The Miami Dolphins are still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the AFC, but they certainly do not control their own destiny. At 5-7, Mike McDaniel's team enters Week 14 as the No. 9 seed in the conference and two games behind the Denver Broncos (8-5) in the loss column for the final wild-card spot.
Miami finding itself under .500 on the season to this point is "very surprising" to Tua Tagovailoa. Still, the quarterback also acknowledges that he is a key reason why the team is currently clawing to remain alive instead of being in a prime playoff position.
"I don't think that shows the character of who we are as a team, doesn't show the work that we've put in this offseason together," Tagovailoa said, via the Miami Herald. "But, you know, nobody else will say it but me. And I feel like this has a lot to do with myself, obviously, putting myself in harm's way in the second game going down, basically leaving my guys out to dry. That's what I would say. And anyone can have an opinion about like, it's football, it's this, it's that ... I don't want to do that to my guys again."
Tagovailoa missed four games earlier this season after suffering his latest concussion back in Week 2. The Dolphins went 1-3 in the games where he was sidelined, and those contests were arguably the softest part of Miami's schedule, adding even more salt to the wound. While acknowledging that no game is guaranteed, if that record were flipped to 3-1, they'd be in the thick of the playoff race.
When Tagovailoa has started this season, the Dolphins are 4-4, so even if the team kept that .500 pace with a healthy Tagovailoa over that stretch, they'd be just a game behind Denver.
Any sort of playoff scenario that finds Miami sneaking into the playoffs likely requires them to win out over the next five weeks, which isn't inconceivable. The Dolphins currently have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, with their opponents' combined win percentage sitting at just .361. So, they'll need to focus on taking care of their own business and then hope that a few things break their way down the stretch.