Dolphins' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Bracket Implications of Week 18

The Miami Dolphins have flirted with elimination over the last few weeks, but a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 has opened a legitimate path to the postseason.

The Dolphins have rallied to go 6-2 over their final eight games. It's not always been pretty, but that kind of momentum could make them a plucky underdog to watch. It could also help confirm that they are on the right track under Mike McDaniel.

Despite a 2-6 start to the season the Dolphins have an 11 percent chance of sneaking into the playoffs, per NFL.com's playoff picture. Despite those slim odds, it's not a completely ridiculous path.

Here's what they need to have happen to seal an improbable bid.

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1; clinched AFC West and home-field advantage)

2. Buffalo Bills (13-3; clinched AFC East)

3. Baltimore Ravens (11-5; clinched playoff berth)

4. Houston Texans (9-7; clinched AFC South)

Wild-Card Race

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6; clinched playoff berth)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6; clinched playoff berth)

7. Denver Broncos (9-7)

On the Bubble

8. Miami Dolphins (8-8)

9. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)

The most obvious step is that the Dolphins have to take care of business against the Jets. A loss against New York would sink their playoff hopes before they really get started.

Their game against the Jets will kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday with the other games kicking off at the same time.

Miami beat the Jets the first time around, but it wasn't comfortable. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 331 yards in a 32-26 overtime victory over their AFC East counterpart. Now, they might have to beat the Jets with a playoff berth on the line without their quarterback.

Tagovailoa missed last week's win over the Cleveland Browns with a hip injury. Head coach Mike McDaniel told media that the Fins are preparing for this game as though Huntley will be making the start again.

The good news is that Huntley seemed to have a solid handle on the offense last week. He went 22-of-26 for 225 yards passing with another 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Granted, the Browns don't have much to play for these days, but neither do the Jets.

Gang Green is one of five teams who are gridlocked with four wins in the draft order. A loss would ensure they wind up with at least a top nine pick while a win could send them out of the top 10.

In most cases, hoping that the Chiefs will win has been an easy proposition. They've made their fans sweat out plenty of wins, but they've come out on top more often than not with a league-leading 15-1 record.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, that means they might be less likely to help them out on Sunday.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid already confirmed that the Chiefs will sit Patrick Mahomes, along with several other starters, for the season finale.

"It wasn't a hard decision. I've been through it before," the coach said, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. "It gives the other guys an opportunity to grow."

Carson Wentz will get the start for the Chiefs. Wentz is obviously an experienced starter with a 47-45-1 career record, but he hasn't been active lately. He has only thrown two passes this season and made just one start last season.

The Broncos lost to a Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs team 16-14 at Arrowhead in their first matchup of the season. The loss sparked a four-game win streak that put the Broncos in good position to seal a playoff bid.

Sean Payton's squad hasn't been able to close the deal thogh. Back-to-back losses to the Chargers and Bengals have put their backs against the wall in Week 18.

The Dolphins are going to have to hope that's too much pressure on Bo Nix and Co. on Sunday.