Miami Dolphins fan rooting guide Week 9 2023
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By: Kevin Nogle
The Miami Dolphins played in the morning game on Sunday, leaving us a full day of football to watch. How do the rest of the week’s game impact the Dolphins? We take a look in the Week 9 rooting guide.
The Miami Dolphins lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in a Sunday morning game from Germany as the NFL schedule moved to Week 9. The loss drops Miami to 6-3 on the season and into the fourth-seeded position in the AFC playoff picture. They had a chance to move to the top of the AFC within a win, but now the Dolphins are clinging to the AFC East lead with the Buffalo Bills still to play this week.
The Chiefs (7-3) are in the top position after their victory. With the rest of the Sunday and Monday games to play, the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) are now in the second position and the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) are in the third spot. Behind the Dolphins, the AFC playoff picture has the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3), Buffalo Bills (5-3), and Cleveland Browns (4-3) holding the three wild card spots.
Over in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles are in the top spot at 7-1, followed by the Detroit Lions (6-2), Seattle Seahawks (5-2), and Atlanta Falcons (4-4). The wild card teams are the Dallas Cowboys (5-2), San Francisco 49ers (5-3), and Minnesota Vikings (4-4).
As we now settle in for a full day of football following Miami’s loss, we bring back our Dolphins fan rooting guide. The full AFC playoff picture after the Sunday morning game for the AFC:
AFC playoff picture (through Week 9 Sunday morning game):
1 – Kansas City Chiefs (7-2, AFC West leader)
2 – Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2, AFC South leader)
3 – Baltimore Ravens (6-2, AFC North leader)
4 – Miami Dolphins (6-3, AFC East leader)
5 – Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, Wild Card 1 position)
6 – Buffalo Bills (5-3, Wild Card 2 position)
7- Cleveland Browns (4-2, Wild Card 3 position)
New York Jets (4-3)
Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)
Houston Texans (3-4)
Los Angeles Chargers (3-4)
Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
Las Vegas Raiders (3-5)
Tennessee Titans (3-5)
Denver Broncos (3-5)
New England Patriots (2-6)
NFC playoff picture (through Week 9 Sunday morning game):
1 – Philadelphia Eagles (7-1, NFC East leader)
2 – Detroit Lions (6-2, NFC North leader)
3 – Seattle Seahawks (5-2, NFC West leader)
4 – Atlanta Falcons (4-4, NFC South leader)
5 – Dallas Cowboys (5-2, Wild Card 1 position)
6 – San Francisco 49ers (5-2 Wild Card 2 position)
7 – Minnesota Vikings (4-4, Wild Card 3 position)
New Orleans Saints (4-4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)
Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
Washington Commanders (3-5)
Green Bay Packers (2-5)
New York Giants (2-6)
Chicago Bears (2-6)
Carolina Panthers (1-6)
Arizona Cardinals (1-7)
Miami Dolphins Week 9 rooting guide:
This week’s rooting guide is pretty simple, with many of the games featuring an NFC team up against the AFC team. Using the basis that AFC teams losing is helpful for Miami, the guide almost completely falls into place this week.
Seahawks at Ravens, 1 p.m. ET
NFC at AFC. Unfortunately, the Seahawks are making the West Coast to East Coast trip for a 1 p.m. kickoff, which typically causes jet lag issues. Root for: Seattle.
Cardinals at Browns, 1 p.m. ET
NFC at AFC. Root for: Arizona.
Buccaneers at Texans, 1 p.m. ET
NFC at AFC. Root for: Tampa Bay.
Commanders at Patriots, 1 p.m. ET
NFC at AFC. Root for: Washington. (Note: At some point, do we need to root for the Patriots to get some wins so they do not end up with the first overall draft pick next year?)
Colts at Panthers, 4:05 p.m. ET
AFC at NFC. Root for: Carolina.
Giants at Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET
NFC at AFC. Root for: New York
Cowboys at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET
This one would appear to have little impact on the Dolphins’ playoff chances as it features two NFC East teams facing off. It gets included because, while the Dolphins lost to the Eagles already this year, they still have to face the Cowboys. The strength of victory tiebreak could be assisted with the Cowboys picking up wins, then Miami beating them on Christmas Eve. Root for: Dallas.
Bills at Bengals, 8:20 p.m. ET
The Bills are in second place in the AFC East, but they hold the head-to-head tiebreak over the Dolphins, at least until the teams meet again in Week 18. The Bengals are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture right now. They could find their way into the Wild Card picture by the end of the season, but for now, a win from Cincinnati is not overly impactful on Miami’s playoff chances. Losses by the Bills are good for the Dolphins, however. Root for: Cincinnati.
Chargers at Jets, 8:15 p.m. ET Monday
This is similar to the Bill and Bengals game. The Jets are third in the AFC East and are the first team outside the Wild Card bubble. The Chargers are 11th in the AFC right now, and Miami already beat them this year. The Dolphins have two games remaining to be played against the Jets, but just seeing New York lose is always a good thing. Root for: Los Angeles.
Games with no impact on Dolphins:
Vikings at Falcons, 1 p.m. ET
Rams at Packers, 1 p.m. ET
Bears at Saints, 1 p.m. ET
Originally posted on The Phinsider
