3 bold predictions for Dolphins 2022 season

1. Dolphins halt their five-year playoff drought

In 2020, the National Football League expanded its playoff field from 12 to 14 teams – seven clubs per conference. Hence, it’s been a little easier for a team to qualify for the opportunity to get to a Super Bowl.

But don’t tell that to the Miami Dolphins. Their last postseason appearance came in 2016 under head coach Adam Gase. That was followed by three straight losing campaigns. In 2020, Brian Flores’ club finished 10-6 and followed that up with a 9-8 mark a year ago. But neither of those showings materialized into a postseason invitation.

Of course, getting to the playoffs is a tall order in the highly-competitive NFL. And the Dolphins are certainly overdue when it comes to returning to the postseason. The team must be more successful when it comes to matching up with the other teams within the conference. In 2021, Miami was .500 vs. teams in the AFC – just 2-4 outside of the AFC East.

But there’s also the matter of actually winning a playoff game. And that hasn’t happened for this franchise since 2000 when they beat the Indianapolis Colts in overtime in the wild card round. Of course, you have to crawl before you can walk.