Dolphins playoff scenarios: What Miami needs in Week 18 to clinch Wild Card spot

To say that this season hasn't gone the way the Miami Dolphins had hoped would be an understatement. Another Tua Tagovailoa concussion resulted in arguably the league's ugliest quarterback carousel, leading to a 2-6 start that appeared to leave Miami dead in the water — and facing some very tough questions about the future of this current core and Mike McDaniel as head coach.

Just when things seemed to be at their darkest, though, the Dolphins rallied. McDaniel's team has won six of its last eight, getting back to .500 and, against all odds, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. But Miami's early-season hole was so deep that, even with their recent strong run of play, it still needs a bit of help in Week 18 to punch its ticket to Wild Card weekend. Here's what Dolphins fans will need to be rooting for on Sunday.

Dolphins playoff scenarios: How Miami can clinch Wild Card spot in Week 18

The Dolphins enter play on Sunday at 8-8, currently ninth in the AFC playoff standings. The third and final Wild Card spot is still in play, but there are two teams in front of Miami in the pecking order: The Denver Broncos, currently holding down the No. 7 seed at 9-7, and the Cincinnati Bengals, who got to 9-8 with a big road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to close their season on Saturday night.

The good news is that the Dolphins hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals by virtue of a superior conference record. If Miami beats the New York Jets on Sunday, they'll move to 9-8 and automatically leapfrog Cincy, eliminating the Bengals from playoff contention. From there, though, they'll need a little help: Specifically, a Broncos loss against a Kansas City Chiefs team that will be sitting all of its biggest stars.

If Denver falls to Carson Wentz and Co., the Dolphins are in business: If Miami and the Broncos both finish at 9-8, the Dolphins will have the tiebreaker edge due again to conference record. (Miami's currently sits at 6-5, while Denver is at 5-6.) Taking care of a Jets team that has all but packed it in for the season should be easy enough, but relying on Carson Wentz in 2024 isn't a position that any team wants to be in.