All the Miami Dolphins have to do to reach the playoffs is beat the New York Jets on Sunday. The 10-5 Dolphins may be tied with the New England Patriots for the AFC East lead going into Week 17, but they have the tiebreaker and can complete the most remarkable turnaround ever by a team coming off a 1-15 season.

After the Dolphins lost 15 of 16 a year ago, owner Wayne Huizenga coaxed Bill Parcells to Miami, and the new man in charge immediately fired first-year head coach Cam Cameron. By mid-January, Parcells had hired Jeff Ireland as his general manager and Dallas assistant head coach Tony Sparano to run the team on the field. By the time training camp opened, there were 45 new players among Sparano’s initial 81-man roster

Miami’s fifth head coach in five seasons has won with Chad Pennington under center, after his summer release by New York to make room for Brett Favre. Now Pennington and Favre share the field in an all-important season finale.

The 9-6 Jets face longer odds, but they are not eliminated from playoff contention. Even after losing three of their last four games, the Jets would win the AFC East if they beat Miami and New England falls in Buffalo, resulting in three 10-6 teams at the top of the division. If the Patriots win, the Jets can claim the final wild-card spot in the AFC with a victory and a Jacksonville win over the 10-5 Ravens.

Despite New York’s acquisition of Favre, the future Hall of Famer, the big story in the division is Miami. The highly animated Dolphins coach has backed up his fire with solid coaching, and the team is in line to be the first team to earn a postseason berth after going 1-15 the previous season.

NFL Teams Finishing 1-15 – All-Time

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .W-L in Next Season
1980 Saints. . . . . . . . . 4-12
1989 Cowboys. . . . . . . 7- 9
1990 Patriots. . . . . . . .6-10
1991 Colts. . . . . . . . . .9- 7
1996 Jets. . . . . . . . . . 9- 7
2000 Chargers. . . . . . . 5-11
2001 Panthers. . . . . . . 7- 9
2007 Dolphins. . . . . . .10- 5

The Dolphins can clinch their first playoff berth since 2001 with their 11th win of the season Sunday. The turnaround began after a 2-4 start in 2008, and winning Sunday would give the surprising Dolphins nine victories over the final 10 games. They will pursue their fifth consecutive win to successfully conclude a wholly unexpected push for a postseason bid.

Going head-to-head in recent years, however, the Jets have had a decided advantage over the Dolphins, who were 20-44 over the four seasons prior to 2008. The Jets have won 17 of the last 21 matchups between the two teams, dominating the second half to pull out a number of games. During this 21-game span, New York is 11-2 in games decided by eight of fewer points. That includes a 20-14 Jets victory in Miami in the 2008 season opener, when the Dolphins lost for the 19th time in 20 games.

Another down-to-the-wire showdown is likely at the Meadowlands Sunday, a fitting conclusion to an AFC East race that may be decided in the final minute of the season. All three contenders -- the Patriots, Dolphins and Jets -- could finish 10-6, but one of them could become just the seventh 10-6 team to go home empty-handed since 1990, when the playoffs expanded to the current 12-team format.