The Miami Dolphins had a chance to close out the AFC East on Sunday and further solidify their playoff position, giving themselves a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference. All they had to do was defeat the Baltimore Ravens.
Unfortunately that didn't happen. Miami was defeated by Baltimore 56-19, with Lamar Jackson leading the Dolphins on 18 of 21 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns, while backup Tyler Huntley also threw a touchdown pass and Gus Edwards and Melvin Gordon each ran for a score.
Since the Dolphins lost and the Buffalo Bills defeated the New England Patriots at the same time, next week's division game will decide which of Miami and Buffalo wins the AFC East. The Dolphins have a one-game lead right now, but a Bills win next week would mean the teams are tied in the standings and the Bills have the direct tiebreaker. The winner secures second place in the conference.
Worse still, the Dolphins suffered a spate of injuries on Sunday that could leave them severely undermanned for their showdown with Buffalo.
Cornerback Xavien Howard suffered a foot injury during the Ravens' first offensive drive of the game. He was taken to the locker room on a cart and initially accepted It is doubtful whether I will be able to return later downgraded to out. On Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that he doesn't expect to have Howard available for Week 18 and that it will be a “week-to-week” situation.
Later in the game, Tua Tagovailoa suffered a shoulder injury and was also injured a return is considered questionable. He was replaced in the lineup by backup Mike White and did not return, presumably due to the lopsided score. Tagovailoa said after the game that he was “just sore,” so it doesn't seem likely that will keep him out of next week's game, although any injury to a quarterback's shoulder is definitely a concern.
However, the Dolphins suffered a devastating injury late in the game as edge rusher Bradley Chubb suffered a non-contact knee injury quickly ruled out. According to Ian Rapoport, after an MRI to determine the extent of the injury, it was determined Monday that Chubb suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the season.
McDaniel said in hindsight he obviously shouldn't have had Chubb in the game since the team was so many points behind. “It doesn’t look very fancy at all,” he said.
The Dolphins were already without running back Raheem Mostert and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on Sunday, and at least Waddle seems unlikely to play next week either. And Miami previously lost star edge rusher Jaelan Phillips for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon. They are also dealing with numerous injuries along the offensive line.
With Chubb perhaps joining him on the sidelines, the team could lose its top two pass rushers both next week and during the playoffs.
All of this is less than ideal for a team that appeared to be in very good shape before the postseason, but is now on the verge of having to play multiple road games to get through the AFC battle, all while missing one of them The most important positions in football are understaffed.