Now, that’s WHAT the Miami Dolphins were supposed to look like all season, right?
Right?
Be honest, isn’t that one of the first thought you had during and after the Dolphins’ dominant 17-point win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday? The Buffalo Bills. The mighty Buffalo Bills. The mighty Bills who have owned the AFC East ever since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay.
Why couldn’t the Dolphins have played like this all season?
If they had or come close to it, then they wouldn’t be on the outside looking in, practically already eliminated from playoff contention with seven games left in the regular season.
It’s too easy to say after the 30-13 win that these were the real Dolphins we saw Sunday.
The reality is they were the Dolphins at their best — or close to it.
If that’s who the Dolphins really were, that’s how they would look every week. But having this kind of game on an occasional basis, as impressive as the performance was, isn’t really that big a deal in the NFL because every team can rise on occasion.
What separates the good teams from the mediocre or bad ones is the ability to perform at a high level week in and week out, and this is where the Dolphins have fallen short.
It’s also not enough to have good stretches during individual games because, again, every team can do that, but it’s the ability to be as consistent as possible from start to finish that makes the difference or the ability to make plays down the stretch where so many games are decided.
This wasn’t the first time the Dolphins put together a dominant performance from start to finish because they did the same thing against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8. Problem was they followed that with a dud against the Baltimore Ravens four nights later.
Fact is, the Dolphins do not have a winning streak this season, something they’ll try to rectify when they face the Washington Commanders in Spain next Sunday.
Again, this is very easy to say, but if the Dolphins can continue to play the way they did against Buffalo on Sunday, we’re looking at the very distinct possibility they could go on a run with a very favorable upcoming schedule.
After Washington, the Dolphins will have their bye, followed by a home game against the New Orleans Saints and a road game against the New York Jets.
It’s really not a stretch to envision the Dolphins getting to 6-7 before their final four games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.
Let’s remember the Dolphins had a three-game winning streak last year after starting the season 5-6, so this isn’t exactly unchartered territory.
But we also should be aware the Dolphins easily could turn around and flop against Washington because, yes, until proven otherwise, that big win against Buffalo is still going to be viewed nationally as a fluke.
What is undeniable, though, is that the Dolphins will continue to play hard for embattled head coach Mike McDaniel, whose job security remains a talking point.
The Dolphins sure didn’t look like a team that had given up on its coach against Buffalo or a coach whose message had stopping reaching the players.
That should be the biggest takeaway from this game.
It also was a sign — and this may be good news or bad news depending on the vantage point — that the notion of McDaniel being dead coach walking might not exactly be on the mark just yet.
But his status is shaky nonetheless because the flip side of the Dolphins’ great performance against Buffalo is, why haven’t we seen this more often this season?
Is it because the roster is flawed and therefore most of the players can reach that level of performance more consistently? Is it because the coaching isn’t good enough to get it out of the players more often?
Maybe the final seven games will provide more answers.
In the meantime, the bashing of the Bills just showed us the Dolphins at their best (or close to it). And, again, if the Dolphins could do it every week, they would (it’s not like it’s part of their game plan to NOT play at their best).
How often down the stretch they can muster this kind of performance will go a long way toward shaping the major decisions that await at the end of the season.
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