As one could assume with a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs in six years, the Miami Dolphins don’t have a roster filled with playoff experience.
The only current Dolphin who was with the team back in the 2016 postseason was cornerback Xavien Howard.
But with that in mind, Miami brought in a slew of veterans over the past year who have competed in the playoffs.
Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill has 13 playoff games with the Kansas City Chiefs. Left tackle Terron Armstead and punter Thomas Morstead have 15 and nine, respectively, with the New Orleans Saints. Outside linebacker Melvin Ingram has played in seven playoffs games between the Chiefs and Chargers, center Connor Williams three with the Dallas Cowboys, and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater also has a playoff start under his belt early in his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Veterans like linebacker Elandon Roberts and safety Eric Rowe, although they were already on the roster before this season, have 10 and six playoff games played, respectively.
Most of their voices have been paramount in Miami’s locker room this week as the team gets set for its Sunday 1 p.m. kickoff in an AFC wild-card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York.
“It’s been huge, and it’s been something that didn’t start this week,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “It was something that was on our mind, collectively, in terms of the leaders that we have brought here with experience and some of the guys that were here that had been on teams with success.
“We knew the team was young, and we approached that early. We’ve been talking through that, feel pretty good about where they’re at and their ability to make this game a fun, not-stressful game.”
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. said it’s next-level intensity this time of year. He has three postseason games with the San Francisco 49ers and will shoulder a heavy workload since Raheem Mostert — who has a four-touchdown 2019 NFC Championship Game among his three playoff appearances — is out due to a broken thumb.
“It’ll be naive or foolish to say it’s a normal game,” Wilson said. “You got to be realistic, and I’m a realistic person. I would say it’s nothing like a regular game. If you win, you keep going. If you lose, you’re going to be on the couch, watching who just beat you.”
But not everyone sees it the same. Big nose tackle John Jenkins, a veteran of four postseason appearances, doesn’t want to make the playoffs something more than it needs to be.
“There’s really no need because you can’t make it a bigger deal,” he said. “I mean, obviously, all of us who have been to the playoffs know the playoffs is a big deal, but I think that whatever got us here is the mindset to harness.”
Just because Howard has bridged the franchise between its two most recent playoff appearances doesn’t necessarily mean he has fond memories of that last postseason outing, despite him starting as a rookie and hauling in his first NFL interception.
“We got our a– whooped. That’s what I do remember,” Howard said of the 30-12 mauling Miami took at the hands of the Steelers. “It was also a cold game in Pittsburgh.”
Rookie cornerback Kader Kohou has been receiving feedback from Howard all season — not just about the playoffs.
“He’s been doing that the whole year,” said Kohou, bound to start a postseason game as a Dolphins rookie like Howard did six years ago. “Not just with me, but with everybody in the room. He’s always giving tips on what he sees, what helps him take his game to the next level.”
Ingram said he doesn’t take it upon himself to talk to youngsters about playoff atmosphere, but if asked, he’ll tell them, “It’s the ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield,” a reference to boxer Evander Holyfield.
Las Vegas is barely giving the Dolphins a puncher’s chance, now 13 1/2-point underdogs after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out. It makes for a different outlook for Hill against the Bills from the meetings he’s had with them as a Chief and a favorite the past two postseasons.
“I’ve never been an underdog,” Hill said. “I feel like, in Kansas City, I was blessed to be on a real good football team. Here, it’s different. Right now, I got a chip on my shoulder, and so do the rest of the guys.”
As for the historic point spread in a wild-card game, McDaniel said he doesn’t blink at it.
“No one expected me personally to do anything that I’ve ever done, really,” the coach said. “I think a journey of an NFL player is very similar with the amount of competition there is and how the parity is what it is. I think most guys on NFL teams have been told they couldn’t.”
Five Dolphins have won Super Bowls — three of them as former Patriots with Roberts and Eric Rowe winning Super Bowls 51 and 53 with New England and cornerback Keion Crossen joining them for the latter of the two. Hill and Morstead won Super Bowls that took place in Miami, a part of winning the last titles for the Chiefs and Saints, respectively.
Other Dolphins on the active roster who have played in the postseason are Cedrick Wilson Jr., Duke Riley, Justin Bethel, Trent Sherfield, River Cracraft, Brandon Shell and Kendall Lamm.
