Dolphins 2025 Week 9 Power Rankings Roundup: How Far Did the Team Rise?

How the national media stacks the Miami Dolphins after their first impressive victory against Atlanta

Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II (31) celebrates with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins got their second victory of the season, and this one was a domination of the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The victory gained some points for the Dolphins in the eyes of the national media in terms of how they're being perceived, but they did move up a bit.

In this survey of eight national outlets doing power rankings — Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, The Athletic, ESPN, The Ringer, USA Today and The Sporting News — the Dolphins moved up to an average ranking of 27.4 from their post-Week 7 average of 30.6 after their disastrous showing against the Cleveland Browns.

The Dolphins' highest ranking was 25th (The Ringer and ESPN), with their lowest coming in at 29.

Here's the breakdown of those eight Dolphins power rankings spots heading into Week 9 of the 2025 regular season, along with the commentary associated with it:

THE DOLPHINS IN NATIONAL POWER RANKINGS

Sports Illustrated

Ranking: 28
Last week: 31

Analysis: How—how—does an NFL quarterback who is clearly struggling have his best game when one of his eyes is swollen shut. How?! Just look at this thing…

Pro Football Talk

Ranking: 28
Last week: 31

Analysis: They apparently needed the wheels to fully come off in order to get rolling.

CBS Sports

Ranking: 29
Last week: 31

Analysis: Give this team credit for showing fight in beating the Falcons on the road. Tua Tagovailoa played well, and the run defense was good. Who knew?

The Ringer

Ranking: 25
Last week: 29

Analysis: ince Miami’s offense was throttled in the playoffs after the 2023 season, I’ve been begging for Mike McDaniel to add more physical elements to the offense. What the Dolphins did in Sunday’s win over the Falcons is what I had in mind. The Dolphins have always been at their most interesting when they’ve played with bigger bodies on offense, established the run, and forced defenses into one-on-one coverage on the perimeter. On Sunday, Miami gave us a reminder that it can still tap into what makes it special.

USA Today

Ranking: 29
Last week: 29

Analysis: That's 30 touchdowns in 36 career games for RB De'Von Achane − and there should be a lot more coming as he's on course for his first season with at least 300 touches.

The Sporting News

Ranking: 29
Last week: 32

Analysis: The Dolphins went from thinking about benching Tua Tagovailoa to lighting up one of the NFL's best pass defenses on road. Furthermore, how the heck did they stop the Falcons' running game? Will this carry over into the Ravens game on Thursday? 

The Athletic

Ranking: 31
Last week: 32

Analysis on something scary (almost every news conference): Atlanta owes everyone in the league an apology for letting Miami win on Sunday and depriving us all of another odd Dolphins news conference. It had become appointment viewing every time coach Mike McDaniel or quarterback Tua Tagovailoa stood at a lectern this year, but everyone was in a good mood after Tagovailoa had a season-high four touchdowns against the Falcons.

ESPN

Ranking: 25
Last week: 30

Analysis on the best offseason addition (Rasul Douglas): ouglassignedwith the Dolphins just before the regular season and was thrust into a starting role after aninjurytoStorm Duckin Week 1. Now that he has had two months to digest Miami's playbook, Douglas has stabilized the position for a defense that desperately needed it. He has been the Fins' most targeted defensive back but has allowed only one touchdown this season -- on a play in which Jets wideoutGarrett Wilsonhad less than a yard of separation when the pass arrived.

THE DOLPHINS OPPONENT RANKINGS

For the record, the Dolphins' upcoming opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, have an average ranking of 20, with a high of 15 and a low of 23.