This Chargers win reframes the season for me.

[Spider-Dan]

I saw a stat saying that teams that won the turnover battle 2-0 were 110-0 until Sunday.  They are now 110-1. edit: 110-0 seemed like a really low number, so I found it again and it turns out I misremembered the stat:  it was "teams who rushed for 200+, allowed less than 100 rushing yards, didn't turn the ball over and had at least 2 takeaways" were 110-0 since 2000.

I agree that MIA did outplay LAC and deserved to win.  But I think that had LAC been able to kick a field goal, today everyone would be saying that LAC is the favorite in the AFC and arguably the best team in the league, while everyone in the media would be incinerating McDaniel and Fangio (and possibly even "turnover-prone Tua cost the team the game").

I just don't think a 3-point swing should take you from genius to idiot when nearly all of the game was played pretty consistently.  The offense was largely dominant and the defense was largely pathetic.  Given the choice, I'd rather have excessive praise than excessive criticism, but I think the needle has swung a bit too far for both teams.

[masterfins]

A road win against a good team with the offense firing is a huge positive.  However, one win shouldn't reframe the season.  Even another win next week against the Patriots wouldn't change my expectations for the team.  Now a 6-1 or 7-1 start would really get me excited.

[Dave Gray]

Anything can happen, but smart money is on the Dolphins not winning the division, but vying for a wildcard spot.  A team they'd likely be facing (and were facing last time) is the Chargers for that spot.

This win, where we were the underdog absolutely reframes that fight.

We would be 2 games down to the Chargers in the hunt, had we lost.  Now we are two games up on them.  It's an enormous swing and I think it fundamentally changes the playoff math, right from the jump.

[CF DolFan]

Anything can happen, but smart money is on the Dolphins not winning the division, but vying for a wildcard spot.  A team they'd likely be facing (and were facing last time) is the Chargers for that spot.

This win, where we were the underdog absolutely reframes that fight.

We would be 2 games down to the Chargers in the hunt, had we lost.  Now we are two games up on them.  It's an enormous swing and I think it fundamentally changes the playoff math, right from the jump.

No wild card team will come out of our division. The schedule is too tough for teams to have a decent record without winning the division. We will either win it or miss the playoffs altogether.

[Spider-Dan]

No wild card team will come out of our division. The schedule is too tough for teams to have a decent record without winning the division. We will either win it or miss the playoffs altogether.

Who are your other three AFC wild card teams?  Unlikely to be a team from the South, and the West will be just as beat up as the East as those divisions are head-to-head this year.

I see one WC team coming from the East, North, and West.

[dolphins4life]

Patriots will be a better test of what's going to happen.

[Spider-Dan]

The game in NE on Sunday will likely be wet and muddy, so it'll be a better test of how these Dolphins will look on their bad days.

[Downunder Dolphan]

I had this pegged as a loss...not that we wouldn't be competitive, but I figured we were similarly matched teams and it would be hard to win on the road.  ...and it was.  There were lots of lead changes and this definitely could've gone the other way.

But beating the Chargers is super significant.  Not only is it a win where you weren't favored, but it's an AFC victory and it's a win against a team you're likely going to be directly battling for a wildcard spot.

Next week will be hard as well.  I think we're a better team than the Patriots, but it's still hard to go on the road and win against division rivals.  But I think this win is a confidence builder.  If you get that one, Broncos at home looks like a game you should win.

That would put you at 3-0, all wins in the AFC, going into Buffalo.  That's a game we won't likely win, but it feels like you're loose and playing with house money.  I'm really overjoyed right now.

I agree with you on all of this Dave, but I wouldn't start counting chickens yet either...

The offensive line doing so well protecting Tua without Armstead was a huge surprise, but Williams still has to get his snap issues sorted out. We also still have to run the ball better, especially on the occasions we absolutely need to (short yardage first downs and to run off the clock): otherwise our defense will be run down and we will always be in shootouts.

On that defense, it may have been partly due to the warm weather and time on the field, but failing in rushing the pass and run stopping the majority of the game is a huge concern. Yes they came up big at the end of each half which made a huge impact, but we need more of that.

This weekend is another big game against a division rival on the road, and while the weather won't be like California, it ain't gonna be knee deep in snow either. Win this, and it's a good platform to build something on.