he Miami Dolphins reached the bye week winning three of their last four games, but two separate three-game losing streaks have dominated the narrative after 11 weeks.
While Miami looked outmatched at times during its 4–7 start, it hasn’t done itself any favors with mental errors and breakdowns in high-pressure situations. After looking at the high points from the first 11 weeks, here’s one person’s top 10 most regrettable plays so far this season.
The case for Mike McDaniel is that he’s a creative offensive mind capable of developing an explosive game plan. The case against McDaniel is that there continue to be strange situations, including what took place before the clock even started in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills.
Alec Ingold was called for a questionable false start before the first play from scrimmage, leading to McDaniel burning one of his three timeouts with the clock still at 15:00 in the first quarter to talk with the refs. The irony here is that the strange start was followed by a 30-13 upset of the Bills, where Miami was the better team for four quarters.
Both the false start and the decision to burn a timeout could be debated. This play had no impact on the game when it was all said and done, but head-scratching decisions, especially when trying to utilize timeouts, are a trend of the Mike McDaniel era.
The Dolphins found some momentum with a field goal right before the half against the Cleveland Browns, and would also receive the second-half kickoff trailing 17-6.
On the first play of the third quarter, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tried to find running back De’Von Achane in the flat, but a defender was in the area. The ball popped into the air, and cornerback Tyson Campbell was there for the interception before taking the ball 30 yards in the other direction for the touchdown.
The interception was the first of three for Tagovailoa, who was benched for Quinn Ewers late in the game.
Trailing 7-3 late in the first quarter, the Dolphins had a fourth-and-1 at Baltimore’s 12-yard line. McDaniel chose to go for it, but right tackle Larry Borom was called for a false start, turning it into a fourth-and-6.
Miami brought out the field goal unit, but Riley Patterson missed from 35 yards out. The Ravens offense followed the miss with a seven-play 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Instead of first-and-goal — or even a one-point game — the visiting Ravens could control the tempo with an early 11-point advantage.
The Dolphins were 0-2 on fourth down and 1-5 on red zone attempts in the 16-13 overtime win against the Washington Commanders. Some defensive heroics saved the day after Miami went for a touchdown instead of taking the points (and lead) with less than two minutes remaining.
Following the two-minute warning with the game tied at 13, Achane was stuffed for no gain, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the Washington one-yard line. Instead of kicking the field goal on fourth, running back Ollie Gordon was stuffed for a two-yard loss, and the offense turned the ball over on downs.
WHAT A STOP ON 4TH & GOAL BY THE COMMANDERS. pic.twitter.com/OsNQdUMvRx
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) November 16, 2025
Cornerback Jack Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first play of overtime to set up the game-winning field goal, but this could’ve been avoided if Miami had just taken the points.
Hunter Renfrow has caught just two passes for 14 yards since the start of October, but his number was called in one of the biggest moments against the Dolphins in Week 5.
On third-and-5 with 55 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a 27-24 game, Bryce Young targeted Renfrow on an out route when Jones pulled his jersey and committed the pass interference penalty. The Panthers received a new set of downs and could kneel to run out the clock.
Unforced errors summed up Miami’s struggles over the first two months and were a key part of blowing a 17-0 lead against Carolina.
Miami faced the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football with something to prove after beginning the year 0-2 with losses to the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. The Dolphins had their chances, but also flashed some uncharacteristic tendencies.
Miami tied the game at 21 early in the fourth quarter, and the offense was preparing to get the ball back after an incomplete pass on third-and-7. However, defensive tackle Zach Sieler was penalized for roughing kicker Cameron Johnston on the punt, giving Buffalo 15 yards and a fresh set of downs.
Buffalo Bills before Zach Sieler's roughing the punter penalty:
➖ Punt
➖ Punt
➖ Punt
Buffalo Bills following Zach Sieler's roughing the punter penalty:
➖ Touchdown
➖ Interception
➖ Field Goal
Game changer. #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/enVfaDB3qh
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) September 19, 2025
The Dolphins lack the firepower to overcome unforced errors, especially when they come from a team captain.
Instead of getting the ball back with a chance to take the lead, Miami watched Buffalo turn the penalty into a 15-yard touchdown a few plays later. The Bills took a 28-21 lead and would never look back.
The Dolphins scored only six points and had three different drives stall inside the 20 against the Baltimore Ravens. For as ugly as the 28-6 final score looked, Miami had a chance to change the narrative shortly before halftime.
Trailing 14-6 with less than six minutes remaining, the Dolphins' offense marched down the field until Achane was stopped for no gain on third-and-2 from Baltimore’s 13-yard line. McDaniel decided to go for it on fourth down, but instead of focusing on moving the chains, Tagovailoa took a shot toward the back of the end zone — and nobody was there.
Tagovailoa tried to find Achane, but Kyle Hamilton blanketed him, so the ball fell harmlessly in the end zone. From design to execution to situational awareness, this play was the turning point against Baltimore.
After exchanging nine-play touchdown drives, Miami was marching down the field in Week 3 with a chance to tie the Bills at 28 with just over three minutes remaining.
On the ninth play, first-and-10 from Buffalo’s 21, Tagovailoa locks onto Jaylen Waddle over the middle, but Terrel Bernard steps in front for Miami’s first turnover of the evening.
The back-breaking interception led to a Buffalo field goal, and the Dolphins fell to 0-3 to begin the year after keeping up with a divisional rival for the better part of four quarters.
The Cleveland Browns beat the Dolphins by 25 points, but had only one drive longer than 57 yards.
On third-and-6 early in the second, Minkah Fitzpatrick was called for pass interference, negating Ashtyn Davis’ interception of Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel. On the very next play, running back Quinshon Judkins went right up the middle on the next play, breaking through arm tackles and going 46 yards for the touchdown.
Quinshon Judkins 46-yard TD!
MIAvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/tEkT7aMNZx
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
Not to discredit Judkins' run, but it’s important to keep in mind that Cleveland finished the game with 33 carries for 104 yards, which means the offense averaged less than two yards on the other 32 runs. On top of that, Judkins has only four carries of over 20 yards this season, and the run against Miami is the only carry of over 40 yards.
The touchdown run gave Cleveland a seven-point lead, and the game spiraled from there as Dee Eskridge fumbled the following kickoff to create a short scoring opportunity.
Tua Tagovailoa’s touchdown to Darren Waller and the following extra point gave the Dolphins a 27-26 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers with less than a minute left in regulation.
Starting from their own 41-yard line after a 40-yard Naheem Hines kick return, the Chargers just needed to get into field goal range.
After an incomplete pass on first down, Jaelan Phillips had a chance to take down quarterback Justin Herbert, who maintained his balance and shook off the would-be sack. Herbert found wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the flat, and a bad angle by the defender allowed him to shake free and set up the game-winning field goal inside the 20-yard line.
LADD MCCONKEY FOR 42 YARDS TO PUT THE CHARGERS IN FG RANGEpic.twitter.com/TWRjNuSWR0
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 12, 2025
It wasn’t the most difficult situation to overcome, but how this play developed is what makes it the most unfortunate play through 11 games.
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