18. Miami Dolphins
We were all forced to sit through most of the Miami Dolphins’ ugly win on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns because, by some miraculous stroke of fate, this team is still playoff relevant despite all of their injuries, ups, and downs this season.
I guess that’s why they pay Mike McDaniel the big bucks to coach the team.
McDaniel, to his credit, had Snoop Huntley and some guy whose last name is “Washington” ready to play big roles in a “win or you’re out” game against Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Cleveland Browns.
You’re not going to get any style points for the win, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to the playoff equation. If the Dolphins win this coming weekend against the New York Jets, a laughable franchise right now, they just need the Broncos and Bengals to both lose in order to get into the playoffs.
But the Broncos and/or Bengals need to spare us of what would only be fodder for those with an appetite for the macabre. The Dolphins are not a team right now that belongs in the NFL postseason. They would get dog-walked by the Buffalo Bills in round one.
To be fair, that may be the case for whoever goes to Buffalo in the Wild Card round.
17. Seattle Seahawks
Well, it wasn’t pretty, but it honestly doesn’t have to be at this time of year, does it? You just have to get the job done and stay alive. The Seattle Seahawks did just that with their win against the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, arguably the most unwatchable game of the entire season so far.
The Seahawks definitely have weapons. They definitely offer some intrigue. But when it comes to this loaded NFC, who do we see them truly competing with in the postseason? Maybe against the Rams because they are a familiar opponent, but Seattle somehow sneaking into the playoffs would probably just give whoever they would play against a gimme in round one.
But again, this is the NFL, and you never really know.
They are going to get the chance to prove themselve as the Seattle playoffs begin in Week 18 with a road game against the Los Angeles Rams. That game will give us our best indicator yet of what this team is made of.