The Miami Dolphins will likely take a long look in the mirror after their first outing. Mike McDaniel’s team tumbled against the Indianapolis Colts, losing 33-8 on the road.
Daniel Jones, the new face in Indianapolis after being cast out of New York, carved up the Miami defense for 272 yards while barging in for a pair of rushing touchdowns. On offense, the Dolphins were six and a half minutes from being blanked. Such a performance doesn’t indicate a great spot in the post-Week 1 power rankings.
Dolphins Drop in Newly-Released League Hierarchy
In PFSN’s most recent Power Rankings, posted Monday, the Dolphins were ranked sixth-worst in the NFL. Only the New Orleans Saints (No. 28), New England Patriots (No. 29), Tennessee Titans (No. 30), New York Giants (No. 31), and Carolina Panthers (No. 32) had worse positioning.
Despite a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns were slotted a spot ahead of McDaniel’s crew at No. 26.
The Dolphins have only had two larger defeats in a season opener. The Baltimore Ravens trounced Miami 59-10 in 2019, the first of seven straight Dolphins losses to start the campaign. Even with Dan Marino at their offense’s controls in 1988, they lost 34-7 to the Chicago Bears. Both times, Miami finished with at least 10 losses.
“I think there was a lot of preparation for Week 1, and I don’t think it looked it,” McDaniel said afterward. “What does that mean? That means that guys let Week 1 and the bells and whistles of the season starting get the best of them. My job is to prevent that — did my best (but) not good enough.”
“The way we lost probably is an overall better way to learn an absolute lesson that never changes. If you ever let the game or desire to achieve be bigger than the nets (and) bolts of execution and not dropping people in protection, not over-running tackles … then you are going to have those results,” he explained.
Dolphins Have Chance to Rebound in Week 2
Fortunately, the Dolphins get to return home for their second clash of the season, against the division-rival New England Patriots. QB Drake Maye wasn’t all that impressive during the second half of his team’s defeat against QB Geno Smith and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Miami will need to turn things around quickly, or McDaniel’s job could be in jeopardy — many Dolphins fans have expressed their disapproval for his performance, especially on social media. Additionally, WR Tyreek Hill’s future with the team is in question, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio theorizing he could end up with Kansas City or Pittsburgh.
Regardless, the Dolphins’ AFC East opener against the Patriots will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. Fortunately for Miami, the team is 4-0 against New England — their last loss came in January of 2023.
