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There are certain NFL teams that, when good, make the NFL better. Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots make the NFL better when they are good and playing for a World Championship. I’ll add the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears to that list as three of the NFL’s original franchises. But there’s another team that, when they are good, improves the NFL: the Miami Dolphins.
Here’s a trivia question that you may know the answer to: Which is the only NFL franchise to have a team go undefeated? Answer: the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Here’s another question that you also may know the answer to: Who is the all-time winningest head coach in NFL history? Answer: Don Shula, who won 347 games with 274 of those coming in 26 seasons as the Dolphins head coach.
Here’s another trivia question that you also may know the answer to: Which city has hosted the most Super Bowls? Answer: Miami, which has hosted 11 Super Bowls.
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All of these trivia questions illustrate my point that the NFL is better when the Miami Dolphins are good. It also illustrates my point that the city of Miami is just as synonymous with the NFL as Dallas, Green Bay, New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh are. Before the latest Super Bowl in Miami, Super Bowl LIV, the cover of Sports Illustrated had nine Super Bowl MVPs from nine of the previous Super Bowls in Miami. Joe Namath, Chuck Howley, Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, John Elway, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees formed a collection of who’s who of Pro Football Hall of Famers and soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famers. Some of the Super Bowl’s greatest games, moments, plays, and performances have occurred in Miami.
The Miami Dolphins have won two Super Bowls in franchise history, and the Dolphins have also played in three other Super Bowls. The two Super Bowls they won were Super Bowls VII and VIII, and those teams had eight future Pro Football Hall of Famers: Don Shula, Bobby Beathard, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little and Paul Warfield.
Those Dolphins teams are revered in the history of the franchise. But nine other Dolphins are also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Cris Carter, Jimmy Johnson, Dan Marino, Junior Seau, Dwight Stephenson, Jason Taylor, Thurman Thomas, Zach Thomas and George Young. In addition, 10 other Dolphins are in the Dolphins honor roll at Hard Rock Stadium. Again, the Dolphins have just as much as history and are just as synonymous with making the NFL better as any NFL franchise.
Over the last two seasons, the Miami Dolphins have been one of the most fun teams to watch in the NFL. With four Pro Bowlers in 2022 and six Pro Bowlers in 2023, the Dolphins have accumulated one of the NFL’s most talented teams that’s headlined by Tyreek Hill, who has made the last two First Teams for All-Pro.
In two seasons with Mike McDaniel as head coach, the Dolphins’ offense has risen to the top of the NFL rankings. Miami finished second in scoring in 2023 while leading the NFL in yards per game. Tyreek Hill led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023 with 1,799 yards on 119 receptions. Hill has had 119 receptions and 1,700+ receiving yards in each of his first two seasons with the Dolphins. His arrival has also paved the way for Jaylen Waddle to burst onto the scene with three straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. Miami has also been strong on the ground, ranking sixth in the NFL in rushing yards per game in 2023. Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane combined for 1,812 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2023.
While the Dolphins are fun to watch, especially on offense, they have the most to prove of any team in the NFL in 2024. The Dolphins started 8-3 and 9-3 in 2022 and 2023. They proceeded to go 1-5 to finish 2022 and 2-3 to finish 2023. Their offense falls off dramatically once December rolls around. They’re great in September, October, and even November. When they face teams they should beat, they’ve been great. When the calendar flips to December and the elite teams start to separate themselves, the Dolphins have not been able to take that next step. When they have faced teams that are better than them, the results of the games show why those teams are better than the Dolphins.
The Dolphins looked poised to win the AFC East in 2023. They were 9-3 entering Week 14 with a Monday Night Football home game against Tennessee, a team the Dolphins should have beaten. They led the Titans 27-13 with less than three minutes to play, but the Dolphins gave up 15 points to lose 28-27. The loss proved costly, as the Dolphins lost the AFC East on the final night of the regular season to the Buffalo Bills. Even though both the Dolphins and Bills finished 11-6, the Bills won the tiebreaker with the season sweep of the Dolphins.
Miami lost their last two regular-season games 56-19 and 21-14 to the Ravens and Bills, then 26- 7 to the Chiefs in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs. Excluding the one-score loss to the Bills, Miami was outscored 82-26 by Baltimore and Kansas City. Those two teams played for the AFC Championship. Over their last six games, including the playoffs, the Dolphins did not gain 400 yards of offense in any of them. In their last three games, the Dolphins scored just six points in the second half… combined.
When you look at Miami’s roster, it is a roster that can be an AFC contender. And while the Dolphins won two more games in 2023 than they did in 2022, there is still so much more this team can achieve. They still need to prove they can win games against teams that are better than them, like Buffalo. They still need to prove they can win games against teams that are punishingly physical, like Baltimore, Kansas City and even Tennessee. And this season, provided he stays healthy, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets will be a formidable opponent for the Dolphins.
It’s been 24 years since the Dolphins have won a playoff game, and Miami has only made the Playoffs five times in that span. Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagavailoa have restored stability and winning to a historically good franchise, one that is synonymous with making the NFL better when they are good and synonymous with NFL history. But despite their success together the last two seasons, there’s still more to prove for Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. With all the talent on their roster heading into the 2024 Season, it’s the Dolphins that are the NFL team with the most to prove.
