The Miami Dolphins have won four of their past five games, but they remain a long shot to qualify for the AFC playoffs.
The Dolphins badly need a victory on Sunday when they visit the Houston Texans, who could clinch the AFC South with a win and some help.
Miami (6-7) fell into a deep hole earlier this season by going 1-3 while standout quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined due to a concussion.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is only concerned with getting back to .500 this week and isn’t fixated on being two games down in the wild-card race.
“I know we got a game against the Houston Texans and I absolutely, positively will not have anyone on this team think about anything else,” McDaniel said.
The Dolphins dropped their first two games after Tagovailoa returned to fall to 2-6. However, they have topped 30 points in three of their past four games after enduring an earlier stretch in which they averaged 10 points over five games.
Miami was close to being dealt a devastating setback last weekend before rallying for a 32-26 overtime victory against the visiting New York Jets.
The Dolphins, who trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter, received a tying 52-yard field goal from Jason Sanders with seven seconds left to force overtime.
Tagovailoa threw the winning 10-yard scoring pass to Jonnu Smith in the extra session to cap a contest in which he became the fourth Miami quarterback to exceed 15,000 career passing yards. He has 15,095, trailing only Ryan Tannehill (20,434), Bob Griese (25,092) and leader Dan Marino (61,361).
Many of the Dolphins felt the tension late in the New York game, as a defeat would have put their playoff hopes on life support.
“When it’s on the line, give us your best stuff,” Miami receiver Tyreek Hill said. “That’s what everybody did. No questions were asked, no fingers were pointed. That’s the beautiful thing about it.”
Houston (8-5) can wrap up the division title on Sunday with a victory over the Dolphins and a loss by the Indianapolis Colts against the Denver Broncos. The Texans lead the Colts by two games and swept the two-game season series.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans insists he doesn’t keep up with his team’s playoff status.
“Honestly, I don’t even know the clinching scenario,” Ryans said. “… The only way we can change what’s happening with the playoff scenario is by us controlling what we can control, and that’s us playing our best versus the Dolphins.”
Houston is coming off a bye, but the game against Miami will be one of three it plays in a span of 11 days. The Texans visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 21 and then host the Baltimore Ravens four days later on Christmas Day, which falls on a Wednesday.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said that the focus has to remain on one opponent at a time.
“It is hard to jump ahead, especially when you have three good teams to play,” Ryans said. “You have to take care of one at a time. Now we are just focused on Miami. Trying to ace that and look past that right when the game is over.”
Houston started the season with five wins in six games before losing four of its next six. The Texans then defeated the host Jacksonville Jaguars 23-20 prior to the bye.
The Texans will be without standout safety Jalen Pitre for the rest of the season. He is slated to undergo season-ending pectoral surgery after being hurt in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans.
Houston guard Juice Scruggs (foot) will also miss the Miami game.
For Miami, offensive tackles Terron Armstead (knee) and Kendall Lamm (back) both sat out practice on Wednesday. Also missing the practice were receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (personal) and Dee Eskridge (knee).
