Dave Hyde: A reason to hope for Dolphins -- and they should embrace all hope from 23-15 win against Rams

The renewed debate over whether the Miami Dolphins can or can’t, will or won’t, even should or shouldn’t will be more lively in a couple of weeks when they’re 5-6 and more firmly stationed among those “in the hunt” or “on the bubble” or whatever phrase you prefer for playoff wannabes.

They’ll get to 5-6, too. Their decent play of late and favorable schedule promise as much. The next two opponents, Las Vegas and New England, aren’t quite William & Mary, but they’re about as close as the NFL offers.

Unless it’s the New York Jets.

The Dolphins get them twice coming up, too. And lowly Cleveland. So, there’s the spoonful of hope for what might be, and it’s this team’s job to ignore any fractionally lifted eyebrow of skepticism and swallow all of that hope.

They should hum an optimistic, jingling tune of what could be in these final eight games, while swallowing it, too.

“Hopefully, this is an opportunity not to waste,’’ Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after the vital 23-15 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. “Hopefully, we can go on a run and find our rhythm at the back of the season.”

They showed an impactful defense Monday night. Give defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver a game ball for that. Four sacks (for a defense that entered with just 10 sacks in the first eight games). Two takeaways (they entered with just eight).

They stopped 9-of-12 third-down conversions (something they usually do well, ranking third). And the biggie: No touchdowns by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for just the second time in his past 50 games.

Is that who this defense is, with the likes of defensive tackle Zach Sieler and safety Jevon Holland back healthy?

Is Monday the kind of win this team now does?

That’s what they need to believe anyhow. You’re allowed to ask for more evidence after three straight losses similar to Monday night. They’re in this 3-6 hole because of that.

They’re talking the last playoff spot in Denver, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Each of those teams lost this past weekend, adding to the Dolphins’ win. Denver had a winning field goal blocked in Kansas City. Cincinnati lost to Baltimore in the end. These are the type of games that can fuel the Dolphins hope.

The only difference in this November compared to so many others for the Dolphins is they’re not holding a fat lead and looking back over their shoulder. They’re chasing everyone as December looms. And they got one win to build on.

“You have a firm belief that you don’t just create out of thin air,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think with anyone, [when] you don’t have the expectations or you don’t have the results that you’re kind of striving for.

“I think you maintain your confidence by taking hard looks at everything you’re doing and critically assessing everything that you do.”

He then drove home his point: “It’s nice that the team has shown it as opposed to just talking about it.”

They’ve corrected the glaring penalty problem with just two last week and one on Monday. Their special teams are winning moments, not creating a spill on aisle five.

“Don’t count us out, dawg,’’ Tyreek Hill said to his social-media camera walking off the field Monday. “Don’t count us out.”

To do so, can you count him in more? The surprise of this season is that Hill isn’t hitting the stat sheet. He had just three catches for 16 yards Monday night and scored his second touchdown of the year.

Maybe it’s the wrist injury. Maybe it’s the defensive stop-Hill-at-any-cost philosophy. But this offense is undergoing a facelift as the season advances, and it’s uncertain if that’s a good thing.

Neither Hill nor Jaylen Waddle have had 100-yard receiving games since both did in the Jacksonville opener. Raheem Mostert wasn’t given a carry Monday after two costly fumbles the previous two weeks (though he caught an important third-and-19 pass in the fourth quarter to set up a field goal).

Hill, Waddle and Mostert were this offense’s engines at season’s start. And now? De’Von Achane is the dynamic playmaker (although not Monday). Six players had at least two catches.

If Hill was quiet, Waddle opened strong with 55 receiving yards on an impressive opening drive. That was more than his previous seven games. He still finished with 57 yards.

Tagovailoa had an uneven game with two turnovers, but here’s what he did right: He got points. His offense’s second-half drives ended with touchdown, field goal, field goal and end-of-game kneel down. That kept the lead dangling just far enough in front of the Rams that Stafford could never catch it.

So, do you believe?

Here’s what to believe in: Monday night’s win only matters if it leads to a win Sunday at home against the hot mess of Las Vegas. And that only matters if the Dolphins win against a three-win New England team at Hard Rock Stadium.

The season still has a 16 percent chance of making the playoffs according to ESPN computers. That sounds about right. What makes it sound better is a schedule littered with trash teams.

The Dolphins have been one of them to this point. Does Monday’s win signal a change? To this team it should. They have no other way to go but swallowing hope, humming optimistically and believing like there’s no tomorrow. Because if they don’t keep winning, there isn’t.

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