Dolphins need a lot of fixes to go from pretender to contender

The Miami Dolphins' 26-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Super Wild Card Weekend was another emphatic statement to their status as a Super Bowl pretender instead of a contender and a harsh reminder that they still have a ways to go to reach the next level. 

On the surface, there is a lot to like about the Dolphins. When conditions are perfect and they have the right matchup they can be one of the most exciting offenses in football. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are big-play targets in the passing game, they can make big plays on the ground and they are capable of putting up huge point totals. 

But in the NFL, and especially in the playoffs, conditions are not always perfect. Sometimes you have to play in bad elements, and sometimes you have to get through some tough teams in order to make a deep playoff run.

The Dolphins still seem incapable of overcoming both of those issues. 

The narrative on the Dolphins all season -- and for most of the past two seasons -- was how poor their record was against the NFL's top teams. 

Including Saturday's loss to the Chiefs, Miami went just 1-5 against teams that made the NFL playoff field this season, losing four of those games by double digits. Their high-powered offense? It averaged a pitiful 15.1 points per game. Just for perspective, Carolina and New England had the two worst regular season offenses and were the only teams in the NFL that averaged less than 15 points per game. 

Going back to last season the Dolphins were just 2-6 against playoff teams, losing each of their final six games against said teams. That is a 3-11 record over a two-year span against the NFL's best. And almost none of those games were close. As exciting as the Dolphins are, there is a clear and decisive gap between them and the league's elites.

Part of that falls on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He needs to be better and more consistent, especially against tougher teams and especially when conditions are less than perfect. But a lot of it also needs to fall on the front office and head coach Mike McDaniel.

McDaniel has become one of the rising young star coaches in the NFL because of his fun personality and exciting offense, but the harsh reality is that his overall winning percentage through his first two seasons (.555 including two playoff losses) is lower than what Brian Flores managed (.575) in his final two seasons before he was fired. 

The truth is that good teams with top defenses have figured out his offense, but Miami's defense can't claim the same honor. In two years under McDaniel they have finished 24th and 22nd respectively in points against and have not played anything close to Super Bowl-caliber defense. This also has to fall on the front office and the coaching staff. Yes, the team had injuries toward the end of the season. But even at full strength earlier in the season (and last year) it was never playing at a high level. 

The Dolphins have potential. They have exciting players. They can be an exciting team. But they are still a step below the real Super Bowl contenders. As they keep showing, it is a big step.