Dolphins have a major vested interest in Bengals vs. Jaguars

It was an outstanding Sunday for the Miami Dolphins. The team rolled the Washington Commanders 45-15, asserting its dominance from the first few minutes of the game. The Dolphins also got some great news on Sunday night when the Packers toppled the Chiefs 27-19 at Lambeau Field. The loss dropped the Chiefs – who own […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Dec 4, 2023 11:55 AM EST

It was an outstanding Sunday for the Miami Dolphins. The team rolled the Washington Commanders 45-15, asserting its dominance from the first few minutes of the game.

The Dolphins also got some great news on Sunday night when the Packers toppled the Chiefs 27-19 at Lambeau Field. The loss dropped the Chiefs – who own the tiebreaker over the Dolphins courtesy of a 21-14 win over Miami in Frankfurt on November 5 – to 8-4 in the AFC and one game behind Miami.

With the win and the Chiefs' loss, the Dolphins matched the Baltimore Ravens at 9-3 to top the AFC standings. The Dolphins hold the tiebreaker over the Ravens by virtue of a slightly better conference record. The Dolphins and Ravens will meet in a few weeks to determine superiority among the two.

However, there's still one team that the Dolphins don't have any control over that needs to lose: the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars have been tied with the Dolphins the last few weeks but have maintained a tiebreaker edge over the Dolphins based upon strength of victory.

Jacksonville's schedule down the stretch isn't all that daunting. After Cincinnati, the Jags travel to Cleveland to face a Browns team with Joe Flacco at QB and with a once-great defense that suddenly can't stop a nosebleed the last couple of weeks. A Sunday Night Football showdown with Baltimore follows, which will obviously be a big challenge. However, the Jags' final three games are at 5-7 Tampa Bay, vs. 1-10 Carolina, and at 4-8 Tennessee.

As such, the Jags have a very good chance of finishing strong, while the Dolphins' final three games are against Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo. Accordingly, the Bengals rising up and clipping the Jaguars on Monday Night Football certainly would help the Dolphins' efforts to end up at the top of the AFC when Week 18 has ended.