Nine Wins in 2025 – Over or Under?

Most Miami Dolphins fans were shocked when the NFL scheduled five prime-time games for them in 2025.

In addition, a sixth stand-alone game is the one in Madrid against the Washington Commanders.

This is even more shocking considering Coach Mike McDaniel is 2-12 in prime-time games during his three-year tenure as head coach.

Do the NFL insiders project the Miami Dolphins to be better than expected, or is the NFL taking advantage of the drama surrounding the team?

For the broadcasters covering the Dolphins in their prime-time appearances, there is no lack of topics of conversation.

Discussions can take place regarding Tyreek Hill’s antics, his potential future with the team, what went wrong with Jalen Ramsey, Mike McDaniel’s inability to beat quality teams, the team’s uninspiring play in cold-weather games, the team’s failure to run the ball consistently, and the list goes on and on.

Despite the attention the NFL has given the Dolphins with the 2025 schedule, most pundits predict an eight or nine-win season.

And when taking even a cursory look at the schedule, this appears to be an accurate assessment.

The first five games against the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets, and the Carolina Panthers bode well for a strong start, so let’s assume that the Dolphins win four of these five games with the loss at the hands of the Bills.

The next six games before hitting the Bye week become much more difficult.

The Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, and the Madrid game against the Commanders.

Let’s say it will likely result in two wins: the Browns and Falcons.

That results in six wins leading up to the Bye week.

That leaves six remaining games: the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New England Patriots.

Three games (at the Jets, Steelers, and Patriots) could be played in cold weather.

Predicting wins against the Saints, Jets, and Patriots would seem reasonable, but that assumes the Dolphins can win in the cold in December and January.

That is nine wins.

Should the Dolphins lose again in cold weather, that would result in seven or eight wins.

As much as I look forward to the 2025 season, I can understand why the NFL pundits are predicting another year of mediocrity.

On the other hand, I hope that they are wrong.