Most Miami Dolphins fans woke up Monday morning with the opinion that their season is over.
At 1-4, the team would have to go 9-3 in the final dozen games in order to meet owner Stephen Ross’ mandate to improve the status quo. That is a long shot. The resulting apathy among fans, however, has yet to affect the players themselves — at least that’s what was said publicly.
“We’re built for it, man,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb responded when asked if the team could bounce back. “We’re built in the fire. We’ve seen adversity. We’ve shot ourselves in the foot on defense as much as we could, so there’s no other thing we can do but respond.”
Behind closed doors, it might be a bit of a different story, as the locker room was described as “numb” after the team blew a 17-0 lead and lost to the Carolina Panthers 27-24. Whether the numbness was because of the loss itself or due to the realization that the schedule won’t get any easier is unclear. And as much as you would expect the team to begin pointing fingers, that wasn’t necessarily the case, according to coach Mike McDaniel.
“The one takeaway that I did receive during the game is there was not splintering,” McDaniel said Sunday. “There were not phases being frustrated with each other. Everybody wanted to make a play and wanted to play 11 people as one.”
Still, it’s difficult not to overlook what the players did say after the loss.
Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (2) pressures Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) in the first half of their NFL game at the Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
“Bizarre is the word for it,” Chubb said of his feelings, later adding that “we got to all look in the mirror and bow up and see who’s going to be here for each other, who’s going to be accountable for their actions.”
“It’s tough — no one wants to start the season 1-4,” Tua Tagovailoa said, adding that “this feeling sucks.”
Even McDaniel, speaking about the run defense’s ineffectiveness, appeared fed up.
“It just can’t continue to go on like this and it’s already gone on too long, so we’ll get back to the drawing board,” McDaniel said. “In the National Football League, no one cares about your feelings. You lose a game like this, you better come together and from the foundation out, you need to build on our sound things that we believe in that we know our players are good at and everyone needs to be accountable.”
Although the defense deserves its fair share of blame for allowing a backup tailback in Rico Dowdle to single-handedly produce more than 200 yards of offense, Tagovailoa and company didn’t exactly do themselves any favors. The Dolphins offense was stuck at 17 for a significant portion of the game until a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle broke the proverbial scoring cap late in the fourth quarter.
“As we went in and were trying to get things going in the second half, we had some penalties on some plays, to where we could get back into our flow,” Tagovailoa said. “And then as we were trying to run the ball to open some things up, we just weren’t executing in that aspect of it, and so when you try to do what you say you’re going to come out and do, and it’s not working, now we’ve got to adjust.”
Miami Dolphins cornerback Julius Brents (32) tackles Carolina Panthers running back Trevor Etienne (23) in the second half of their NFL game at the Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
The question likely on everyone’s mind is where does the team go from here? As the popular adage goes, Superman is not walking through that door. In other words, there’s not an immediate fix for the run defense — especially considering the organization’s decision to ride out the youth movement with two rookie defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips.
“Everybody always wants it sooner, but at the same time, there’s a pattern to all this, and it’s pretty consistent with the development of young players,” McDaniel said Friday.
Offensively, it would seem that teams will go all-in on stopping the run, the area that the Dolphins came into Sunday with the eighth-best yards-per-carry mark, in the post-Tyreek Hill era. And while the deep shot to Waddle can be considered the best-case scenario for when defenses stack the box, it more often than not can lead to the several third-and-long situations that ultimately curbed the offense’s momentum.
“We were in a ton of third-and-longs because we got zero or no production on the run opportunities,” McDaniel said. “You’re trying to be balanced as you can. You’re trying to understand or understanding that if they know you’re going to pass every play, you probably won’t have production that way. We’ve got no rhythm.”
How the Dolphins respond after a loss to the Panthers will be very telling. Fresh off a loss of their own, the Los Angeles Chargers, a team with its own fair share of injuries along the offensive line, come into town Sunday. An upset against over one of the better AFC teams in the Chargers would be the only way to inject a modicum of hope into the fan base. Even then, however, it might inspire another sort of dissatisfaction, as many supporters have already moved on to 2026 and the NFL Draft.
The Dolphins officially find themselves in a lose-lose situation. Unfortunately, this is what happens when a team underachieves.