It’s been nearly a year since the Dolphins and Bengals played in Week 16 of the 2019 season. Miami won what turned out to be a wild game, 38-35 in overtime. That game locked Miami into the fifth overall selection in the 2020 Draft. The Bengals had locked up the first overall selection. Despite both teams locking up early picks, both franchises have gone in different directions since they last played.

Since that December matchup, Miami’s record is 9-4 while Cincinnati’s is 3-9-1, counting Miami’s 19-7 win this past Sunday. The Dolphins would currently be in the playoffs if they started this weekend. Cincinnati would have picked third overall in the Draft if it started Thursday night. Two very different trajectories.

During my visit to Miami last year, it was pretty apparent that everyone respects Coach Flo. Beat writers, team employees, stadium workers, media from national outlets – everyone. His presence was palpable during his post-game media availability. All business. All about winning. And in this piece, I wanted to take time to acknowledge that, as well as the efforts of Chris Grier and the front office staff, and that says that we as Dolfans should be grateful that Miami’s course of action since that game has been led by Chris Grier and Brian Flores.

As you can see from the table, Miami’s improved in multiple categories on both sides of the ball. They’re averaging a touchdown more per game on offense and allowing nearly two less per game on defense. At this point, they’ve essentially cut their sacks allowed and turnovers in half. They’ve already surpassed their sacks and takeaway numbers from last season with four games left!

During the truncated training camp period, I went onto several podcasts to talk about the Dolphins. Inevitably, when you go on as a guest, the hosts will ask you what you think the Dolphins record is going to be. At the time, I felt like Miami’s landing spot was somewhere between 7-10 wins, so my default answer was that I felt like Miami would go 8-8, and despite that record, they’d be miles better than they were in 2019. Well, bully for me, they’re going to be at least 8-8. But that would mean a catastrophic collapse this final quarter of the season.

And that’s why I wanted to stream my thoughts here. In my eyes, Miami’s playing with house money these final four games. We all know that Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since beating the Colts in 2000 – the Lamar Smith Game. After the roster assembled by Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt dwindled after Ricky Williams’s retirement in 2004, Miami’s playoff appearances have nearly dried up entirely. 2008 and 2016. That’s been it since that win over the Colts. Every so often, Miami’s gotten themselves in the mix on occasion, only to falter down the stretch. It was faltering down the stretch that ultimately led to Adam Gase being shown the door after the 2018 season. The “Miami Miracle” had just happened to put Miami at 7-6 and in the Wild Card chase. They got blasted by Minnesota a week later, 41-17, and lost to Jacksonville and Buffalo after that. Those final three losses saw Miami outscored by a tally of 100-41. Miami went 1-3 in the final quarter of 2018.

Two years later, and here we are. The Dolphins are 8-4. I remember going onto the Jets Brawl Podcast to preview Miami’s home game against Gang Green. Coming off the blowout win in San Francisco, I thought the next seven games were all winnable for Miami, which seemed a semi-bold claim at the time. Miami won six of those seven. They integrated Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback. They’re currently starting three rookies on the offensive line, and at times have started rookies at running back and receiver – 6 rookies starting on the offense. And still, it’s improved, albeit incrementally, from 2019. The defense has risen from 32nd to 2nd in the league in points allowed in a year. The improvement has been astounding there!

To say that either side of the ball is a completed unit, though, is folly. Chris Grier, Brandon Shore, and the front office staff have Miami well-positioned again this year in terms of salary cap space and draft picks. You look back a year and appreciate the growth. You look ahead to the new league year in March ’21, and you appreciate the future. It’s going to be a fun ride. It’s been a fun ride for me personally, seeing how far the Dolphins have come since going to that Bengals game in 2019. I got to peel back the curtain for a bit and see some of the inner-workings. I know the Dolphins are in competent hands with Coach Flores and Chris Grier. I’m confident that they’ll identify players to add that fit their needs.

On Sunday, the defending Super Bowl Champions come to town. A once-in-a-lifetime quarterback leads them (we should know something about that as Dolfans). They have one of the most creative offenses we’ve ever seen. In every way, this game is a measuring stick. How do the Dolphins measure up? The season certainly won’t be over if Miami loses Sunday. And I’m not saying they will. To me, this is a truly fascinating matchup. Patrick Mahomes is great in every circumstance the Dolphins defense is great at creating. I don’t have a prediction for this game, nor do I have one for the rest of the season.

I want to see the mettle of this team. How far can they go? I can’t seem to put an endpoint in my mind for the 2020 Miami Dolphins – the picture’s fuzzy. So, I’m going to try and do what I haven’t done for several years. I’m going to try and enjoy these final four or more games as a fan. The notebook goes away. I’m not going back between plays to re-watch who missed a run-fit or see if Tua made the best read. I’m simply going to cheer on the Dolphins. As far back as I can remember, this feels like the best position they’ve been in this late in the season since I was in junior high school.

The truth is, I started writing this piece three different times, hoping to angle it a different way each time.  First was a comparison between Miami and Cincinnati since that game in 2019. That didn’t seem fair. Miami’s climbing and Cincinnati is a mess. I didn’t want to list out the accomplishments of all the free agents and draft picks – there’s plenty to be sure. But I couldn’t get it out of my head that this Miami Dolphins team is 8-4 going into the final quarter. It feels like they’re on the precipice of becoming one of the better teams in the league – the rebuild is certainly on the right path.

If Miami does beat Kansas City on Sunday, I believe the rest of the league will take full notice. And I believe it should put Brian Flores’s name front and center for Coach of the Year. It ought to put Chris Grier’s name up for Executive of the Year too. But even if not, we’ll know that the Miami Dolphins mean business well into the future.

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