Can Dolphins cause late shake-up in AFC playoff picture?

With star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup after missing four games with a concussion, the Miami Dolphins (5-6) have vaulted back into contention for a playoff spot in the AFC with a three-game winning streak.

Tagovailoa was helped off the field after suffering a hit to the head in their Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills, and subsequently placed on Injured Reserve.

In the four games Tagovailoa missed, the Dolphins' offensive attack was utterly futile. They averaged 10.0 points and 158.3 passing yards per game, down significantly from the 25.0 and 235.0 marks with their leading passer under centre.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was in awe of Tagovailoa's performance in Miami's 34-15 romp over the division-rival New England Patriots on Sunday, where the fifth-year player threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.

“He's found a way to improve the way he plays the position throughout the game,” McDaniel said Sunday.

“The most monumental thing that you have to overcome as a quarterback is playing the position regardless of the ebbs and flows," the Dolphins coach added, "so not changing how you play based upon positive or negative results and letting every play stand on its own.”

Sitting with a 2-6 record after back-to-back losses on a last-second field goal against the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills, it was beginning to look like a lost season for Miami, who has made the playoffs as a wild-card team each of the past two seasons.

But Miami's three-game winning streak since that loss to Buffalo has pushed them to a game and a half behind the final wild-card team, the Denver Broncos (7-5).

Pending the result of Monday night's clash between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, the Dolphins could be a game and a half behind two of the three wild-card teams entering the final stretch of the season.

Two major tests remain on the schedule for the 'Phins: The first is this Thursday on TSN, when they battle the 8-3 Green Bay Packers on short rest on American Thanksgiving.

Watch the Dolphins battle the Packers LIVE across the TSN Network on Thursday, November 28, with coverage starting at 8:20pm ET / 5:20pm PT.

Their second is a battle against the division-leading Houston Texans on Dec. 15. Outside of that, the Dolphins have two very winnable games against the listless New York Jets and matchups with the Cleveland Browns and sputtering San Francisco 49ers.

Miami will have to leapfrog at least one of the Chargers, Broncos and Ravens to step into a wild-card spot, which will also prove difficult. The Broncos have won two straight and rookie QB Bo Nix has looked every bit up to task since a slow start in September.

Nix struggled to the tune of one touchdown pass and four interceptions in four starts in the opening month of the season, but has dominated with 15 touchdowns against just two interceptions in his eight games since. 

New head coach Jim Harbaugh has electrified the defensive side of the ball for Los Angeles, as they're holding opponents to just 14.5 points per game and have won four straight.

The Ravens have looked like world beaters at times this season behind another MVP-level campaign from QB Lamar Jackson, but losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns were big question marks earlier in the year.

Tagovailoa, for his part, knows that the small winning streak means nothing if they can't continue to stay hot down the stretch.

“We’re still below the .500 threshold, and it’s a long way to where we want to get to," Tagovailoa said after their win on Sunday. “We’ll enjoy this win, but this next one is going to be big for us.”

Tagovailoa's 73.3 per cent completion mark is best in the NFL this season, and his passer rating of 106.5 ranks fifth. Since returning from the injured list, the 26-year-old native of Ewa Beach, Hawaii has 11 passing touchdowns against just one interception.

With elite QB play back in the mix, the Dolphins have every opportunity to cause a stir in the AFC playoff picture.