'Supposed to blow them out today' — One Chargers star's post-game comments about Dolphins underscore just how far Miami has fallen in 2025

"We (were) supposed to blow them out today. I feel like we had a great start to blow 'em out."

— Chargers safety Derwin James on their Week 6 contest with the Dolphins

Ouch. This is how the league sees the Miami Dolphins these days? It's a far cry from the team that was lighting up the scoreboard in 2023, grounding teams into a dust with the Wildcat, lacing the ball all over the field via the right arm of Dan Marino, or suffocating teams under the direction of Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula.

No, this is instead teetering on the brink of 2019 territory.

Tua Tagovailoa's ball security woes in 2025

• Third in the NFL in interceptions (7) after Week 6
• Equals interception total from 2024
• Half of career-high in single season interceptions (14 in 2023)

If that feels like hyperbole or an overreaction, consider the 2019 Dolphins started that season 1-7. Miami this year is road games against Cleveland and Atlanta from equalling that mark. The Dolphins defense in 2019 conceded 30.9 points per game defensively. Miami this year is averaging 29 points per game.

This team has more talent than 2019 in a number of places. But in what they have in talent, they're lacking in context to that trying 5-win season. That year was a rookie head coach with a stripped down roster. This year's team is still in the top third of the league in payroll and has a coach in his fourth year.

The Dolphins have fallen. Far. The question now is whether or not they're going to find the pride needed to pull themselves back up.

window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll && event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-426').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-426').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*');