The Miami Dolphins suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season to the Cleveland Browns in Week 7. They mustered up only six points against the 1-5 Browns at the time and their offense looked as bad as it ever has. Tua Tagovailoa had a horrific performance, which stirred up some controversy on whether the Dolphins could be better off with a different quarterback under center in Week 8.
Head coach Mike McDaniel cleared the air and announced who he’s rolling with next week.
Are the Dolphins Making a QB Change?
The Dolphins will be trotting out Tagovailoa as the starter. McDaniel is not ready to lose his trust in star quarterback and wants him to lead their offense again.
“Yes,” McDaniel said. “He will be starter this week.”
Will Tua take all the first team snaps in practice and remain starter at least next several weeks? Yes, McDaniel said. He will be starter this week.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 20, 2025
Tagovailoa threw three interceptions including a pick-six and one from his own end zone that resulted in an instant score from Browns RB Quinshon Judkins. He completed only 12 of his 23 pass attempts and only had 100 yards. That isn’t good enough to win football games and if he doesn’t improve McDaniel might have to make a change, if he is still in a job by then.
The backups in Miami are Zach Wilson and rookie Quinn Ewers. Ewers saw his first action on Sunday in garbage time after becoming the official QB2. Ewers would likely be next in line to take over as the signal-caller, but McDaniel isn’t ready to give Ewers that chance.
The Dolphins have one win on the year and are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Their only win is over the 0-7 New York Jets, for whom it doesn’t look like that win is guaranteed to come anytime soon. The Dolphins have the Atlanta Falcons and Baltmiore Ravens next on their schedule and could be staring at another two losses as they plummet to the bottom.
McDaniel seems like a dead man walking and it’s only a matter of time before he’s fired. he offense is picking up injuries. Tyreek Hill is out for the season, Darren Waller is hurt and is week-to-week, and this isn’t even addressing the injuries in the secondary for the defense.
The Dolphins offense is the 23rd-ranked offense in the league based on PFSN’s Offense Impact metric with an impact score of 70.1. If they keep playing like Week 7, their grade will plummet.
The Dolphins season is effectively over and it’s time for fans to start firing up the mock drafts. It’s time to start planning for the future in Miami and wonder what player they can add to their team at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft.
