No one looks back at 2024 and sees a Miami Dolphins team that was ready for the postseason. The Denver Broncos may have done them a favor by eliminating them in Week 18 by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
As the 2024 season imploded, fans wondered if it was because of injuries, poor personnel decisions, bad cap management, or any other reason they could find to explain the decline from 2023.
Yes, most of those excuses were valid anyway. Injuries destroyed the team, Chris Grier made poor offseason choices, and even the draft failed to provide much outside of Chop Robinson. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
This year will be different. It has to be, if we are being honest. Another season like 2024 will confirm that this team isn't built right. For now, we can dismiss that season, look back at how exciting 2023 was, and hope Miami can return to that.
There is potential with this roster, but things need to go in their favor.
Dolphins can bounce back in 2025 if they fix four problems from last season
Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips must stay healthy and make an impact
The end of the 2023 season was filled with injuries. Miami was pulling linebackers off the street to start. Bradley Chubb, Jaelen Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jerome Baker were all off the field at the end of the year.
In 2025, it's imperative that Chubb and Phillips stay healthy. Winning up front will help cover for the uncertainty in the secondary. If either or both go down, it will be difficult to find players to step up or step in from off the street.
Mike McDaniel must adapt his play-calling to fix offense
The Dolphins' 2023 offense was explosive, but eventually, teams figured out how to slow it down and then beat it. Last season proved that McDaniel was still leaning on the successes of the previous year.
Now, he has an opportunity to change how he approaches the game. With his wide receiver unit intact, if not a little better, and with a far better running game on paper, McDaniel needs to spend his offseason designing a well-balanced offense that will force defenses to pick which part of the system they are going to focus on.
If teams take away Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, McDaniel still has Jonnu Smith and De'Von Achane. Take away the passing game, and McDaniel has the running back unit to wear down a defense. It will force defenses to stack the box, and in the process, clear a path for the passing game.
Dolphins' offensive line must live up to its potential
Austin Jackson stayed healthy in 2023 but missed most of last season. The Dolphins have an unknown in Patrick Paul but invested in second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea and free-agent addition James Daniels.
Jackson, Daniels, Aaron Brewer, Savaiianea, and Paul could be one of the better units the Dolphins have had in a long time. It's definitely the best McDaniel has had, at least on paper. If they can match the expectations, McDaniel will have his rushing attack and protection for his quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa must get back to his 2023 best
Tua Tagovailoa remains that hot-button topic that divides the fanbase. He was elite in 2023 but missed six games last season.
The good news is that Zach Wilson is a better backup quarterback option than Mike White, and Quinn Ewers can't be as bad as Skylar Thompson. That said, the entire season rests on Tua staying healthy. It would only be the second season in his six-year career that he was able to.
The Dolphins can't afford to lose him, and while they may say they added the backup they believe can step in, that remains to be seen. The reality is simple: if Tagovailoa goes down and misses a significant amount of time, the Dolphins could be in trouble unless McDaniel can establish a consistent run game that takes pressure off Wilson.