Is it almost sundown in the Sunshine State for Mike McDaniel?
Recent rumors suggest that the Miami Dolphins head coach’s seat is warming, but maybe not burning hot just yet. The 31-21 ‘Thursday Night Football’ loss to the Buffalo Bills, though, moved the hands of the Miami doomsday clock closer to midnight.
The Dolphins are now 0-3 on the 2025 season. With back-to-back losses in the AFC East, they’re slipping further from Super Bowl hopes that were pervasive earlier in McDaniel’s tenure.
Thursday night may have been a small step forward for the Dolphins, with a relatively competitive game with the AFC East leaders. Still, there are no moral victories in the NFL.
So, what’s the outlook for the Dolphins and Mike McDaniel after the ‘TNF’ loss? Here’s how some of USA TODAY Sports’ NFL experts feel.
Dolphins still have some fight left
The Bills are far and away the best team in the AFC East. They are 3-0 for the second straight year and have won two consecutive games within the division. Josh Allen, James Cook and Buffalo’s offense is tough to stop. As long as the defense continues to be above average, the Bills will be a Super Bowl contender.
The Dolphins are on the opposite end of the spectrum. At 0-3, the Dolphins find themselves in an early hole that’s going to be tough to overcome. Tua Tagovailoa was very conservative with the football and continues to make untimely mistakes. He had a bad interception late in the fourth quarter that was the game’s pivotal play.
The good news is Mike McDaniel’s team fought hard in Buffalo despite questions about the head coach’s job status. It’s easy for a team to check out when a coach is on the hot seat, but the Dolphins showed Thursday night that they still have some fight left. – Tyler Dragon, NFL insider
Mike McDaniel’s seat cooling?
The Bills didn’t look their best and it didn’t matter. They remain one of the teams to beat in the AFC, but the story is about the team in South Beach. With McDaniel’s seat seemingly on fire heading into Thursday night, the Dolphins showed plenty of fight and even had a chance to pull off the upset – despite a deeply flawed roster that’s also littered with injuries. If anything, this game likely cooled McDaniel’s seat for the time being as Miami’s real issues came to light. – Nick Brinkerhoff, NFL writer
Dolphins still heading in the wrong direction
The Dolphins displayed great effort for their head coach, demonstrating that he still has support in the locker room, especially with impressive touchdown drives at the start and end of the first half. However, Buffalo is simply too strong. Miami’s defense allowed 33 points to the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots in its first two games so tonight was a slight improvement. The Dolphins don’t stand a chance against teams with a competent offense right now. Miami played hard but these teams are headed in opposite directions. – Tom Viera, NFL writer/editor
No moral victories for Miami
Sure, Dolphins fans can look at the scoreboard and say, ‘Well, they didn’t get blown out!’ The scoreboard has a more important figure, though: 0-3. The Dolphins entered the 2025 season with boom-or-bust expectations, and through three games, Miami’s season is firmly in the ‘bust’ section. Yeah, there’s plenty of season left, but only six teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Don’t count Miami as the next – it simply doesn’t have enough, especially with questions being asked about the job security of Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa’s standing as a franchise quarterback. – Joe Rivera, NFL editor