Kelly: Unfortunately, these Dolphins haven’t hit rock bottom yet | Opinion
You’re supposed to learn as much in the valley as you do at the peak of success.
At this point back in 2023 the Miami Dolphins were on top of the NFL universe.
Miami had the hottest offense in the NFL, a balanced unit that could run as well as they passed. Mike McDaniel was nicknamed “McGenius,” because of how innovative Miami’s offense was, and courtesy of Vic Fangio the Dolphins also possessed a top-10 defense.
On Christmas Eve of 2023 the Dolphins had just pulled off a fourth-quarter 22-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys and needed one more victory to secure the AFC East division crown, and the home playoff game that came with it.
What happened from there led to a colossal collapse.
The Dolphins got pummeled 56-19 by the Baltimore Ravens the next week, in a game where Miami lost its starting cornerback (Xavien Howard), edge rusher (Bradley Chubb) and linebacker (Andrew Van Ginkel) to season-ending injuries.
And the week that followed that produced an embarrassing 21-14 fourth-quarter loss to the Buffalo Bills at home, which allowed the Bills to win their fourth straight AFC East division title.
Miami came close to turning the corner as a franchise on this rebuild, which began in 2019 with a purge of the roster when it shivered its way to a 26-7 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
That was the peak of this rebuild. We’re officially in the valley now.
The next offseason the Dolphins failed to address troublesome areas on the roster, whiffed on free agents and draft picks yet again, and when Tua Tagovailoa missed six and a half games because of a concussion and hip issues Miami finished 2024 with a 8-9 record.
Fast forward another offseason and the Dolphins seemingly made the team’s problems worse.
Miami dialed back the team’s spending with the exception of offensive guard James Daniels, who spent all of three snaps on the field before suffering a peck injury that will keep him sidelined till maybe midseason.
The Dolphins traded a record-setting tight end (Jonnu Smith) and top-shelf cornerback (Jalen Ramsey) to acquire Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Miami invested draft picks and playing time into five rookies hoping it would reap a favorable return.
Problem is, it hasn’t so far.
Miami’s 1-4 start has exposed the realization that this Dolphins roster is fundamentally flawed.
Every opponent Miami’s faced has been able to bludgeon the Dolphins with its rushing attack.
The Dolphins are allowing 5.6 yards per carry and 174.2 rushing yards per game.
That’s 1.2 yards per carry over the NFL average (4.36) for this season, and 59.7 rushing yards per game more than the NFL average in 2025.
That means Miami’s run defense is the worst in the NFL, and everyone is to blame, and at this point the solution likely isn’t in-house unless Zeek Biggers, a 2025 seventh-round draft pick who is consistently inactive on gameday, is about to fly in and save the defense.
Miami’s injury-depleted offensive line has struggled with pass protection, and with Tyreek Hill gone because of the season-ending knee injury he sustained last week, it appears that Miami’s opponents will clamp down on the run game, making the offense one-dimensional.
The Carolina Panthers held the Dolphins to 19 rushing yards on 14 carries.
The Dolphins ran the ball eight times on first down Sunday, and only two of those runs produced 2 or more yards. Three of those carries actually lost yards.
So we’re potentially looking at a Dolphins offense that can’t protect its quarterback, one that lost the franchise’s top playmaker to a season-ending knee injury, and then, struggles to run the ball.
And a defense front that’s hemorrhaging against the run, with no solution in sight.
That means the foundation of this team — the trenches, which was supposedly rebuilt this offseason — has a faulty foundation.
It’s flawed, just like the rest of the roster general manager Chris Grier poorly built.
At this point it’s only a matter of time before these players, this franchise gets lost in the valley, and success is nowhere to be found.
The unfortunate part of this season is things can get worse, and unless the people in charge do something drastic — like trade for a starting defensive lineman — they likely will.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 11:04 AM.
