The Miami Dolphins dropped their second straight game to open the 2025 NFL season on Sunday when they fell by a score of 33-27 to their AFC East rivals — the New England Patriots.
It’s not how any of us wanted the season to start, by any means, however if the team can somehow upset the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, that unexpected victory would go a long way towards getting the Dolphins on the right track.
Speaking of “getting on the right track,” there are some players who are doing their best to help the Dolphins do just that — and conversely, there are some who need to show improvement if Miami is to somehow dig themselves out of the hole they find themselves in to start the year.
That brings us to this week’s edition of our weekly “stock up, stock down” column entitled Fins Up, Fins Down!
Fins Up
This week’s Fins Up player is someone who, if this column existed in years past, would have probably found himself on the positive side of things more often than not — and that is wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Now, I know that Hill has done some significant damage to his reputation in the eyes of many Dolphins fans — as his off field antics tend to turn plenty of folks off. And who could blame them, especially after the star receiver removed himself from last year’s Week 18 game against the New York Jets at halftime and then subsequently said he wanted out of Miami in the form of a trade? Hill would later walk back those comments and stay in South Florida, but the words could not be unspoken, nor could they just be forgotten.
However, Hill’s play on the field for Miami in Week Two was a reminder of how the player can impact a game in a good way for the Dolphins.
Hill finished Sunday’s contest with six catches for 109 yards — including an underthrown 47 yard deep shot from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that Hill nabbed in between two Patriots defenders. That catch was the first catch of over 30 yards for Hill in more than a calendar year.
If the Dolphins are to start stockpiling wins, they’ll certainly need more performances like Sunday’s from the man nicknamed The Cheetah.
Fins Down
This week’s Fins Down player is rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea. The youngster earned Pro Football Focus’ lowest grade out of all Dolphins players on Sunday — earning a paltry 26.4 score for the game.
After trading picks 48, 98 and 135 in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for picks 37 and 143, the Dolphins selected Savaiinaea out of the University of Arizona with the idea that he would start for Miami immediately.
Savaiinaea has immediately started for the Dolphins, however the start hasn’t been what Miami had hoped it would be for the youngster. Through two games, the 21-year-old is PFF’s lowest graded guard in the entire National Football League. He hasn’t allowed a sack, yet his pass-blocking grade of 17.9 is the worst mark for any lineman. He also owns the third-worst run-blocking grade in the league.
Luckily for Savaiinaea and Dolphins fans alike, two games does not a career make, so the lineman has plenty of time to adjust and improve. His continued development will be a storyline to follow even if the Dolphins continue to find themselves on the losing end of the scoreboard in 2025.
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