The Miami Dolphins haven’t exactly been an NFL juggernaut in the past 15 1/2 seasons. Including Sunday’s 37-0 rout of the San Diego Chargers, the Dolphins have compiled a middling 121-127 regular season record during that time period.
Despite cycling through eight head coaches (two interim) during that timeframe, one thing has been constant among the Dolphins no matter who was in charge.
They’ve been absolutely dominant when hosting teams from the West Coast.
The Dolphins are now 14-1 since 1999 when hosting the Chargers, Seahawks, Raiders and 49ers. They’ve now defeated San Diego at Sun Life Stadium twice in the past two years and took care of both Oakland and Seattle in 2012. The only home loss against any of those four teams during that time happened in 2007, when the Raiders and former Dolphins QB Daunte Culpepper won 35-17 in Week 4 of what would end up being a 1-15 season for Miami.
While West Coast teams don’t fare particularly well on the road against East Coast teams in general, the trip to Miami has been an especially tough destination. While a flight from Seattle to Miami seems like it would be a longer haul than one to either of the New York teams, it’s only about 20 minutes extra flight time. Maybe it’s an adjustment to the weather. Maybe teams get a little distracted by potential nightlife or perhaps it’s just a weird fluke.
Either way, it’s been a big advantage for the Dolphins whenever the situation arises.
The 37 point win over San Diego was the biggest margin of any of those 14 victories, as the Dolphins are looking like they might be a contender in the AFC East with three straight wins and a 5-3 mark on the year.
Without any more West Coast teams visiting this season, they’ll face a tougher environment over the next three weeks with road games in Detroit and Denver on the horizon, as well as a Week 11 Thursday night contest hosting the Bills.
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