The NFL playoff picture is getting a bit more clear, but there’s still a lot to decide. Teams like the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders and New York Jets have just three wins on the year, yet they’re still technically in the playoff race. The Browns have the clearest path to the playoffs where they simply have to win out and they’re division champs and locked into the postseason.
That said, just because they can get to the playoffs, should they? The Browns have two first round picks, so it’s not irrational to think making a playoff push is worth it, but realistically this team needs way too much help to surrender a good draft pick. Same for the Jets, getting into the postseason just doesn’t make sense considering the state of that team. Bubble teams might be better off punting the ball down the road.
Miami Dolphins
Miami shouldn’t really be playing themselves out of a good draft position. While it’s nice to have something to play for and that they found some dignity, all this is doing is setting them up to keep Tua Tagovailoa around as well as Mike McDaniel, and I’m not so confident they’ve truly fixed their problem. Don’t let Miami’s hot streak distract you from how bad things got this season.
The Dolphins fired their longtime general manager, triggering what should be the start of a new regime. McDaniel survived the midseason firing and a turnaround could keep him at the helm for another year, but is it worth it? This season felt like the perfect excuse to clean house and a playoff push could distract the Dolphins from hitting the reset button.
Whether Miami makes the playoffs or not this year shouldn’t change the fact that they need some changes. Does that mean getting rid of Tagovailoa and McDaniel or just one? Well, that’s up to the new GM. One thing’s for certain, though, a playoff push isn’t going to fix this team’s problems.
Washington Commanders
They’re on this list, despite being a 3-9 team, because they could still land in the playoffs. They have no reason to play for the playoffs and rushing Jayden Daniels back for a playoff push is irresponsible. The Commanders didn’t have the season they expected a year removed from reaching the NFC title game.
The Commanders don’t need to hit the full reset by any means, but they certainly don’t need to be trying to make the playoffs. The most important thing for them right now is getting healthy. They need Daniels to get back to full strength and Terry McLaurin as well, who’s played just five games this year.
Washington’s game against Minnesota is a playoff elimination game and the Commanders shouldn’t be mad if they’re booted out of the playoff race. They should be focused on trying to improve this roster over the offseason and getting healthy.
Cincinnati Bengals
I guess since they brought Joe Burrow back it might be worth just seeing what can happen this season, but at 4-8, they’re setting themselves up for yet another season like last year: A strong finish just to come up short. Burrow rushed his recovery by nearly a month and that could be a long term problem if he gets hurt again this year.
Whether he stays healthy to finish the year or not, the Bengals have a lot of work to do to improve this roster. Their offensive line is still miserable, their defense is somehow worse than their offensive line and they just aren’t the contender they need to be right now.
Draft position is more important than a meaningless playoff push by Cincinnati right now. They had a terrible draft last year and can’t afford to whiff again. They need to figure out who the most important players on this team are, do away with the rest and actually put together a contending roster and now just an expensive one.
Dallas Cowboys
I hate to say it, but Dallas should simply punt on this season and turn the focus to putting the final touches on this roster to actually make it competitive next season. The biggest offseason move this winter will be deciding what to do with George Pickens. After that, they need to fill out the rest of the defense. Dallas is right there to be a dangerous team and they just don’t have it this year.
If the NFC wasn’t as competitive as it is this year, I’d say go for it. But right now, the bottom seed in the NFC has nine wins and the Detroit Lions have the head-to-head win over them as do the Carolina Panthers and both currently have more wins than Dallas’ six. At this point, it’s just pointless wins piling up that could keep them from drastically improving their defense.