The 6-7 Miami Dolphins remain right in the thick of the playoff race thanks to a 32-26 overtime victory against the rival New York Jets on Sunday. Jonnu Smith was the hero, as he caught a 10-yard game-winning touchdown from Tua Tagovailoa in the extra period.
Miami trailed by eight points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Dolphins showed some resolve by gutting out a victory despite an impressive offensive output from the Jets. After the game, Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill said the team knew it had to win this game if it wanted to potentially play postseason football.
"We know if we lose, it's over. Our season is over," Hill said, via Pro Football Talk. "Unfortunately we've got a lot of great guys on this team who don't want to end our season in January and watch other teams play because we have the capability to play with a lot of teams in this league. We just played ball, man, when it mattered the most. We executed."
Miami has now won four of its past five games after starting the season 2-6. As it stands now, the Dolphins are the No. 9 seed in the AFC behind the Indianapolis Colts, who also have a 6-7 record. The three AFC wild-card teams -- the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos -- are all 8-5.
SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh's simulations say the Dolphins have just an 11% chance to make the playoffs, but Miami will control what it can control -- and that's winning games. Up next for the Dolphins is an important date with the Texans in Houston, which is coming off its bye week.