Time to prove it’s not the same ol’ Dolphins when it comes to December football; it starts with the Commanders

The Miami Dolphins are off to an 8-3 start for the second consecutive season.

A great feat — one that hasn’t been done by the franchise in back-to-back years since 2001.

That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news: 8-3 through November in 2023 is also a reminder of 8-3 at the same point in 2022. And how everything went downhill after that.

Last season’s Dolphins went through a winless December and then lost on Jan. 1 for a five-game losing streak. What once was a certainty that the team would make the playoffs went down to an ugly regular-season finale against the New York Jets and late field goal just to get Miami, without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, to squeak into the postseason as a No. 7 seed.

The significance of Sunday’s game against the reeling Washington Commanders (4-8) at FedEx Field, as mundane as the matchup may seem on the surface, is to prove these Dolphins aren’t on the same trajectory.

And there’s reason to believe this year’s Dolphins won’t be downed in December that same way. For one, the upcoming schedule.

Last year’s Dolphins had four of five on the road — and tough ones at that: at San Francisco, the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo and New England, with a home game against Green Bay mixed in. This year, after Sunday’s visit to Landover, Maryland, Miami finishes with four of its last five at home. After the Commanders, they host the Tennessee Titans and Jets. Already 9½-point favorites against Washington, they’ll also be at least a touchdown favorite in each of those before the challenging three-game finish of the Dallas Cowboys, Ravens in Baltimore and a home finale against the Bills.

But beyond the schedule, this is a team under coach Mike McDaniel that has experienced more at this point.

“(We were) 8-3 last year and you go through something that’s very, very difficult,” McDaniel said, “which is having to fight in the last game to even get in the playoffs when, at 8-3, that’s not really what’s on your mind. So you’re very interested in how people use that. For me, it falls right into the way I look at how to do everything, which is, for us to say that’s a bad thing or a good thing, it has to do with how we respond to it.

“I see a team that is used to the spotlight or the headlines and that isn’t enamored by that. I see a team that takes the Washington Commanders as serious as every other team that we’ve played this year and a team that’s excited to go compete against them. And that’s the only thing on their mind.”

And if you know anything about the Miami Dolphins in 2023, it’s that they take care of business against the teams they should beat. They do that against Washington, they’re up to a three-game lead in the AFC East on Buffalo while the Bills have an idle week. Miami can clinch the division by the end of Week 15 if it wins the next three games and the Bills merely lose at the defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs.

“When you are in a position like this team is, you have meaningful games because you can solidify playoff spots and where you’ll be in the playoffs,” said star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who has contributed to a defense that has been elite since he debuted with the team in late October, along with the three weeks before that.

The upcoming stretch should put the Dolphins in prime position for the postseason run if they can get to 11-3 with the AFC East sealed by mid-December, but then the presumed competitiveness of those final three should give Miami an early taste of playoff football.

“This is where you make your money here,” said Tagovailoa, who could indeed be up for a contract extension this offseason. “It’s going to be closer games, going to be one-score games. It’s going to come down to whoever gets the ball last and you’ve got to go win the ball game from there.”

Tagovailoa, who is about to string together 12 consecutive starts for the first time in his professional career, also quipped about what last December taught him after his second documented concussion of 2022 put him in the league’s protocol for the remainder of the season.

“I learned how to fall,” he deadpanned, after the stint away motivated him to focus on protecting his body when going to the ground over the offseason.

It’s not just last year’s team for the Dolphins. They have a history of coming up short in December. In the nine previous occasions where the franchise has started at least 8-3, since 1978, it suffered at least two losses down the final stretch.

“We’ve added a lot of guys, a lot more veteran guys who really understand the situation we’re in. We’re definitely in a better spot,” said wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who maintains his pace for the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiving season. “Obviously, we’re at the same point we were at last year. Coach just has got guys flying around the ball more, more attention to detail. It feels different this year. We’re on a roll right now. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.”

The Dolphins are motivated to finish strong after last year’s tailspin still offered them a taste of the postseason.

“Once you make the playoffs, you can see it, and it’s so close,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “I think that’s a driving force for so many of our guys because, to be your best on a daily basis, the way you’re judged by your peers through the history of the game will be winning championships and how much you win.”

Injury update

While the Dolphins have running back De’Von Achane healthy after missing six of the last seven games with knee issues, they will not be activating fellow rookie tailback Chris Brooks off injured reserve after his return to practice this week. Brooks was downgraded from questionable to out Saturday before Sunday’s game.

Miami also elevated tight end Tanner Conner from the practice squad to Sunday’s game-day roster.