Dolphins destiny? Steve Kornacki details Broncos’ nightmare scenario

Take it from the skinny guy in the shirt and tie: The Broncos are on the precipice of a colossal collapse, and the Miami Dolphins are poised to pounce. NBC’s Steve Kornacki broke down the situation Sunday on Football Night in America.

“On the AFC side of things, the AFC has three teams going for that final spot,” Kornacki explained, noting the Broncos (9-7) need a win at home against a Chiefs team (15-1) that likely will rest its starters for most if not all of Sunday’s game (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). Kansas City clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs with a Christmas Day win at Pittsburgh.

“Look, the Broncos, if they could have just beaten Cincinnati, that would have been enough,” Kornacki said. “They would have clinched. Instead, they missed. … But if the Broncos lose next week, look, it’s a check mark for both the Dolphins and for the Bengals. And look how wide open the door would be for the Dolphins.”

While Denver battles Carson Wentz and the Chiefs, Miami (8-8) will be at MetLife Stadium fighting for its postseason life against the Jets (4-12). Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed last week’s 20-3 win at Cleveland with a hip injury. Time will tell whether he can play in Week 18. If not, the Dolphins would again start Tyler Huntley, who did enough to deny the Browns. If Denver loses and Miami wins, the Dolphins would slam the door on the Broncos.

And if both teams lose? There’s a reason the NFL waits to the last second to announce kickoff days and times for its Week 18 schedule. Maximizing drama, the league scheduled the Bengals (8-8) to play at Pittsburgh (10-6) on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). So, before anyone wakes up on Sunday, Cincinnati, Denver and Miami will know whether the Bengals have a shot at – incredibly – sneaking into the playoffs. The

“From the Bengals’ standpoint,” Kornacki said, “they need Miami to lose next week, on top of Denver losing. If both of those things happen, no small order here, but Cincinnati just has to beat Pittsburgh. Do all of those things, the Bengals would end the year on a five-game winning streak, would sneak into the playoffs, and would go to Buffalo against the Bills team that would probably rather play someone else.”

For more information on the Broncos, Dolphins and Bengals, visit the Denver, Miami and Cincinnati team pages at ProFootballPost.com.