We've reached week 17 and the Miami Dolphins are once again mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and have fallen into the role of playing spoiler.
The Buffalo Bills (8-7) are on the outside looking in when it comes to the 2017 NFL Playoffs, but they at least have the chance of a postseason berth if they're able to win and get some help from an array of fellow AFC teams.
A season filled with high hopes was derailed by several things that don't require repeating, but here's a quick summary in case you'd like to stay up-to-date with your list of excuses when defending your Dolphins fandom to your friends
- Ryan Tannehill's season-ending knee surgery
- Raekwon McMillan suffers season-ending injury on kick coverage in preseason
- Hurricane Irma postponing the season opener, resulting in no real bye week
- Offensive line coach, Chris Foerster, leaves team following "powdery substance" video
- Jay Ajayi dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles (turned out okay, but disrupts locker room)
- Ja'Wuan James, playing the best football of his career, suffers season-ending injury
- DeVante Parker once again catches the injury bug and misses multiple weeks
This list could surely continue, but for the sake of time, let's take a look at five players to keep an eye on in the regular season finale for the Dolphins.