MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The playoffs remain within reach for the Dolphins, despite their ugly 2-4 start to the season. The path is the same.

There are eight teams on the Dolphins’ schedule that currently have losing records.

All they have to do is beat seven of those teams — the Dolphins thrive on beating bad teams — and they probably make the playoffs.

It’s simple, right?

Well, it could be.

We’ll see what the Dolphins have learned from their mistakes in their first six games.

Obviously, the Dolphins need some major improvements. Scoring. Penalties. Special teams. Getting the ball to star receiver Tyreek Hill (the most important thing on the list).

But now that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is back in the fold, there’s hope.

Spirits are noticeably boosted.

Hill told us that in colorful fashion on Wednesday.

“We’re back, baby!” Hill declared.

A rising tide lifts all ships, even coach Mike McDaniel.

This should be fun.

Now there’s hope.

Honestly, as things stand now, with the offense struggling against two-deep safety looks, I’m not certain how this will end.

Before Tua’s four-game absence due to a concussion, I was convinced this was a 10-win team.

Now, I’m not sure if the Dolphins are a nine- or 10-win team.

But they probably shouldn’t be much worse, despite the undeniably ugly start.

Here’s the breakdown for the remaining 11 games on the schedule:

— If the Dolphins go 8-3, they finish 10-7 and almost certainly make the playoffs.

— If they go 7-4, they finish 9-8 and probably make the playoffs. Tiebreakers could be a factor, however.

To drill down, I think there are three certain losses (OK, nothing is certain but go with me on this) on the schedule — at Buffalo, at Green Bay and at Houston.

Win the rest of the games, and that’s the 8-3 finish.

The other tough game is San Francisco at Hard Rock Stadium.

Lose that in addition to Buffalo, Green Bay and Houston, and win the rest and there’s your 7-4 finish.

That’s very possible.

The Dolphins have not fared well against playoff-caliber teams.

If they beat the likely non-playoff teams — Arizona (3-4), Los Angeles Rams (2-4), Las Vegas (2-5), New England (1-6), Cleveland (1-6) and the New York Jets (2-5) twice — they can be in the thick of the playoff race at the end of the season.

There are a few things trending in the right direction for the Dolphins.

Penalties have come down the last two games.

The run game has piled up 381 rushing yards the last two games.

The defense is No. 4 in the league.

They’re playing more big boy football, meaning involving the tight end and fullback.

On top of that, this Dolphins team is tougher than last year’s team. Clearly.

This Dolphins team is tougher than the 2022 team.

Now let’s see what they do with that toughness the rest of the season.

But, also let’s see what they do with that two-deep safety defense.

Remember, the Dolphins are 3-5 in Tua’s last eight starts. He has eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, and the Dolphins average just 18.4 points per game.

That’s not good. That begs for major improvement.

In reality, the Dolphins probably have a couple of games to get things right.

Everyone would understand if the offense isn’t humming at a high rate Sunday against Arizona. It’s Tua’s first game back. He’ll have rust.

No one expects the offense to be humming the following week at Buffalo. We all know what happens when the Dolphins go to Buffalo. It’s guaranteed victory day for the Bills. They’ve beaten the Dolphins eight straight in Buffalo.

So the Dolphins really have the trio of games at the Los Angeles Rams (Monday night) and against Las Vegas and New England to show that they’ve worked out the offensive issues.

After that, it’s Green Bay on Thanksgiving night, and then it’s December/January football, a stretch when the Dolphins have gone 4-10 under McDaniel.

The challenge is there.

We’ll see if the Dolphins can meet the challenge.

All season long, the Dolphins haven’t been much fun.

Their lackluster offense hasn’t scored much.

They’ve been boring and disappointing.

But now there’s hope.

Tua is back.

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