The Dolphins And Must-Win Games

The Miami Dolphins must defeat the New York Jets in Week 18 to have a chance to make the playoffs

The term "must-win" game is massively overused in the NFL, but for the fifth time this millennium it's appropriate for the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins must win against the New York Jets on Sunday to have a shot at making the playoffs, which also will require the New England Patriots losing against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

For anyone wondering, even if the NFL had decided to expand the playoff field to eight teams in each conference to make up for the cancellation of the Buffalo-Cincinnati game, the Dolphins still could not have made the playoffs without defeating the Jets.

The Dolphins were in a similar situation just two years ago when they went up to Buffalo in a must-win game and left with a humbling and disappointing 56-26 defeat.

Of course, the Dolphins have put themselves in this position with their five-game losing streak, which has left them with an 8-8 record after being 8-3 and in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs not so long ago.

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THE DOLPHINS HISTORY OF MUST-WIN GAMES

Looking back at the eight season finales since 1989 that we've identified as must-win games, we'll see that the Dolphins don't exactly have a great track record — with a 2-6 record in those games.

-- 2020 at Buffalo, lost 56-26: The Dolphins actually led 3-0 after the first quarter before Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and Isaiah McKenzie scored three times in the second quarter to put Miami way behind 28-6 at halftime.

-- 2013 vs. N.Y. Jets, lost 20-7: Following a riveting win against New England (the Michael Thomas game), the Dolphins needed a victory in either of their final two games to make the playoffs. After getting shut out 19-0 at Buffalo, the Dolphins returned home to face the 7-8 Jets. But they couldn't score after taking a 7-0 lead in the second quarter in a game where Ryan Tannehill threw three interceptions.

-- 2008 at N.Y. Jets, won 24-17: This was the game that capped the remarkable comeback from 1-15 and it was highlighted by defensive end Phillip Merling's pick-six. And, for good measure, QB Chad Pennington pretty much sealed the win with a scramble for a first down, putting the final touches on his revenge tour that began when the Jets released him in August to make room for Brett Favre.

-- 2002 at New England, lost 27-24 (OT): This was a bummer on so many levels, starting with the fact it ruined Ricky Williams' record-setting rushing season (team-record, NFL-leading 1,853 yards). Making this finale more painful was the fact the Dolphins led 24-13 with five minutes left before the Patriots got a touchdown with a two-point conversion and a field goal to send the game into overtime. New England won the toss, the kickoff went out of bounds, the Patriots started their drive at the 40 and quickly marched for a game-winning (and for the Dolphins, season-ending) field goal.

-- 1995 at St. Louis, won 41-22: In what became Don Shula's final regular season game as Dolphins head coach, his team took advantage of four takeaways, including a game-clinching fumble return for a touchdown by Pat Johnson to win comfortably at the TWA Dome.

-- 1993 at New England, lost 33-27 (OT): Like this year's team, the Dolphins were trying to avoid a complete collapse at the end of the season when they went to Foxboro Stadium after going from 9-2 to 9-6 to face the 4-11 Patriots. This was a back-and-forth game that became about missed opportunities for the Dolphins. They sent the game to overtime with a field goal in the final seconds, but not after they had a first-and-goal from the 6 and couldn't get into the end zone. And then in overtime, the Dolphins had the ball at midfield after an interception but gave the ball back after three incompletions before New England drove 68 yards for the game-winning touchdowns.

-- 1991 vs. N.Y. Jets, lost 23-20 (OT): This game basically was a winner-take-all showdown for the last wild-card spot in the AFC and things looked great for the Dolphins when they took a 20-17 lead with 44 seconds left. Completions of 23 and 14 yards by Ken O'Brien set up Raul Allegre's game-tying field goal, but the Dolphins won the overtime coin toss. That drive stalled at the Miami 49 before the Jets gained 41 yards on running plays and O'Brien then connected with Rob Moore for a 29-yard gain.

-- 1989 vs. Kansas City, lost 27-24: This was the coldest home game in Dolphins history and it ended bitterly when Dan Marino threw four consecutive incompletions in the final minute. In the end, the Dolphins would have been left out of the playoffs even with a victory when Pittsburgh defeated Tampa Bay at the same time.

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