Dolphins season starts Sunday. Will this year be different?
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The Miami Dolphins play in a preseason NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
The NFL season kicks off this week, and the Dolphins will once again try to break a historic curse.
Why it matters: Miami hasn't won a playoff game in 24 years, now the longest drought in NFL history.
Catch up quick: The Fins have made the playoffs the last two seasons under coach Mike McDaniel but lost in the Wild Card round both times.
- Miami's high-powered offense set the league on fire to begin last season: They nearly set an NFL record by scoring 70 points in a single game and held the top spot in the AFC East division with five weeks left in the season.
- Then the injury bug hit, and the Fins lost three of their last five games to hand the AFC East crown to the Buffalo Bills.
- Miami made the playoffs but lost home field advantage and traveled to freezing Kansas City, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Stunning stat: Miami is 3-12 against playoff teams in the past two regular seasons, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The intrigue: Can quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered multiple concussions in 2022, make it another full season without an injury to further quiet the doubters?
- Tagovailoa just signed a new $200-plus-million contract and looks to be brimming with confidence.
- Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill — who also got a pay raise — says he's extra focused on team success this year after trying to break the NFL record for receiving yards in 2023.
What we're watching: When will defensive stars Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb return from their season-ending injuries, and where will this team be by the time they return?
New faces: This offseason, Miami signed a pair of veterans to the roster: three-time Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr., 31, and six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who is 37.
- Miami drafted Penn State pass rusher Chop Robinson in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.
- The Fins also selected running back Jaylen Wright to join an already explosive backfield.
What else we're watching: Every look and quote from McDaniel, whose transformation from clean-cut to "Miami Vice" has made him a fan favorite.
- He loves wearing expensive sneakers and watches, rolling up his pant legs and hiding his poker face with thick sunglasses. (McDaniel on Friday signed a new contract through 2028.)
- His work helping Tagovailoa believe in himself translated to league-leading statistics from a quarterback who felt belittled by his former coach.
Bottom line: The Dolphins need to focus on team success, not stats, to break their 24-year spell.
- Winning their division for the first time since 2008 would guarantee at least one playoff home game away from freezing cold conditions this winter.