Phins Talk: Bye Week and Quick Recap vs Washington

Washington Recap

I know I'm a week late, but I'm using the bye week to write this. Miami had a nice win over the Commanders in Madrid, Spain, where it seemed like both teams wanted to lose. Obviously, given how the season went for both teams, it has been a sure struggle. A lot of people were up in arms with Mike's play call at the end of the game, where they got stuffed on the 1-yard line instead of taking the field goal. I've been thinking about it, and I'm on the side that he should've taken the three points, cause you never want to leave points on the table. Still, I will say what would've happened if we kicked the ball off to Washington. They returned it for a Touchdown or gave themselves fantastic field position that could result in a Touchdown, so you go for it, and if you do score, it forces Washington to try to get the Touchdown they need. It will give you a whole way to play the rest of the game, or, like what happened in the game, they got stuffed. Still, it made Washington have to get down the field, which they basically did, and it backfired on Mike. Washington drove down the field and tried for a game-winning 56-yard field goal, which Matt Gay missed. It took the game into overtime, where Jack Jones picked off Marcus Mariota on the first play, helping the Dolphins win their second consecutive game of the year. With the win, it moved Miami into the playoff hunt, which to me they will not make it to the playoffs cause they dug themselves a hole earlier in the season, and there are too many teams in front of them, which means a lot of things need to happen for the Dolphins even to make the playoffs.

Thoughts for the upcoming games after the Bye Week

For the upcoming games in Miami, I can see them beating New Orleans and the Jets. The Steelers are gonna be a tough outing, cause Miami likes to play like garbage in primetime and in icy places. Cincinnati is gonna be a toss-up cause Joe Burrow is more than likely to be back for that game, but they have a putrid defense. That game can be high-scoring, and it is also in primetime (pending whether this game and the Steelers game get flexed to a better matchup, but we will see). Tampa is another toss-up because the Bucs don't have Baker after he injured his left shoulder against the Rams last night. New England is another toss-up cause we don't know if the Patriots are gonna rest their starters or play them with a better chance at clinching the division and the first seed in the playoffs. So I can see the Fins losing all those games (I know, sounds very contradictory after saying that I can see us beating the Saints and Jets) or winning all six games, but down the stretch, I can see Miami going 2-4 or 3-3, giving them a record of 6-11 or 7-10. It's so annoying how Miami played this year, and seeing some of the usual powers be on top now are fighting and scratching to get into the playoffs. You see, New England is back to being a juggernaut, after being bad over the past 4 seasons, while Miami was battling Buffalo for Division supremacy in 2022 and 2023, with 2023 being our closest chance of winning the division if Miami hadn't shot themselves in the foot down the stretch. I know a lot of people want the Fins fans to cheer for the team to win, and I'm fully behind that. Still, it's the same rinse-and-repeat for the last twenty years: be in the middle, don't fully try to rebuild the team, but win just enough games so you don't get that blue-chip caliber player. It would allow Stephan Ross to keep the same people in charge, and it's gonna be very demoralizing if Ross doesn't go all in for a fantastic GM, and keep Miami in basic purgatory. That's all I have for this week. Fins Up.