There was as soon as a time when the Miami Dolphins have been perceivably inside hanging distance of the Buffalo Payments within the AFC East.
Scratch that. They as soon as had the Payments on verge of falling in need of the division crown and booting them from the playoffs all collectively.
The 12 months was 2023, and Miami had a three-game lead within the AFC East with 5 weeks remaining within the season. The Dolphins got a 99 % probability of successful the division at that time.
However a nightmarish blown two-touchdown lead late on a December Monday night time sparked the downfall in 2023 that was capped by a house loss towards the Payments to give up the stronghold as soon as held on the division that 12 months.
The Payments have received 5 consecutive AFC East crowns. The Dolphins haven’t received the division since 2008.
And optimism isn’t excessive that the Dolphins can flip it round and take the AFC East in 2025.
Buffalo confirmed no indicators of letting up in 2024, successful the division by 5 video games. The Payments completed 13-4 and the Dolphins 8-9, lacking the playoffs total after back-to-back wild-card appearances in 2022 and 2023.
Buffalo saved most of its roster from final season intact, and what actually issues in western New York, anyway, is that Josh Allen, the reigning MVP who often torches Miami, continues to be behind heart there.
However the Payments made additions to their protection with defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, linebacker Michael Hoecht and introduced again veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White whereas drafting cornerback Maxwell Hairston. Offensively, they gave Allen a big-bodied huge receiver in Joshua Palmer, a St. Thomas Aquinas Excessive alum.
If Buffalo once more does because it has carried out, that leaves the Dolphins once more vying for a wild-card spot within the AFC. The final couple of seasons began with the New York Jets extra of the following division foe to look at over the New England Patriots. The Jets have been eyeing a resurgence beneath growing old however future Corridor of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In 2023, Rodgers tore his Achilles 4 performs into his season, and he wasn’t fairly again to his outdated kind final 12 months.
The Patriots have been massive spenders in free company and added former participant Mike Vrabel on the helm. Vrabel, by the best way, was teaching the Titans that began that Dolphins downfall in 2023.
New England signed huge receivers Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, defensive lineman Milton Williams, edge rusher Harold Landry, cornerback Carlton Davis, deal with Morgan Moses and tight finish Austin Hooper amongst offseason signings.
If Vrabel instills his tradition, the outdated Patriots Manner, this group may very well be a challenger for a wild-card spot and second within the division.
The Jets went from Rodgers to Justin Fields at quarterback, whereas now bringing in Aaron Glenn as their new coach. It seems like New York will attempt to full a smooth reset whereas holding on to key younger items like cornerback Sauce Gardner and huge receiver Garrett Wilson.
They may very well be choosing excessive in subsequent 12 months’s draft to search out their subsequent franchise quarterback, except Fields surprises people as he’s now on his third NFL group after by no means breaking out as a first-round decide of the Chicago Bears.
If the Dolphins are certainly vying for one of many AFC’s wild-card spots, past the Patriots, they’re most likely additionally competing towards whoever doesn’t win the North between the Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals; the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos within the West, assuming the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs win the division; and presumably the Indianapolis Colts, assuming the Houston Texans prime the South.