The Miami Dolphins are a band of merry misfits who are ringing in the holiday season with a soft Week 13 opponent after a bye to freshen up from their recent 3-1 stretch of improved play.
Things looked bleak when Miami lost six of seven to begin the 2025 campaign. Against all odds, the team roared back to at least fringe respectability. Can they keep it rolling off the bye, or will the 2-9 New Orleans Saints play spoiler?
Regardless of what happens from here, there are a lot of Dolphins players and coaches who've purchased tons of goodwill amid this latest hot streak.
Underdog Dolphins rallying around Mike McDaniel to salvage 2025 season
Perhaps no coach in NFL history has had his manhood questioned more than Mike McDaniel. Whether it's his quirky personality, physical stature, or lack of winning in the playoffs to date, McDaniel is the subject of intense scrutiny when the Dolphins aren't producing on the field. There's a question of whether the players buy what he's selling.
The reality is, there's been buy-in all along from the moment McDaniel came aboard. He's elevated the career of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to the tune of a nine-figure mega contract in spite of a discouraging history of concussions.
Tua is tied for the NFL lead with Geno Smith for interceptions thrown this season. It could've been easy for McDaniel to flinch or throw Tua under the bus. He did no such thing. Just kept encouraging his field general to keep firing.
McDaniel brought some serious juice to the Dolphins' football operation that was lacking for many years before his arrival. However, when the team started 1-6 this year, his job security was in serious doubt.
For whatever reason, Miami has banded together in a way no one could've anticipated with a bunch of cast-offs and underdogs, whose journeys parallel the seemingly oft-discounted McDaniel's rise up the coaching ranks.
Off-field red flags have plagued cornerback Jack Jones since he entered the NFL in 2022. He wore out his welcome in New England and Las Vegas already. Somehow, Jones has found a home with the Dolphins, making the game-sealing interception in Week 11's overtime win over Washington in Madrid.
That's only one example of resilience or seemingly odd-fitting players finding new life under McDaniel in Miami. Just look at offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, who's functioned as a sixth offensive lineman and an inline tight end to revitalize the Dolphins' offense amid their recent improvement. Listen to McDaniel glow about Brunskill and how his coaching staff left no stone unturned to help the team.
Mike McDaniel talked about the origin of the Dolphins O-lineman package and the value that Daniel Brunskill has brought to the offense. pic.twitter.com/QgSDazZ2sT
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) November 24, 2025
How about the case of first-round rookie Kenneth Grant? He looked bad early and was a polarizing pick to begin with. Now he's shown signs of very real improvement. Rather than getting discouraged, going into the tank, and hitting a rookie wall, Grant is doing the complete opposite.
How's that for a strong team culture? Shoot, even Week 11's AFC Defensive Player of the Week, Jordyn Brooks, was a first-round pick in Seattle once upon a time. The Seahawks didn't pick up his fifth-year option, in part due to a torn ACL. Still, Brooks had his fair share of adversity and has emerged as a captain and critical leader in Miami, who had 20 tackles in the Madrid game.
Shall I keep going? Tight end Darren Waller is ready to return from a pec injury, but was lured out of retirement and scored four TDs in three games before he went down.
Look at any given position on this Dolphins roster. Two of their biggest strengths, the pass rush and the receiving corps, should've been done for once Tyreek Hill's brutal injury happened, and Jaelan Phillips was traded to the Eagles.
The future is uncertain for many of the current Dolphins players, too. Nearly half are pending free agents.
None of the above has stopped or is stopping anyone from going all-in, staying connected and committed, and believing in one another to turn this season around in the face of near-impossible odds. I encourage Mike McDaniel haters to put all that in their pipes and smoke it.