Being a fan of an NFL team can be such an emotional roller coaster. You go through the highs and lows—the joys of victory and success to the disappointment and heartbreak of the team’s losses and failures. The Miami Dolphins had all the emotions this year. As a fan, I was on cloud 9 in the month of December when the team was 9-3 and 3 games ahead of the hated Buffalo Bills and the number 1 seed in the AFC on their sites. In the final five games, the Dolphins had 4 of their final five games at home, where they played well under head coach Mike McDaniel.
However, just like that, the Dolphins went into a funk and finished 11-6, lost the division title to the Bills, and went down in the wild card in embarrassing fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs 26-7, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
This season is especially tough to take because it’s the most talented team this franchise has had in a long time, and yes, they won more regular season games in two decades and made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in two decades. The goal this season was to win the division, host a home playoff game, and win one. The Dolphins had that in their hands and choked it away. It’s harder to take because they let the Bills take the division from them, and they are still playing in the playoffs.
This isn’t their best team by any stretch. This was the year the Dolphins were going to overtake the Bills, but in the end, the Bills are still better than them and are the Dolphins’ bitch. Let’s call it like it is. The Bills fans up here were basically waving the waving white flag on the division at the beginning of December, and now they are as cocky as ever, and I can’t stand it.
Yes, the team had a lot of injuries in the last month of the season, but every team does. This is also the second year in a row that the Dolphins started off hot, only to fade down the stretch. The Dolphins had one of the best offenses in the league and were scoring points, but as the season wore on, teams defended them differently, and they didn’t adjust. The defense under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was making progress but lost their pass rushers and a lot more in the end. They played their butts off, but it wasn’t enough.
The Dolphins now have the longest drought in the NFL of not winning a postseason game. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 23 years since our last playoff game. I’ve seen a lot as a fan since 1986, but I haven’t seen this team get any further than the AFC Championship game. I’ve seen the Dolphins win some playoff games and division titles, but I’ve also seen this team have bad losses, fade down the stretch of seasons, and even finish a season with only one win.
This season, the way it ended, reminded me of the 1993 season, when the team started 9-2, lost their last five games of the season, and missed the playoffs. The difference is the Dolphins that year lost Dan Marino and were playing with their 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks down the stretch.
The Dolphins had Tua Tagovailoa for the whole 17-game season, something he has never been able to do. I remember the Dolphins losing to bad teams to end their seasons in 2002 and 2013 when they could have made the playoffs or won the division, but those teams weren’t as good or talented as this year’s team.
I can’t even watch the rest of the NFL playoffs because it hurts knowing that your team should still be in it and playing for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. I’m angry, frustrated, disappointed, and depressed as a fan knowing that. I’m also jealous of the other teams still playing because they have figured out how to get their teams in the playoffs, and the Dolphins are still searching for that first playoff win in 23 years. That’s hard to take.
The Detroit Lions have figured it out, and they haven’t won a playoff game in 32 years prior to their win last week. They went through a winless season during the time between playoff wins, so I’m happy for them. I would like to think the Dolphins can get this right one of these years, like the Lions.
Fans wear their emotions on their sleeves. Some are different than others. I wear my Dolphins gear every day here in Central New York. I don’t hear from anyone, really. Then the season ends, which is always tough and some years tougher, when nobody says anything to you, but the team loses, and they say, “Sorry About the Dolphins.” Or better yet, the other day, I was picking my daughter up from her afterschool program, and I signed her out with a staff I hadn’t seen in over a year, and he said, “WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DOLPHINS!!!”. I just wanted to punch him in the mouth because it adds salt to my wound as a fan, but I’ve learned to bite my tongue over the years. When those fans come out of the woodshed, it makes me feel worse, but it is what it is. I especially hear it from the Bills fans, and up here in Syracuse, the fans don’t wear their gear unless the team is winning. I wear it all the time, and I’m not ashamed of it.
This is going to be a long and painful offseason for me as a fan. I’ll get over it at some point, but I probably won’t until training camp and a new season starts. There’s no more next Sunday, and the season must come to an end at some point, but this year is much different and painful.
I too am a Die Hard Dolphins fan living in Central New York…I live in Auburn. How good is it that Tyler Bass sent the FG WIDE RIGHT …at least Buffalo won’t be playing in the Superbowl either
That helps my pain knowing the Bills aren’t going anywhere, but that should have been the Dolphins in the playoffs as the 2 seed. This wasn’t the Bills best team and the Dolphins let them off the hook. That’s what makes it tougher and makes me wonder if this team can find a way to get over the hump and beat them.