Cote: Dolphins with no answers at QB as Miami, Ewers crushed by Pats | Opinion
The circumstances could have been worse for Quinn Ewers on Sunday. They could have required that he play with his throwing hand tied behind his back.
Otherwise, all the Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback had to overcome in this third pro start was to play in his first road game, have it be in the wintry cold of Foxborough, Massachusetts, make it vs. a top-five defense in a Patriots team fighting for the No. 1 playoff seed — and do with without his two best offensive weapons in running back De’Von Achane and receiver Jaylen Waddle, both out injured for the season finale.
This was Ewers’ “Welcome to the NFL” moment, his first true challenge and real test.
He passed ... just enough at times to make you think he’s the Dolphins’ answer now that Tua Tagovailoa has been benched and seemingly written out of the club’s plans. But Ewers failed, too ... just enough to make you wonder as the offseason begins following a Fins season done at 7-10.
Facing bad Cincinnati and Tampa Bay teams at home was not this kind of gauge for Ewers. Playing in New England as the late afternoon-into-evening temps dipped into the teens was all of that for a Texas boy who never played in such weather before.
He had a solid, safe first half. Miami trailed only 17-10 at the break. Then Ewers had the Dolphins driving to the Pats’ 13 early in the third quarter — a tie score appearing likely.
Then, in a single play, reality his with a thud and Ewers looked like what he is: A seventh-round rookie, a QB with enough perceived flaws that he barely was drafted at all.
Ewers’ pass into the end zone was intercepted. Two big problems. 1). It was either a bad pick or a bad route because he threw right into a defender’s hands in between two receivers. 2). He ignored two receivers who were wide open underneath to go deep.
“We started well, then coming out in the second half put a solid drive together,” Ewers said. “I tried to go make a play there. One of those things you wish you could have back. I threw it right to him. Kind of was the turning point in the game, which is unfortunate. More things to evaluate going into the offseason. I was trying to force it a little bit. Part of the learning process. Want to continue to grow as a player.”
Said coach Mike McDaniel: “It was a one-score game. After the half we drove down the length of the field and that interception and [their] drive for a touchdown appeared to break the team’s back. And the wheels fell off. Quinn did a good job growing in his game. But he’ll have some very frustrating moments to learn from.”
The Patriots parlayed Ewers’ giveaway into a fast touchdown and within a couple of minutes Ewers and Miami had turned what could have been a 17-17 tie into a 24-10 deficit.
It ended up 38-10. Ewers ended up 16 of 23 for 137 yards, with a 2-yard scoring toss to Malik Washington and that horrible INT. Ewers gave way to Zach Wilson late in the rout. It was a mercy sub.
Before Sunday New England had not swept Miami in a season since 2016. And the Dolphins finished this season having not scored in a third quarter since October. It didn’t help that six starters missed the finale injured.
“Other team just played better than us,” as defender Jordyn Brooks put it afterward. “They made a lot of plays. We didn’t.”
Said Ewers, rightly: “Gonna have to take a look at responding in the second half of football games.”
So “Now what?” hangs over this team, its offseason and its future, as a pulsing neon sign.
All indications are that the coach, McDaniel, will be back for a fifth season. Owner Stephen Ross likes him, and the 5-3 finish after a 2-7 start may have been enough to spare him.
“I will aggressively attack the job tomorrow,” said McDaniel of his security or lack of.
The Dolphins’ second straight non-playoff season and first double-digit losses since 2019 isn’t this franchise’s big problem as the offseason begins. As, in effect, the 2026 season begins.
The problem overshadowing everything is the quarterback situation, its instability, its doubts.
Giving up on Tua, who is in his prime and with a huge guaranteed contract, comes at great cost, quite literally. They may be stuck with him next season at least as the NFL’s highest-paid backup. Or might Miami give him one last shot to gain back confidence and his job?
Ewers in his three-game trial has show signs of QB1 talent. But not proof. Not nearly close enough to that.
The Dolphins recently hired former Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-TV broadcaster Troy Aikman as a consultant in the search to find a replacement for sacked general manager Chris Grier. I’ve been told Miami also will tap into Aikman’s expertise at the position to help navigate the Tagovailoa dilemma and whether Ewers seems the answer.
A veteran free-agent Band-Aid is not the answer Miami needs. The ‘26 Draft and where the Fins are picking in it does not seem to offer much likely help. Tua’s time appears past. So it’s, what, the kid from Texas or bust?
Maybe Ewers has shown enough in three games to warrant all of that faith and trust — all of that weight.
It is the “maybe” that’s scary as the offseason begins.
This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 7:17 PM.
