Why Miami might be for real

The Miami Dolphins haven't made the playoffs in four years. In fact, they've only made the playoffs once in the past decade. However, Sunday's 30-9 pounding of the New York Jets puts Miami at 4-3, tied for a wild-card berth in the AFC standings. At first glance, this looks like something of an early-season fraud propped up by a soft schedule -- none of the teams Miami has beaten currently has a winning record. A closer look shows this is a good football team, one that should challenge for a playoff spot well into the holiday season. And the Dolphins are doing it by going against the grain. In this era of high-powered, record-setting passing attacks, the Dolphins are proving that you can still win games with defense and special teams.

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