Kelly: Will Dolphins deliver the usual December disappointment? | Opinion
Welcome to December, the month the Miami Dolphins’ hopes and dreams expire like stale milk just about every season.
In December the weather’s cold. The football is physical, and the stakes are raised.
Because of those three factors — no matter who is the head coach, quarterback, leading tackler, leading rusher, or Pro Bowl talent on South Florida’s NFL team — the Dolphins have annually folded like a poker player with a disappointing hand in the month the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders.
Usually, a playoff berth is on the line, like last season when Miami needed to finish the fourth quarter of the season strong to qualify for the postseason after beginning 2024 with a 2-6 record. What did Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins do?
They went 2-2 in the final four games, lost quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a hip injury and laid down in a 32-20 season finale loss to the New York Jets.
How about the 2023 season, which is the crown jewel of McDaniel’s four-year tenure, the height of where this franchise rose to since 2008, which is when the Dolphins last won the AFC East championship.
Miami was at the doorstep of ending Buffalo’s dominance over the division. All they needed to do was beat the Tennessee Titans at home during a Monday night. However, the Dolphins had a monumental fourth-quarter collapse in that 28-27 loss, which spoiled the whole season.
A blowout loss to Baltimore followed that. And in a winner-take-all showdown against the Bills at home in the season finale of the 2023 season, the Dolphins’ offense came up empty on a possible game-winning fourth-quarter drive, sealing a 21-14 loss that squandered the right to host a playoff game.
How about the 1-5 finish in 2022, which spoiled yet another season, or the season-ending loss to Buffalo in 2020, and 2018, which all cost Miami its chance at a postseason berth in win-and-you’re-in situations.
December is where Dolphins seasons go to die year after year, and here we are.
What will make this December any different from the ones that have spoiled broken our hearts for the better part of the past two decades?
Desperation.
That’s new, unique, and to be honest, a little overdue.
Desperation has been Miami’s fuel this past month, the catalyst for this team’s recent hot streak, which has produced four wins in five contests.
When asked what has changed with the Dolphins after Sunday’s 21-17 nail-biting fourth-quarter win against the New Orleans Saints, inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson cut out the fluff and finally shot it straight to the masses.
“I don’t think it’s changed. I think the demeanor is you’ve got to win every game in the league because that’s how I eat. That’s how my family eats, and that’s how everyone else’s family eats,” said Dodson, who is on pace to have a career-best season after contributing 95 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the 11 games he’s played.
Keep in mind Dodson’s completing the first year of a two-year deal that could be worth $6.2 million if he isn’t waived this offseason.
His play certainly merits keeping him around, especially considering he will cost the team $3 million in 2026. But he would also save the team $3 million in cap space, which makes this an opt-in year for Miami. But who makes that call?
Who knows what scheme the next head coach wants to use, and how Dodson fits into that. Who knows if the next general manager has a linebacker he wants to bring with him, or eventually add via a trade or the draft.
That’s how Dodson got waived by the Seattle Seahawks in the middle of the 2024 season, months after signing there as a free agent.
That’s what happens when franchises make regime changes.
Things change, and nobody is safe, especially when an organization needs to change the franchise’s culture, like the Dolphins desperately do after removing general manager Chris Grier, who had South Florida’s NFL franchise running in place for his seven years at the helm.
“You’ve got to win in this game. I think the demeanor hasn’t changed,” Dodson said. “I think the demeanor is kind of more stern, to answer your question.”
Win, or people get fired.
Produce a winning season by winning four of the final five games or McDaniel possibly gets fired, and families start relocating.
Keep improving on defense or defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s shot to become a head coach evaporates.
The rookie defensive tackles need to keep improving because their performance impacts where defensive line coach Austin Clark ends up.
The offensive line’s resurrection from its early season struggles might keep offensive line coach Butch Barry employed, either with Miami or another NFL franchise.
De’Von Achane’s development could keep running back coach Eric Studesville in demand around the league.
For once, maybe the Dolphins players realize their performance doesn’t just impact their pockets. They impact everyone in the organization’s future.
Good to see they’re finally playing like it after months of buckling to that pressure.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 12:24 PM.
