I wish the National Football League had a “sim to end of regular season” button we could press right now, because the thought of having to sit through another 12 games of miserable, pitiful, embarrassing Miami Dolphins football games this season makes me sick to my stomach.
Everyone involved in the Dolphins organization should be ashamed of what they put on the field in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday during the team’s 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers. In fact, just toss nearly everyone out like day old newspapers. I bet the results would barely differ. There are very few solutions on this team — but a multitude of problems.
The Dolphins held a 17-0 lead early on Sunday, yet gave up 20 unanswered points before finally connecting on a long touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle late in the fourth quarter to reclaim the lead. How did the defense respond?
With a whimper — allowing the Panthers to march down the field for the game-winning score with incredible ease.
Miami is broken. And they won’t be able to fix themselves this season. Buckle up, because it already feels like it’s been a long year and there are still THREE MONTHS to go. Sigh.
GOOD
Darren Waller continues touchdown streak
Because it is in the name of the article, I have to find a “good” from Sunday’s game where the Dolphins got embarrassed by what was supposed to be an inferior opponent.
Darren Waller has played just two games for Miami after missing the team’s first three contests on the year. Despite that fact, on Sunday against the Panthers, Waller caught his third touchdown on the season, giving the Dolphins their second endzone trip on the day.
Waller — at 33 years old — is one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise miserable club.
Let’s hope his feel-good story can continue as the season progresses.
BAD
Dolphins offense goes missing for large chunk of game
The Dolphins got off to a quick start against the Panthers, kicking a field goal on their first drive of the game, scoring a touchdown early in the second quarter (Achane 10-yard reception), and hitting pay-dirt once more with Waller’s four-yard touchdown grab with 10:48 left in the second quarter.
Miami took a 17-0 lead and it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the guys in aqua and orange for the rest of the day.
It wasn’t.
The Dolphins wouldn’t score again until Tagovailoa hit Waddle for a 46-yard touchdown bomb with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins did not put a single point on the board for 36 minutes and six seconds of game time.
With a defense as poor as the Dolphins field, not scoring points for the equivalent of two and a half quarters is completely unacceptable and a major reason why Miami fell to Carolina on Sunday.
UGLY
Dolphins defense is unequivocally shattered
The Carolina Panthers were without starting running back Chuba Hubbard against the Miami Dolphins, but I doubt anyone noticed, as Miami allowed Rico Dowdle, Carolina’s second-string back, to rush for 206 yards on 23 carries — a sickening 9.0 yards per carry average.
That isn’t a typo. You read that correctly. Oh, and Dowdle scored on the ground and added 3 receptions for 28 yards as well.
The Dolphins allowed the Panthers’ backup to look like Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and Emmitt Smith combined.
Miami’s defensive performance against a team that finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record and had won just one game during the 2025 season going into Sunday’s clash should be the type of performance that causes heads to roll in Miami Gardens this week.
The Dolphins defense is abhorrent in every single way, and someone should have to pay for it.
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After falling to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Dolphins gave back the smidgen of goodwill they earned by defeating the New York Jets last week. This team is bad. There are only so many ways of saying it. I doubt they win more than three more games for the rest of the season. Their next opportunity to get a victory will be next Sunday against Justin Herbert — the 6th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft — and the Los Angeles Chargers. Do you even care? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins… up?
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