Dolphins have been pretty forgettable since last season's loss to Titans

They were coming off a rollercoaster season in 2022, which happened to be Mike McDaniel's debut as the franchise's newest head coach. The Miami Dolphins wound up coming up with a victory on the final Sunday of the regular season, and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. The club fell short a week later to the rival Bills at Buffalo.

There was a different feel to the club a year ago, as evidenced by a 3-0 start. As the season unfolded, McDaniel's club owned a 9-3 record, but the 'Fins certainly had their critics. Their losses were to power teams such as the Bills, Eagles, and Chiefs overseas. Still, Miami owned a three-game lead in their division over Buffalo with five weeks to play. The team was closing in on its first division title since 2008.

What happened next was somewhat inexplicable.

Dolphins were stunned by the Titans last December

It was a Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium. In Week 14, the first-place Dolphins hosted the 4-8 Titans. McDaniel's squad was perfect at home, and Tennessee was winless on the road. The AFC East leaders were not particularly sharp in this contest, however the club managed to take a 27-13 lead with 4:34 to play thanks to a second touchdown run by Raheem Mostert. Mike Vrabel's club would score the final 15 points of the game and came away with a stunning 28-27 win.

Including that loss, as well as the humbling wild-card setback at Kansas City a month later, the Dolphins are now 3-6 in their last nine outings. That three-game lead over the Bills disappeared and the team settled for a wild-card berth.

A team that averaged 28.0 points per game and an offensive unit that reached the end zone 47 times during that 9-3 start has struggled to find that explosiveness ever since. In their last nine total outings, Miami's offensive unit has scored only 14 TDs, and the team has totaled a mere 152 points (16.9 average).

Things haven't been any better defensively. In last season's final six outings (including playoffs), the club gave up 400-plus yards four times. This year, Anthony Weaver's unit has had its issues in the first half. And in last week's 24-3 loss at Seattle, the Dolphins surrendered a season-high 370 total yards.

Now the 1-2 Dolphins (with starting quarterback Tyler Huntley) renew acquaintances with the 0-3 Titans, once again at home and once again on a Monday night. This time, the team is looking to avoid a third straight loss. What a difference less than a year makes.