The Miami Dolphins have been given every reason to throw in the towel for the year. The general manager who assembled them, Chris Grier, is fired; their coach, Mike McDaniel, is a dead man walking; their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, has not only played terribly throughout the season but has routinely thrown his teammates under the bus. Their best receiver, Tyreek Hill, is hurt and out for the rest of the season. It's hard to imagine that anyone in that locker room is having a good time. But through it all they just keep trying to win football games.
After being embarrassed in a 28-6 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9 that dropped Miami's record to 2-7, the Dolphins have since given the Buffalo Bills a surprising 30-13 beatdown a week ago and on Sunday beat the Washington Commanders 16-13 in Madrid, Spain. Yes, Washington is still trotting out Marcus Mariota under center in the Year of our Lord 2025, subbing in for an injured Jayden Daniels, but a win is a win.
This was not an offensive showcase. Whatever happened last week against the Bills was pretty obviously a fluke. Tagovailoa completed 14 of 20 passes but only for a mere 171 yards; De'von Achane did much of the work on the ground for 120 yards. But this was a game where no one could do much scoring, until an errant Mariota pass in overtime left Miami in automatic field goal range to put the affair out of its misery. It was a very ugly win, but a team that may be capable of no other kind will take it.
The Dolphins probably should have been the first team to pack it in for the season. What does their continued stubborn effort to win games amount to? I don't know. It's hard to imagine this team coming back next year with the same coach and the same quarterback, but there is something inspiring about them not treating that as a factor for the moment. McDaniel's team keeps playing football like this season means anything, and maybe that's the best thing you can say about it. The spirit is certainly easier to admire than the product on the field.
