There are just six teams in the NFL that have lost each of their first three games in the 2025 season, and the Miami Dolphins are among them. Between a lack of talent on both sides of the ball and some questions about the leadership of this team, the vibes emanating from Miami are truly wretched.
While there is plenty of blame to around as fans try to preemptively autopsy this team and figure out where it all went wrong, one NFL analyst believes a particular unit is responsible for most of their problems.
CBS Sports' Jared Dubin put 75 percent of the blame for Miami's pathetic start on the defense. The offense and poisonous negativity surrounding the organization received an extra 10 percent of the responsibility each, with the remaining five being chalked up to bad injury luck.
With the Dolphins likely not in a position to surrender future draft picks to improve this unit in the immediate future, and with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver showing some concerning tendencies in the last few weeks, this paper-thin unit won't be good enough to turn this team around.
Dolphins defense handed most of the blame for 0-3 start in 2025
Despite a fairly deep stable of pass rushers that includes young standouts like Chop Robinson and Jaelan Phillips, as well as veteran Bradley Chubb, the secondary is what is ultimately going to take this team down. It was thin coming into the season, and injuries have further robbed them of their depth.
With Storm Duck and rookie Jason Marshall both sustaining injuries, look for the uninspiring trio of Jack Jones, Ethan Bonner, and Rasul Douglas to stop some of the more electric passing attacks in the NFL. If you have doubts, don't worry, everyone else does too.
While Tua Tagovailoa and the offense have not lived up to the hype, as turnovers have quickly become a big problem, the fact that they were very competitive in their last two games against division rivals shows that there is enough classic Mike McDaniel creativity in there to win a few games if the defense turns around.
Until Miami proves otherwise, however, they will be considered one of the worst teams in the league. Weaver and McDaniel are both firmly on the hot seat, and the wins need to start piling up very quickly if they are to avoid getting a pink slip from ownership before the end of the year.