How The Last Dolphins Trip to San Francisco Marked a Turning Point for Two Franchises

So here we are again, the Miami Dolphins getting ready to play at Levi's Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers, their so-called "17th game opponent" for this season.

This happened last in 2022 and that game proved a turning point of sorts for the two franchises, and this is where the Dolphins wouldn't mind that happening again — except in the opposite direction, of course.

WHERE THE DOLPHINS AND 49ERS STAND NOW

The Dolphins will go into this game at the beginning of a rebuilding project that went into full effect with the firing of head coach (and former 49ers assistant) Mike McDaniel following by the jettisoning of high-profile veterans all over the place.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are well established as one of the best franchises in the league with great stability with GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, who is now in his 10th season and just got a contract extension.

While the 49ers have yet to win a Super Bowl with Lynch and Shanahan, they are perennial contenders and their 2026 season started spectacularly with a dominating performance against the vaunted Los Angeles Rams.

Before Shanahan's arrival in 2017, the 49ers cratered to a miserable 2-14 finish the previous year that included a 31-24 loss at Hard Rock Stadium when the Dolphins' last-minute goal-line stand preserved a victory that helped them reach the playoffs.

WAS THE 2022 GAME A SIGN FOR THE DOLPHINS?

The 49ers already had established themselves by the time the teams faced each other in 2022, though there was a quarterback concern with Jimmy Garoppolo being often injured and 2021 third overall pick Trey Lance showing early signs he wasn't going to be the answer.

But on that December day in 2022, the 49ers discovered they had something in rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy, courtesy of Jaelan Phillips.

It was a hit from Phillips that knocked Garoppolo out of the game in the first quarter and got Purdy into the lineup after he had thrown nine NFL passes to that point.

Purdy was impressed enough that he became their franchise quarterback that day.

For the Dolphins, the game was equally significant, but for a much different and sobering reason.

The game may have marked the real sign of the team's limitations with McDaniel as head coach and the speed-based offense with Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and company.

The Dolphins were 8-3 heading into the game and riding a five-game winning streak that included road wins at Detroit and Chicago as well as blowouts (or comfortable wins) at home against the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans.

The 49ers game marked the start of a three-week stretch that would determine how well the Dolphins could hang with the big boys, with matchups at Los Angeles against the Chargers and at Buffalo coming next.

The Dolphins lost all three, beginning a pattern of coming up short against quality opponents later in the season.

It should have been the first sign there was only so far the Dolphins could go as they were constructed.

Almost four years later, the Dolphins have started over with a whole new approach, including the offensive vision where physicality is favored over finesse and where the team will be built through the draft rather than through free agency and trades.

The Dolphins will be heavy underdogs Sunday in this latest game at San Francisco, but they don't have to leave with a victory for it to be a win.

The 2026 season is about finding answers and every game offers that opportunity, whether it be Malik Willis showing he can become that franchise quarterback and any of the rookies flashing the kind of potential that indicates they can be key components of a contender down the line (hopefully not too far).

And, who knows, maybe we'll look back in a couple of years more fondly at this Dolphins-49ers matchup than the previous one at Levi's Stadium, which was the start of something big for San Francisco and an ominous day for Miami.

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