HC Mike McDaniel emphasizing Dolphins' 24-year playoff win drought

The Miami Dolphins' last playoff victory came on Dec. 30, 2000, in what was a 23-17 overtime win over Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts at home in the AFC wild-card round. Since that win, Miami has lost its last six playoff games and failed to reach the divisional round.

In the present, the Dolphins have lost in the wild-card round in back-to-back seasons, and head coach Mike McDaniel is making the historic drought known to his players.

"You get what you emphasize. Well, why not find ways to emphasize finishing in everything you do?" McDaniel said at his Thursday media availability when asked about Miami's late-season struggles. "Obsess about it. Why not have, for half the offseason, you're trying to have staff meetings at different times during the day. I had every staff meeting I put at like 7:24 or 3:24 or 5:24 – the number 24. To you guys, it means nothing. That's how many years it's been since the organization has won a playoff game. We are going to hear about that come playoff time. You think? So to me, you do that to empower guys to know what's coming. To understand it, to not run from it.

"Because if you're going to achieve success where people are predicting failure, you're going to have to go above and beyond. That is what every single player has done in their life at one point in time."

Last season, the Dolphins lost three of their last five games, including a Week 18 game at home to the Buffalo Bills, which gave Buffalo its fourth consecutive AFC East division title. Miami then lost on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round in frigid conditions, 26-7.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and the Dolphins parted ways after the season. The organization hired former Baltimore Ravens