Three Biggest Disappointments in First Third of 2025 Season

The Miami Dolphins entered the season with playoff hopes, but instead look like one of the league’s worst teams through six games. 

Miami is one of six teams with one or fewer wins through one-third of the season, and what was once considered a soft reset over the offseason is starting to look like a total rebuild. Despite the conservative spending, Miami had hopes of making a push toward a third playoff appearance of the Mike McDaniel era by leaning on the perceived strengths of a roster that had won at least eight games in each of the last five seasons.

There are many contributing factors to a 1-5 record and a minus-40 point differential, but three disappointments stand above the rest through six weeks. 

The (Lack of) Pass Rush

The Dolphins pass rush had the potential to be special entering the 2025 season. Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are healthy and back in the mix, while Chop Robinson looked like a difference-maker with three sacks in the final four games to end his rookie season.

On top of that, Matthew Judon joined the unit late in the summer for some added firepower. 

However, Chubb is the only player in that unit with more than one sack through six games. Chubb leads the team with four sacks. Robinson and Phillips each have one. Judon, who has played 32 percent of Miami’s defensive snaps, hasn’t logged a tackle for loss. 

Miami’s soft reset during the offseason was mostly on the defensive side of the football. The Dolphins have a completely new secondary and a rotating cast of defensive tackles next to Zach Sieler in the trenches. 

Many believed the pass rush could cover other roster holes while players settled in elsewhere, but that hasn’t been the case. Miami is 20th in passing yards allowed per game and only 11 teams have fewer than Miami’s 12 sacks. The Dolphins are also 29th in points allowed per game and 32nd in rushing defense.

Phillips is tied for 15th with 11 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, but while pressuring the quarterback is always good, we saw the difference between a sack and pressure in the closing minute against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Injuries On The Offensive Line

Injuries along the offensive line continue to be a yearly theme for the Dolphins. 

James Daniels signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the Dolphins in free agency to solidify the right guard spot. He played three snaps before being placed on injured reserve. 

Starting right tackle Austin Jackson played 37 snaps in Week 1 before being placed on injured reserve due to a toe injury. He played 16 games in 2023 but was limited to two games in 2022 and eight in 2024. 

The Dolphins have been without the starting right side of the offensive line for the majority of the season, and injuries to a pair of backup linemen have further weakened the unit early in the year. 

Liam Eichenberg, who has played at least 800 snaps in three of the last four seasons, has been on the reserve/PUP list since training camp began. While Eichenberg struggled as a starter, he re-signed with the expectation of being a depth piece — and the Dolphins could certainly use his services with injuries piling up. 

Andrew Meyer doesn’t have the same level of experience, but Miami has also been without the backup lineman since early August. He didn’t appear in a game as a rookie and primarily worked as the team’s backup center, but could’= have helped the Dolphins avoid calling on Cole Strange, who started less than a month after he signed with the team, and Kion Smith, who took just 15 of 134 preseason snaps at right guard.

Missed Opportunities 

Despite the roster flaws and injuries, the Dolphins are struggling to play complementary football when it matters most. Arguably the biggest disappointment of all, Miami has had the chance to either tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter of four of five losses this season.

In the fourth quarter of Week 2, Malik Washington gave Miami a 27-23 lead with a punt return touchdown before New England countered with a kick return touchdown on the very next play. The offense didn’t score a touchdown in the second half and had two pre-snap penalties in two different drives during the fourth quarter. 

The Dolphins had another shot in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills. After tying the game at 21 early in the fourth, the offense was set to get the ball back with a chance to take the lead before Zach Sieler was penalized for roughing the kicker. Not only did the Bills capitalize with a touchdown, but their defense also intercepted Tua Tagovailoa in the red zone on the following drive.

It was more of the same in Week 5. While the Dolphins saw a 17-0 lead slip away against the Carolina Panthers, they had a shot to reclaim the game late. Tagovailoa and the offense snapped a streak of five straight punts with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle with just under five minutes left. 

The Panthers answered with an eight-play touchdown drive. Trailing 27-24, the Miami offense had minus-7 yards in three plays before punting the ball away with only 1:03 left. The defense forced Carolina into third-and-5 on the following drive, but Jack Jones was called for defensive pass interference to end the game. 

Miami took a 27-26 lead over the Chargers on Sunday with just 46 seconds left. Los Angeles had no timeouts, but Miami needed someone to make a play to end the game.

Running back Nyheim Miller-Hines, who the Chargers elevated from the practice squad for the game, gave Los Angeles great starting field position with a 40-yard kick return. The pass rush got to Herbert on first down, but he had enough time to throw the ball away. 

The pass rush reached Herbert again on second down, but he slipped a tackle and found Ladd McConkey, who broke free for a 42-yard gain to set up the game-winning field goal.

There are holes across the Dolphins roster, but this isn’t a team that has been outmatched as much as its 1-5 record might suggest. Miami does not have the top-end talent of title contenders, but there’s a case to be made that things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Still, there’s an old saying: Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, almost isn’t enough to win games in the National Football League.

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