Throughout most of the 2025 NFL season the Miami Dolphins have put on a brave face and said "Everything is fine." No one believes that, and now, the media is seeing what Dolphins fans have seen all year long.
Miami's thin veneer cracked and crumbled on Sunday -- or whatever was left of it -- thanks to an embarrassing blowout at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. It was the Browns second win of the season, but they looked like a playoff team compared to how pitiful the Dolphins played all afternoon.
Following the Week 7 game against the Browns, former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher used time on the CBS postgame show to recognize the ugliness of Miami's season and eviscerated the team.
As he so aptly put it, the team looks like they don't want to be here.
"They looked almost disinterested. They looked deflated..." - @CowherCBS discusses the Dolphins performance vs the Browns on Sunday pic.twitter.com/lkZkHpaW24
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 19, 2025
Dolphins played so badly that Bill Cowher couldn't help but bury them
Disinterested is a perfect word to use for how the Dolphins are playing. From their three interception and league leader in picks, Tua Tagovailoa, to the most mundane effort of a defense, the Dolphins may have finally stopped believing they could turn this season around.
It's hard to give up on a season, but that seems to be what the Dolphins are doing right now. They are going through the motions. On Sunday, they should have at least been playing for pride, but as Cowher pointed out, they were disengaged.
Tagovailoa's three interceptions were met with a clap of the hands and an "Aww shucks" demeanor. There was no rally or fight by the players left to battle against a team that many thought was the worst club in the NFL; no, that would be the Dolphins if not for the New York Jets.
The Dolphins don't have answers, and Mike McDaniel is losing his patience, as shown in his post-game press conference. His emotional anger showed more fight than his players put out on the field.
Miami will regroup this week and then travel to Atlanta in week 8. They will then fly to Spain to play the Commanders before taking a week off. It is highly likely they enter that bye week 1-8, and if they do, it's hard to imagine McDaniel coming off the bye with his job, especially if the players are now phonining it in.