5 Biggest Reasons the Dolphins Didn't Make the Playoffs

The Miami Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, marking the second straight season the team will miss the postseason. 

This comes after the team made the postseason in 2022 and 2023 in head coach Mike McDaniel’s first two seasons. Of course, Miami’s elimination means the team’s streak of not winning a postseason game will extend to a 25th season. 

Let’s take a look at the top five reasons the team missed the postseason in 2025. One disclaimer: we’re not including injuries on this list. They matter, but it’s more interesting to talk about what’s happening on the field. 

Top 5 Reasons Miami Dolphins Missed 2025 NFL Playoffs 

1. Learning Curve on Defense 

Anthony Weaver and the players deserve a ton of credit for the defense’s improvement this season, but it’s hard not to think about how the unit played during the team’s 1-6 start and not blame them for a significant portion of those losses. 

The defense allowed 29 points per game and was the worst run defense in the league during that stretch. The Dolphins’ defense had numerous opportunities to get key stops against the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers. 

If Miami’s defense was playing like it is now back then, there’s a good chance the Dolphins wouldn’t have started 1-6. That left the team with no room for error down the stretch. 

The offense has had plenty of problems this season, and don’t worry, we’re getting to that, but Miami’s defense was prohibitively bad to start the season. 

2. Tua Tagovailoa’s Regression 

Speaking of the offense, Tua Tagovailoa regressing the way he did this season is a big reason the Dolphins won’t make the postseason. Tua didn’t play too badly early in the season, but he was quite bad against the Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland Browns. 

He also failed in some clutch situations against the Patriots, Panthers, and Buffalo Bills (Week 3), but he did come through against the Chargers. 

However, Tua’s decision-making fell off a cliff this season. Before he was benched this week, he led the league in interceptions with 15, and most of them were on him. His mobility and arm strength — two things he already struggled with — got even worse, limiting Miami’s offense a ton. 

The Dolphins masked some of the issues with a dominant running game against some bad opponents, but the second that things got a little hard against the Steelers, it was obvious that Tua was a big issue. 

3. Lack of Development from McDaniel  

The head coach should never be blameless for a disappointing season, especially one who has a say in personnel and calls the plays on offense. 

McDaniel deserves credit for getting creative with the running game during the team’s four-game win streak, and he mostly kept the locker room together during the early-season losing streak, but too many of his faults have remained in year four. 

The Dolphins are still late to the line of scrimmage a lot. This leads to pre-snap penalties and limits the ability to audible at the line. Miami is also still bad against teams with winning records. 

Miami is 1-5 against teams with winning records this season, with the game against Pittsburgh serving as a strong reminder of how far away this Dolphins team still seems from real contenders. 

Although McDaniel committed to the running game for a while, he got away from it when it mattered most against the Steelers. 

McDaniel has had all of these issues for years now, and despite a glimmer of hope, they all resurfaced at times this season. 

4. Poor Self-Scouting 

This is another issue that can be blamed on McDaniel. With him at the helm, the Dolphins have had a bad habit of sticking with players because they know the scheme or are veterans over players who are just straight-up better. 

Some examples this season? 

Tanner Conner playing over Greg Dulcich, Ashtyn Davis playing over Dante Trader Jr., and Matthew Judon playing at all are just a few. Judon was cut this week, but his having almost an equal snap share to Chop Robinson this season doesn't make any sense.

The team signed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine this offseason, knowing full well he’s a great vertical receiver, but hasn’t given him any vertical receiving chances. Jaylen Wright was injured at the start of the season, but he looked great against the Jets — why can’t he get more carries? 

Well, that’s because self-scouting also means being honest about what type of team you are. If you follow my work or listen to the All Dolphins Podcast, you know I’ve been banging the drum for the Dolphins to become a run-first team since the preseason. 

It took Miami until Tyreek Hill’s injury and a 2-7 start to realize it was better equipped to win on the ground rather than through the air. Ultimately, it was too little too late. 

5. Overreliance on Rookies 

To be clear, I'm optimistic about Miami’s rookie class having a bunch of contributors and a few starters in the long term. However, rookies — even when playing well — tend to take some time and make mistakes. 

Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea have gotten better this season, but they were essentially handed starting positions this summer. Grant was rough in run defense for a while, and Savaiianea is arguably the worst pass-blocking guard in the NFL. 

Jason Marshall Jr. was the starting slot out of the preseason, and he didn’t play well before getting injured in Week 3. Although we’d argue Trader is better than Davis at safety, the fifth-round pick has made his fair share of high-profile mistakes. 

Jordan Phillips is probably Miami’s most consistent rookie, but he’s just a nose tackle. There’s only so much he can accomplish, and like his teammates, he’s still learning, too. 

Miami’s overindulgence in contracts and trades for veteran players in previous seasons left glaring holes and a lack of depth on the roster. That forced Miami to put unrealistic expectations on a rookie class that needed some time to get acclimated. 

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