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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tahj Washington (84) congratulates place kicker Riley Patterson (47) after the 2025 NFL Madrid Game against the Washington Commanders at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why This Feels an Awful Lot Like Deja Vu

Originally posted on Miami Dolphins on SI
By Alain Poupart | Last updated Nov 17, 2025 11:31 AM ET

The Miami Dolphins' 2025 season keeps feeling more and more like their 2021 season with each passing game.

After their 16-13 overtime victory against the Washington Commanders in Madrid on Sunday, the Dolphins find themselves with a 4-7 record through 11 games, just as they were in 2021.

How they got here is almost identical, the 2021 Dolphins winning three straight after starting 1-7 and the 2025 team winning three of four after starting 1-6.

That 2021 Dolphins team, of course, continued its winning ways for a few more weeks, getting themselves to 8-7 heading into a Week 17 game against the Tennessee Titans, where their playoff hopes died with a humbling 34-3 loss.

And, even though some Dolphins fans actually might push back against this, the stage is set for the 2025 team to make a similar type of run.

WHY THE DOLPHINS ARE SET UP FOR A RUN

As it was in 2021, the schedule this season sets up favorably for the Dolphins to be able to make a bit of a run after their bye.

The Dolphins' next game is at home against the New Orleans Saints before they face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on the first Sunday in December. Those two teams are tied for second-fewest wins in the NFL with their identical 2-8 records.

What follows is a Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, and this is where we note that the Steelers have lost their last five prime-time games, including three this season.

After that is a Sunday night home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, who now stand at 3-7 and certainly could decide at some point to simply have Joe Burrow sit out the rest of the season once the playoffs no longer are a possibility for them instead of him coming back from his foot injury that required surgery.

We all can take it for what it's worth, but former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden predicted last week in the aftermath of the big 30-13 victory against the Buffalo Bills that the Dolphins would go on a five-game run.

You want a hot take?! Well here's one!

Don't be shocked if you wake up in a few weeks and the MIAMI DOLPHINS are in the playoff hunt!!@watchfoxone pic.twitter.com/DXZqQ0tdRd
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) November 14, 2025

The last line about Mike McDaniel getting a five-year contract extension obviously was a joke (we think), but the idea of a five-game run isn't really that crazy.

And, yes, we saw that after the game in Spain where the Dolphins easily could have lost.

These Dolphins are following a similar pattern that's been consistent under McDaniel, the ability to beat good teams while struggling against better teams.

The victory against Washington made the Dolphins 3-1 against teams that currently have a losing record, while they're 1-5 against team that currently have a winning record, plus a loss against the .500 Baltimore Ravens.

The Dolphins have switched to a simpler formula on offense, one that should limit the turnovers because they're not passing as much.

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS??

Whether the Dolphins actually can legitimately put themselves in the playoff picture remains to be seen, but we would suspect they'll get into the "In the Hunt" category if they take care of business against the Saints and the Jets.

The schedule does end with tougher matchups than in 2021, with division leaders Tampa Bay and New England waiting for the final two games, but the Dolphins also are in a better spot at 4-7 now than they were four years.

The Dolphins currently stand 11th in the AFC standings with their 4-7 record, which means they have four teams to jump and they have two more losses than anybody else in front of them.

In the 2021, the Dolphins were 13th in the AFC through 11 weeks with six teams to jump and they also had two more losses than any other team ahead of them in the standings.

The big question at this point is whether the Dolphins are a better team than they were in 2021, which was Brian Flores' last season as head coach.

It says there that despite their current offensive limitations, the offense is clearly better because of De'Von Achane, as well as the impending return of tight end Darren Waller, while the defense isn't quite as good as that 2021 group.

But this 2025 defense has been playing much better over the past month and maybe it can help the Dolphins finish strong.

The 2021 Dolphins ended up finishing with a 9-8 record, so it would take a 5-1 finish to match it.

That doesn't sound terribly realistic at this time, but then again neither did the 2021 season having that final record after starting 1-7.

This article first appeared on Miami Dolphins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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