The Miami Dolphins have been on the outside looking in at the NFL playoff picture, and after Week 15 they might be permanently outside. The Dolphins entered Sunday with a 6-7 record and needed a win to keep moving in the right direction. Instead, they lost 20-12 to the Houston Texans and dropped to 6-8 on the season.
Miami Dolphins odds to make the playoffs: Yes +920, No -2000
The Dolphins entered the game tied with the Colts for eighth place in the overall AFC standings. The Colts had the tiebreaker edge sitting in ninth place, tied with the Colts. Indianapolis had the tiebreaker edge due to their head-to-head win over Denver earlier this season. Both teams sat two game back of the wild card teams, with the Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos all sitting at 8-5 entering Sunday.
The weekend saw the Broncos beat the Colts and the Bucs beat the Chargers on Sunday afternoon. The latter result leaves the Dolphins with some life. Miami sits in ninth place, tied with Indianapolis and Cincinnati on the outside looking in. The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins, while the Dolphins have the conference record tiebreaker over the Bengals. All three teams are two back of the Chargers for the final playoff berth.
The Dolphins hosts a scuffling 49ers squad in Week 16, and travels to face the Browns and Jets the final two weeks of the season. They can be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose in Week 16.
