In the world of football, both professional and college, there is a common fear among coaches and fans of a team playing down to the level of its competition. It happens all the time where a team loses to someone with a losing record or someone they shouldn't have had trouble with.
In the case of the Miami Dolphins during the 2022 season, the team has avoided any letdowns against inferior opponents like they had in previous seasons - and as a result, they enter their bye week in first place in the AFC East.
This season, the Dolphins have a record of 7-3 with all three losses coming to teams that have winning records after this weekend's games (Cincinnati, Minnesota and the New York Jets). Along the way, Miami managed to pull off a few upsets early in the season against teams with winning records (New England, Baltimore and Buffalo).
Where this team differs from previous years is in those games the Dolphins were supposed to win. Miami is on a four-game winning streak with victories over Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland - all teams with a losing record and a combined record among the group of 12-25.
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For those who think it's easy to do so, look at what took place in the 2021 season. Miami finished the year with a 9-8 record and just one game out of the AFC playoffs. Along the way, the Dolphins had losses to both Jacksonville and Atlanta - teams with a combined record of 10-24.
Why is it important for the Dolphins to stock pile wins while they can? Because of what's ahead.
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After the bye week, Miami hosts the Houston Texans - a team who is currently 1-7-1 this season, but who has won eight of the 10 all-time meetings with Miami - followed by a three game road trip against San Francisco, the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo.
If the playoffs started today, all three of those teams would be in the postseason. Thus, that stretch of games could be what makes the Dolphins a bona fide Super Bowl contender or a team fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season.
If there is any positive for the Fins, it's the fact that the last three seasons they are a combined 10-5 in games played during the months of December and January. With six games this season - including three against teams they have already faced - one has to think things are trending in the right direction.
For that trend to continue, Miami has to continue meeting expectations that come with inning the games they are supposed to.
