Dolphins' Mike McDaniel admits harsh truths about blowout loss to Colts

The Miami Dolphins may have produced the worst performance of the opening week of the 2025 season when they suffered a 33-8 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday. 

While speaking with reporters on Monday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel admitted some harsh truths about how his club played at Lucas Oil Stadium over the weekend. 

Mike McDaniel rips "embarrassing" outing at Indianapolis Colts

"It was embarrassing, flat out, and in that, there’s nowhere to hide," McDaniel directly said, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "Within the game, it’s almost good that it wasn’t reachable, that we were minus-four [in turnover margin], because as a team we have to — I was really looking forward to seeing the stuff that we’ve really worked on diligently, and I didn’t see any of it, and that’s a problem."

McDaniel's side had a day to forget in just about every way imaginable. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed just 14-of-23 passes for 114 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble. 

On Tuesday, ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques noted that the Dolphins pressured Colts quarterback Daniel Jones on only eight of his 33 dropbacks. Across those eight plays, Jones completed 5-of-6 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Jones connected on 22-of-29 total passes for 272 yards and one touchdown against Miami. He also rushed for a pair of scores.

Mike McDaniel shares "good news" after Indianapolis Colts debacle

"I would say the good news and the positive is I don’t see how it could be worse," McDaniel added during his comments. "And I also believe in the coaches and players to get it fixed because it’s just a shame. You work behind the scenes for months on end, and you don’t show any of it — it’s frustrating. But that can be a good thing, and that’s what I saw from the positive. Also, you could tell, as frustrating as it was, the team didn’t splinter, and the effort still remained. There’s things there, but overall — I’m not trying to paint a glossy … I’ll call it what it is. It was embarrassing and not anything that paying fans sign up for."

Rumors surfaced long before Miami's Week 1 showing that McDaniel will spend the season essentially coaching for his job. Considering what occurred on Sunday, it could soon become fair to wonder if he will still be with the Dolphins when Week 18 wraps up. 

Miami next hosts the New England Patriots this coming Sunday. The Patriots began their season with a 20-13 home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.