Dolphins’ seven-game win streak carries plenty of mystery

Dolphins’ seven-game win streak carries plenty of mystery
Mark Cannizzaro

Who are the Miami Dolphins? 

The team that was 1-7 on Halloween? 

Or the team that takes a seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s must-win game against the Titans in Nashville? 

The Dolphins (8-7) are the first team in NFL history to win seven consecutive games and lose seven consecutive games in the same season. 

“I think it revealed a lot,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said of how his team responded to the losing streak. “It revealed the character of the guys in this locker room.’’ 

That it did. 

But did it reveal how good his team really is? 

Consider the Dolphins’ path to that seven-game winning streak that has allowed them to control their own playoff destiny — a win over Tennessee Sunday and a win over New England next week and they’re in the dance for the first time since 2016. 

The combined record of their opponents in the winning streak is 36-69. The Dolphins played the Jets (4-11) twice, the Giants (4-11), Texans (4-11) and Panthers (5-10). Their latest win, last Monday, came against a Saints (7-8) team that was so ravaged by COVID-19 (21 players were out) that a fourth-string quarterback, rookie Ian Book, was forced to make his first NFL start. 

The Dolphins are the first team in NFL history to have both seven-game losing and winning streaks.The Dolphins are the first team in NFL history to have both seven-game losing and winning streaks. Getty Images

Predictably, it didn’t go well for the Saints, a 20-3 loss to Miami. 

Miami’s one quality win in the streak was the second of the seven, against the Ravens (8-7), whose quarterback, Lamar Jackson, was completely stifled by the Dolphins’ defense. 

Still, credit is due to the Dolphins, whose defense during the winning streak has allowed an NFL-low 257 yards per game and a league-low 28.6 percent third-down conversion rate. The Dolphins, who lead the NFL with 45 sacks, have held six of its past seven opponents to fewer than 200 total yards. 

The Miami offense, though, has not followed its defense. In the win over undermanned New Orleans, for example, the Dolphins managed only 259 yards of offense, 86 of which came on their only TD touchdown drive late in the third quarter. 

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who leads the league in completion percentage (70.1 percent), has been pedestrian the past two weeks, throwing three TDs and three INTs while producing fewer than 200 passing yards in both games. 

Enter the Titans (10-5), who are led by former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He was traded to Tennessee during the 2019 NFL Draft for draft picks and with Miami paying $5 million of the $7 million in guaranteed money from the contract negotiated with the Titans in the form of a signing bonus after the trade. 

It was one of the first major moves by Flores after he took over the Dolphins, who opted to sign veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick and later draft Tagovailoa. 

Brian FloresBrian FloresGetty Images

Tannehill has had a career rebirth in Tennessee, leading the Titans a 28-13 record as a starter and two consecutive playoff berths. 

A win over the Dolphins on Sunday would both clinch the AFC South title for Tennessee and knock the Dolphins from playoff contention. 

“This is a huge game for us,’’ Tannehill told reporters this past week. “They’re coming in hot and playing really good football on both sides of the ball. It’ll be a challenge for us.’’ 

The challenge for the Dolphins is proving that this seven-game winning streak has not been a mirage, the result of playing the league’s have-nots. As the level of competition rises with the Titans, we’ll find out exactly who these Dolphins are on Sunday.