What Jaguars’ loss does to the Dolphins’ playoff scenarios. Here’s who Miami would play
The Dolphins now have a full understanding of their reward if they beat the visiting Buffalo Bills in their regular season finale on Sunday night:
They would get another game against the Bills, once again at Hard Rock Stadium.
Tennessee’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday eliminated the Jaguars from playoff contention and clinched playoff spots for Buffalo and Pittsburgh. It also gave the Houston Texans the AFC South title and the AFC’s fourth seed.
If the Dolphins beat the Bills on Sunday night, Miami would be AFC East champions and the second seed, and the Bills and Steelers would both be 10-7.
But Pittsburgh would be the sixth seed in that scenario because the Steelers would have a better conference record than Buffalo. And that means Buffalo would be the seventh seed and play at the second-seeded Dolphins if Miami beats the Bills on Sunday night.
If the Dolphins and Bills tie on Sunday night, Miami would win the AFC East but Pittsburgh would be the seventh seed. In that scenario, the Steelers would open the playoffs at Miami next weekend.
If the Dolphins lose on Sunday, they would be the sixth seed and open the playoffs at No. 3 seeded Kansas City.
The Bills and Dolphins would finish the season with the same record if Buffalo beats Miami, but the Bills would win the tiebreaker and win the AFC East by virtue of having swept the season series, in this scenario.
If this is Miami’s fate, the Dolphins - barring upsets - would need to win in Kansas City, then win in Baltimore and then win in Buffalo to advance to the Super Bowl.
This story was originally published January 7, 2024 at 3:56 PM.
