three.

Here’s my recipe for the Dolphins to turn up the volume in December and finish out the season strong.

1. Patch up the offensive line

Every member of the Dolphins’ initial starting offensive line is either playing with an injury, or sidelined by one. Last week Miami used its 10th starting O-line combination. The Dolphins need to get healing hands on Terron Armstead (knee and ankle), Kendall Lamm (back), Liam Eichenberg, (calf), Robert Hunt (hamstring), Robert Jones (knee), and Austin Jackson (oblique). Miami needs to figure out what’s the best formula to develop chemistry with the five linemen who will take the field for the next month-plus. Lamm, who has started seven games this season, might be the key to holding this unit together, especially if Jackson need a week off. His services might be needed most at guard if Jones or Lester Cotton don't improve. But that's a position Lamm says he's uncomfortable playing.

2. Recommit to the run game

Never mind that Miami is coming off its worst rushing performance of the season, gaining just 77 rushing yards on 28 carries last week against a Jets defense that came into the game ranked 28th against the run. The Dolphins, who are 45 yards away from producing the franchise's first 2,000-yard rushing season since 2009, have possessed one of the NFL’s top two rushing attacks (5.1 yards per carry) all season. Raheem Mostert is having a Pro Bowl-worthy season, setting career and franchise records. Miami needs to stay consistent with feeding Mostert and rookie sensation De'Von Achane, who is averaging 8.5 yards per attempt on 72 carries, because it keeps the offense balanced.

3. Return Jevon Holland to the secondary

Holland, who led the team in tackles a month ago, will have been shelved for a month because of the two MCL knee sprains he suffered Nov. 24 against the Jets. There’s no better time for the quarterback of Miami’s defense to return to the No. 5 ranked unit than now because Miami’s defense will be facing three MVP candidates — Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen — during this stretch. Let’s hope Holland’s shelving was more precautionary than major injury, and that he returns to practice without limitations this week and gets back into the lineup, playing alongside DeShon Elliott, who also missed last week's game because he was in the NFL's concussion protocol program.

4. Find another pass rusher

Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel and Emmanuel Ogbah are all nursing minor injuries, as is just about everyone in the NFL at this point in the season. They should all be healthy enough to play, but might need to have their work load monitored, or scaled back in practice. That means Miami needs to find a pass rusher who can step up in a pinch, potentially filling in for a game or two. That player was supposed to be Jason Pierre-Paul, a 14-year veteran added a month ago, but he got waived from the 53-man roster Tuesday to make room for rookie tailback Chris Brooks to return to the roster. Cameron Goode played 20 snaps on defense against the Jets last Sunday, and it’s possible that he’s ready to step up, but only time will tell. The Dolphins also added Melvin Ingram to the practice squad last week, but it might take him a couple of weeks to get his body in football shape.

5. Diversify the passing game

Hard Knocks’ latest In-Season episode disclosed that Tyreek Hill wasn’t close to playing against the Jets because of his left ankle sprain, and it’s possible that he’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, if not more because Miami’s goal is to win the Super Bowl, and that likely doesn’t happen without a healthy Hill, who is the NFL’s top playmaker. With or without Hill on the field, the Dolphins need to spread the ball around and get more weapons involved in the passing game. Jaylen Waddle is at the doorstep of becoming the first Dolphins receiver to produce 1,000 yards for three straight seasons, so clearly he’s no slouch. But the Dolphins need Cedrick Wilson, Braxton Berrios, Chase Claypool, Robbie Chosen and tight ends Durham Smythe and Julian Hill to step up and do a little more and contribute more in the passing game. If McDaniel carves out two plays a game for each, it could help make up for the absence of Hill for a game or two.

Can Dolphins Defense Close Season Out in Style?