Dolphins' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 10

The Miami Dolphins get a nice reprieve to collect themselves after a disappointing 21-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany last week.

The bye week comes at a good time as the Dolphins get to recover from any jet lag during Week 10 and have a nice slate to regain some momentum when they return in Week 11. It was discouraging to see the Dolphins lose to a team with a winning record for the third time in as many tries, but there are still plenty of reasons for fans to be optimistic.

For one, they are still in the lead in the AFC East. That was definitely not expected when they lost big to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.

For another, the bye week gives fans a stress-free weekend to hate on whoever needs to lose to improve their playoff picture.

Let's take a look at three games that the Dolphins should have rooting interest in this week.

Texans over Bengals

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C.J. Stroud

The Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans are both coming off big wins right now. Only one of those teams should actually be scaring AFC contenders, though.

The Texans exhilarating 39-27 win over the Buccaneers was a big win for their franchise and a positive sign that the rebuild is headed in the right direction. It was not a declaration that Houston is really ready to be a playoff threat.

That's exactly what the Bengals 24-18 win over the Buffalo Bills was last weekend, though. The Bengals got off to a 1-3 start and looked far from being a Super Bowl contender. That was good news for everyone in the AFC.

Now that Joe Burrow is firing on all cylinders and the Bengals have won four games in a row, they are downright scary.

The Texans snapping their win streak would be another confidence boost for DeMeco Ryans squad, but come playoff time the Dolphins would much rather be seeing an inexperienced Texans squad than a Bengals team that has at least made it to the AFC Championship game two years in a row.

The Dolphins should be rooting for C.J. Stroud to show out in his return to Ohio.

Browns over Ravens

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Myles Garrett

The good news from the Dolphins perspective is that even if the Bengals beat the Texans, they have a long, difficult road to overtake them in the AFC standings.

The same is really true for any of the AFC North teams. Through the first half of the season the AFC North is the league's most competitive division. If the playoffs started today, all four teams would make the postseason field.

As such, it helps the Dolphins if they all cannibalize one another.

The Ravens are tied with the Chiefs at 7-2 and have made a case as the best team in football this season. However, they've struggled over the second half of the last two seasons. That's primarily been because of Lamar Jackson injuries, but there's still reason to hope they fall off a little bit.

That could start with a division game against the Browns. Cleveland lost 28-3 in the first meeting of the season but they've won three of their last four games since then. They also just got Deshaun Watson back from a shoulder injury in a 27-0 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals.

A Browns win would muddy up the picture in the AFC North even further and give the Dolphins an opportunity to close their one-game deficit with them.

Broncos over Bills

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Javonte Williams

One week after watching the Buffalo Bills lose on the national stage, the Dolphins faithful will be watching Monday night hoping that it's deja vu all over again.

The Bills close out the week with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos. If the Bills lose it could wind up being the proverbial straw on the camel's back that breaks their chances of winning the AFC East.

By the New York Times' projections, a Broncos win over the Bills would increase the Dolphins chances of winning the division by 12 percent. If the Broncos win, the Dolphins have an 80 percent chance to win the division and thus secure a home playoff game. If the Bills win, those chances go down to 68 percent.

It's not a ridiculous notion that the Broncos could pull off the win either. With back-to-back wins including a 24-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos have some reason for confidence right now. Throw in the fact that they had the bye week to rest and gameplan for this one and the elements are there for an upset.

The Bills get two games where they should be the favorites against the Broncos and Jets before two road trips to the Philadelphia and Kansas City.

If Buffalo loses this one it's hard to see a path back into winning the division.