The Miami Dolphins’ unlikely path to the playoffs saw a potential path disappear on Saturday when the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch a playoff spot.
Baltimore became the fifth AFC team to secure its playoff spot after the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills, and the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills. South, the Houston Texans and the Steelers.
Five teams remain in contention for the final two AFC playoff spots, with the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos each in the door and the Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Bengals in Cincinnati all needing a miracle to some extent for that to happen.
The Dolphins needed three storylines to play out before Week 16 out of five (unlikely) options, but Baltimore’s win eliminated one.
The inevitable scenario is that the Dolphins win their last three games – Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, against the Cleveland Browns, against the New York Jets.
Then two of these scenarios should also play out:
— The Colts must lose at least one game in a soft-ending schedule featuring the Titans, Giants and Jaguars.
– The Chargers are scheduled to lose their final two games to the three-win New England Patriots and the two-win Las Vegas Raiders (although both games are on the road).
— The Denver Broncos must lose their last two games on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals and at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs will rest most of their frontcourt players if they clinch the AFC’s top playoff spot before Week 18, but for that to happen they’ll need to win at Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, otherwise the Bills will have to lose. against the Patriots on Sunday or the New York Jets next weekend.
The AFC playoff field could actually be completely settled on Sunday if the Dolphins lose to the 49ers and the Colts lose to Tennessee, which would clinch spots for the Chargers and Broncos.
