Mike McDaniel Ripped for Embarrassing Move at Start of Dolphins-Bills Game

Kristen Wong | Nov 9, 2025

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was forced to call an early timeout with 15:00 remaining in the first quarter in Sunday's game against the Bills. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @Schultz_Report

The Dolphins are looking to get their season back on track after a bit of house-cleaning halfway through the year, with coach Mike McDaniel somewhat surprisingly still holding onto his job despite a 2-7 record in 2025.

McDaniel has faced heavy scrutiny since Miami's rocky start to the '25 campaign, and that continued Sunday in the team’s Week 10's matchup against the Bills. The Dolphins had the ball to start the game, but before they could run their very first play, they were called for a false start.

After moving back because of that 5-yard penalty, the Dolphins' offense took their sweet time lining up for their next snap at the line of scrimmage. As the clock ran down to under five seconds, McDaniel realized he had to call a timeout or risk a delay of game penalty.

The Dolphins just opened things up with a penalty and a timeout... all before time elapsed in the game. pic.twitter.com/aTzzmoX25l

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 9, 2025

NFL fans couldn't believe that the Dolphins used up one of their timeouts before their first play of the game:

The #Dolphins just used a timeout with the clock still at 15:00 in the first quarter.

I'm not joking.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 9, 2025

McDaniel is so lost https://t.co/J7cGxvMla2

— Ryan Michael (@OaknerRyan) November 9, 2025

When you start the game on madden but have to go to the bathroom https://t.co/tcf8JDuxnz

— Austin (@CalvinCanCatch) November 9, 2025

There’s just no excuses for this. Opening play of the game and you can’t get the call in???? Unacceptable! https://t.co/t1TNvS9cHr

— Dom C. (@domurlive) November 9, 2025

So embarrassing https://t.co/K81DPupgZi

— BreEze 🌊 (@AuraB_32) November 9, 2025

Mike gotta be gone bro https://t.co/UtzxWZ8zIg

— The Sports Lovers (@SportsLover1517) November 9, 2025

Despite the stumble out of the gate, the Dolphins were able to quickly put the awkward start behind them, and took a 16-0 lead over the Bills into halftime. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had just two incompletions in the first half and threw for two touchdowns (as well as one interception) to give his team the surprising lead over their fearsome AFC East rivals.

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