MIAMI GARDENS — The stakes are huge when the Miami Dolphins host New Orleans on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. Let’s start here: a victory breathes more life into a suddenly interesting season, and a loss could be the catalyst for major changes.
A Miami victory by any margin, one point or 20 points, reaffirms that this recent surge that’s seen the Dolphins (4-7) win back-to-back games and three of their past four, could signal that this team is turning a corner and still has longshot playoff hopes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I told you, man, we’ve got that delusional confidence,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb, echoing a sentiment he originally expressed a few weeks ago.
“We believe we can do anything.”
A loss to the Saints (2-9), who might be the worst team in the league, and coach Mike McDaniel, the odds-on favorite, but not a lock to coach the Dolphins next season, takes a severe blow to his case to return. And interim general manager Champ Kelly’s chance to return drops, too.
A loss, which would be the Dolphins’ eighth and would almost certainly end even the most pie-in-the-sky playoff hopes, might convince Dolphins owner Steve Ross this franchise needs new leadership in 2026. McDaniel has a 32-30 (.516) regular-season record, including an 18-12 (.600) mark before that Tennessee loss, where Miami blew a late lead, late in 2023, and a 14-18 (.438) mark since that game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Dolphins enter Sunday’s game as the No. 11 team in the seven-team AFC playoff picture. Buffalo (7-4) holds the final playoff spot at this point, meaning the Dolphins must jump the Bills as well as No. 8 Houston (6-5), No. 9 Kansas City (6-6) and No. 10 Baltimore (6-6), which has a tiebreaker over Miami due to a 28-6 win a few weeks ago.
Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is disregarding the consequences of a victory or loss and focusing on the opponent.
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“We’ve got to win this weekend and that’s what matters,” he said. “What happened in the past is the past whether we won or lost.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe’s right. But the bottom line is that the Dolphins absolutely, positively can’t overlook the slumping Saints, who won’t have leading rusher Alvin Kamara (knee) and are led by rookie quarterback Tyler Shough (three touchdowns, three interceptions, 81.1 passer rating) and wide receiver Chris Olave (69 receptions, 734 yards, four touchdowns).
Granted, it’d be hard to believe this Dolphins team would take any player or team lightly. This is a Dolphins team that got pounded by lightly-regarded Cleveland rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, 31-6, the week before allowing Kimani Vidal, the relatively unknown Los Angeles Chargers running back, to rush for 124 yards, in a 27-24 Miami loss.
But if the Dolphins don’t show growth by respecting the Saints from the opening kickoff, anything can happen Sunday.
“The NFL will teach you the hardest lessons that will have you lose sleep at night if you make the mistake of taking anybody lightly,” McDaniel said. “Whether people have taken our team lightly, (it’s) not really (an) important debate to me. However, I think it makes our team a little more aware of the negative effects of thinking that your nameplate or your team logo earns a win because it does not.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTraditionally, this is a time of year when McDaniel’s teams start to show weakness. Injuries, road losses and operational errors begin to surface.
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But this season could be different. The Dolphins could be getting healthier considering right tackle Austin Jackson (toe) and tight end Darren Waller (pectoral) might be coming off the injured reserve list for the New Orleans game and cornerback Rasul Douglas (foot/ankle) could be ready to return, too.
Players, with their effort all season and their results in the past month, have shown they haven’t quit on McDaniel.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStill, the Dolphins must overcome their past, which includes struggles in their final six games each year under McDaniel, going 1-5 in 2022, and 3-3 in 2023 and 2024 for a combined 7-11 (.389) three-year record.
The Dolphins can reach .500 for the first time this season if they can win their next three games — against New Orleans, at the New York Jets (2-9), and at Pittsburgh (6-5).
But they can’t look past the Saints. The stakes are much too big.
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