How the Dolphins Stack Up with the Other One-Win Teams

The Miami Dolphins are in a difficult situation for more than just their lousy won-loss record

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel looks on before the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Week 3. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will get back to football on the field and past the hullabaloo over the Tua Tagovailoa leadership comments when they face the Cleveland Browns in a battle of 1-5 teams Sunday.

The Dolphins and Browns are among the five teams around the NFL that stand with a 1-5 record through the first six weeks of the 2025 season and look down only on the New York Jets.

Outside of the Baltimore Ravens, the Dolphins have to stand as the most surprising (in a bad way) team in the league, even if there were warning signs that things could go south with so many question marks.

And even in the case of the Ravens, injuries have become the primary issue in recent weeks with about a half-dozen Pro Bowl players missing games, none more significant that two-time MVP Lamar Jackson.

That the Browns, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints would be 1-5 isn't terribly shocking considering the Titans and Browns initially had the first and second overall picks in the 2025 draft, and the Saints were continuing to pay the price for kicking salary cap responsibility down the road for so many years.

This always figured to be a rebuilding year for those teams, and while the Browns and Saints figure to start over in 2026, the Titans at least have the hope that first overall pick Cam Ward can build on the flashes he's shown so far in his rookie season.

Baltimore, meanwhile, will get healthy again at some point, right? And when the Ravens do, they have enough firepower to finish the season strong, maybe even make a push for the playoffs and become the fifth team since 1970 to reach the postseason after starting 1-5. And they'll still have Jackson rolling into 2026.

THE DOLPHINS' TOUGH SITUATION

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are just in a really, really tough spot because they can't blame injuries to the same degree as the Ravens and their nucleus simply isn't as good as what Baltimore can offer.

Worse, there's a big question as to what direction the franchise will take as it relates to the head coaching position, the GM spot and what the roster might look like.

The Dolphins will say goodbye to some big-name players at some point next offseason, starting with Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb, and the roster turnover actually might start within the next three weeks once the decision-makers come to the conclusion the season is lost when it comes to making the playoffs.

And then what?

The overwhelming sentiment has been all along that this kind of lost season would spell the end of Mike McDaniel's coaching tenure based on owner Stephen Ross' statement at the end of 2024 that the status quo would not be acceptable.

So as the Dolphins try to get something going in this waste of a season so far, there's nothing clear about the outlook moving forward, whether it be the rest of October, November and December or 2026.

That might be the toughest position of all to be in.

GM Chris Grier said in late August this season would involve some sort of a reset, but the goal remained to make the playoffs and get that elusive playoff win.

Well, the Dolphins actually have more than reset, they've regressed.

And that makes that 1-5 record even more difficult to handle.

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