The Miami Dolphins played one of their best games of the season on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills., but that couldn’t prevent them from suffering another loss, making their path to a third consecutive playoff appearance even more difficult.

It’s been done before: a 2-6 team rallying to make the playoffs, with the 2020 Washington Commanders and 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars accomplishing the feat. Both did it by taking advantage of a bad year in their division to win a division title, something that is not happening in the AFC East this year, barring a total collapse by the Bills.

So, yeah, the odds don’t look good at all, and the Dolphins will have to finish at least 7-2, if not 8-1, in their last nine games to have any kind of chance.

Many of the team’s fans have already abandoned the idea of ​​a late stretch, in part because of how the Dolphins have looked through their first eight games and also because finishing strong hasn’t exactly been the Dolphins’ forte in recent years.

But the Dolphins themselves haven’t given up, which is why South Florida-based agent Drew Rosenhaus, who has several clients on the team, doesn’t see the Dolphins as sellers this week. In any case, Rosenhaus said during his weekly appearance on South Florida’s WSVN that they could be buyers.

And this, really, should surprise no one.

Does anyone really believe the Dolphins are going to trade one of their top players (Tyreek Hill or Jalen Ramsey, for example) because the 2024 season has gone off track? Just a few months later, the organization dove in with a strong commitment to that core with new contracts for Hill, Ramsey, Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle and head coach Mike McDaniel.

This season has been a disaster for the Dolphins, but the main problems have not centered on the cornerstones of the franchise but on its complementary pieces.

We can debate the merits of all the new contracts in the absence of a single playoff win all day, but the Dolphins’ real failure in 2024 was their inability to get better depth throughout the roster. The quarterback problem is obviously the biggest. And the second largest and the third largest…

The other issues should be obvious and include the defensive line (beyond the magnificent Calais Campbell, of course) and the safety position. Not even mentioning the offensive line because that group has actually been solid.

Because the quarterback play was so poor while Tagovailoa was on injured reserve (IR), it’s fair to suggest the Dolphins would be at least 4-4 if not for his concussion, and that outlook wouldn’t require doing explode the template. .

As we’ve suggested, the Dolphins could make some trades, but they would be more akin to trading someone like running back Jeff Wilson, Jr., who is a regular on the inactive list and has a contract that expires after this. season. So if a team in need of a veteran running back offered a late-round pick, then maybe it would be worth doing so.

And for all the talk about involving Odell Beckham, Jr. more in the offense, his snap count increased only to 12 against Buffalo after having played 11 snaps in his first three games. Additionally, he is only signed through 2024, so he would fall into the same category as Wilson.

The most complicated situation involves Campbell, who might be the Dolphins’ best player this season but is 38 years old and came to play in Miami because he believed the team could be a contender. If he intends to make this his final season, perhaps the Dolphins will trade him as a favor because he would surely draw league-wide interest.

However, from the team’s standpoint, it’s very obvious that trading Campbell would hurt the cause in 2024, and they might want to take him to Miami anyway.

Let’s say they make a move to acquire a player. In that case, logic says that a pass rusher has to be priority one, two and three because Emmanuel Ogbah is playing with a biceps injury, Chop Robinson hasn’t had enough impact, Mohamed Kamara is a rookie with a lot to learn and train. Camp sensation Quinton Bell has been just that, a training camp sensation.

The Dolphins may also not want to give up on the 2024 season because they could have easily won both of their games since Tagovailoa returned to the lineup. Maybe they’re owed some good karma sooner rather than later, like maybe the referees will refuse to call a helmet-to-helmet hit on an incomplete third down like they did in the Seattle-LA Rams game instead nailing Jordan Poyer for the infraction.

Regardless, the Dolphins will continue to move forward this season hoping for a quick and major turnaround, most likely with the core that gave them so much confidence this spring and summer.