How the Miami Dolphins can win the AFC East in 2020
3. Build on last season’s solid second-half finish
Make no mistake, the first four games of the season for the Miami Dolphins in 2019 were pretty abysmal.
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The club opened the season with a 59-10 loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens and then seven days later in the same venue were smoked, 43-0, by the New England Patriots. They were followed by setbacks to the Cowboys (31-6) and Chargers (30-10). Those four defeats were by a combined 163-26 score.
Three more losses would ensue, but a 0-7 start would be followed by five victories in the team’s final nine games. Two of those wins were over the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles (37-31) as well as the aforementioned Patriots, the latter at Foxborough in Week 17 when the then-defending Super Bowl champions had a lot on the line.
Now Brian Flores’ team must show that the club’s 5-4 finish was a sign of things to come. The Dolphins had a very busy offseason securing some of the club’s weaknesses, which they were not able to overcome early in 2019 but learned how to adapt by season’s end.
It’s a franchise that has made just one playoff appearance since 2009 and but last year’s stretch run was promising indeed.