Dolphins Team Headlines: What Are The Dolphins' Odds Of Getting Into The Playoffs?
By Abraham Gutierrez
To say that the first half of the Miami Dolphins' 2016 NFL season has been a roller coaster ride would be an understatement. With a new coaching staff in place, the Fins got the Adam Gase era off to an awful start, but have somehow found a way to turn things around and are now making some noise in the division and in the AFC with a handful of games left.
Miami Dolphins Showing Resiliency
Riding the momentum of a four-game win streak heading into Week 11, Miami has improved to 5-4 on the year and sit alone in second place in the AFC East. Not only that, but trailing New England by just two games, the Dolphins have all of a sudden emerged to become the biggest threat to the Pats' hopes of capturing what would be an unprecedented seventh-straight divisional crown.
But just how much progress has Miami made—in the eyes of NFL oddsmakers—since that nightmarish 1-4 start? Do the Fins really have the fortitude to keep the Pats on their heels in the AFC East race? How much of a possibility are the NFL playoffs (yes, playoffs) for this ball club with seven weeks to play?
In an attempt to answer those -- and many other questions -- we will take a look at three different NFL categories and their respective betting odds: 2016 AFC East Division and AFC Conference Championship, and (why not?) odds to win the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston, Texas.
2016 AFC East Title Could Be Decided In Week 17
First up, the AFC East, which entering Week 11 has the (7-2) Patriots in first place, (5-4) Dolphins in second, (4-5) Bills in third, and the lowly (3-7) NY Jets in the basement. According to NFL odds, Miami isn't on New England's radar as a divisional threat despite being just 2 games behind as NFL oddsmakers have the Patriots at -7500 and the Dolphins valued at +2000. The Bills and Jets follow at +4000 and +5000, respectively.
The first factor that comes into play is the difficulty of these teams' remaining schedules. Heading into Week 11, the Dolphins have the following games left in their 2016 campaign:
@ (4-5) Rams
Vs. (1-8) 49ers
@ (5-4) Ravens
Vs. (4-4) Cardinals
@ (3-7) NY Jets
@ (4-5) Bills
Vs.(7-2) Patriots
One could make the case that Miami has a legitimate chance to go 4-3 during that stretch, which would put them at 9-7 on the season. The way one arrives at that number is in the following manner: Wins over the Rams and Niners, followed by back-to-back losses against the Ravens and Cardinals, followed by a pair of victories over the Jets and Bills, before losing to the Patriots in Week 17.
AFC East Crown Still A Long Shot
From the Pats' point of view, Belichick & Co. have the following seven games left on the 2016 NFL ledger:
@ (1-8) San Francisco
@ (3-7) NY Jets
Vs. (4-5) Rams
Vs. (5-4) Ravens
@ (7-3) Denver
Vs. (3-7) NY Jets
@ (5-4) Dolphins.
It's not completely out of the question to assume that the Patriots could go 6-1 from now until the end of the season in the following manner: Wins over Niners, Jets (twice), Rams, Ravens and Dolphins, and the lone loss could come against the Broncos and their tough defense.
In the case that those scenarios play themselves out in that exact manner, it would be very difficult for Gase and the Dolphins to sneak into the postseason. However, if Miami can find a way to not only win the games it's supposed to (i.e. Rams, Niners, Jets and Bills), but also come away with one or two upsets (i.e. Ravens, Cardinals and Pats), it could make things very interesting down the stretch.
As far as odds to win the 2016 AFC Conference Championship and 2017 Super Bowl betting odds go, this is how things stack up for the Miami Dolphins prior to Week 11:
2016 AFC Championship Odds
- Patriots: -110
- Broncos: +800
- Chiefs: +800
- Raiders: +800
- Steelers: +1100
- Ravens: +2000
- Colts: +2500
- Texans: +2500
- Bengals: +4000
- Dolphins: +4500
- Titans: +6000
- Bills: +7500
- Chargers: +8000
- Jets: +50000
- Jaguars: +75000
2017 Super Bowl Odds
- Patriots: +250
- Cowboys: +600
- Seahawks: +700
- Broncos: +1600
- Chiefs: +1600
- Raiders: +1700
- Falcons: +1800
- Steelers: +2000
- Packers: +2600
- Cardinals: +2700
- Giants: +2700
- Ravens: +3500
- Vikings: +3500
- Lions: +4500
- Colts: +5000
- Texans: +5000
- Redskins: +6500
- Panthers: +7500
- Bengals: +8000
- Eagles: +8000
- Dolphins: +10000
- Titans: +12000
- Bills: +12500
- Saints: +12500
- Chargers: +18500
- Buccaneers: +20000
- Rams: +20000
- Jets: +100000
- Jaguars: +150000
- Bears: +200000
