Early in the season, the Dolphins were believed by many people to beintentionally losing games in hopes of getting a better draft position, most notably forAlabama quarterbackTua Tagovailoa, who at the time, was considered the likely first pick in the2020 NFL draft before suffering a season-ending hip injury on November 16, 2019.[1][2] A common refrain at the time was, "Tank for Tua".[3] Through Week 8, the Dolphins traded key contributors including recent first round picksLaremy Tunsil[4] andMinkah Fitzpatrick,[5] along withKenyan Drake, andRyan Tannehill.[6]
It was the Dolphins' first season since2011 withoutRyan Tannehill, as he was traded along with the draft rights ofDavid Long Jr. to theTennessee Titans in exchange for the draft rights ofSolomon Kindley in 2019 andChandler Cox in 2020 during the offseason. After Tannehill was traded, the Dolphins would go on to signjourneyman quarterbackRyan Fitzpatrick and trade forArizona Cardinals quarterbackJosh Rosen. As he outplayed Rosen during training camp, Fitzpatrick started the majority of the season, with Rosen starting from Weeks 3 to 6.[7] On December 22, Fitzpatrick became the first Dolphins' quarterback to pass for 400 yards and four touchdowns sinceDan Marino did so in a 38–31 win over the Browns in1988. Despite defeating thePhiladelphia Eagles in Week 13, the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive year after thePittsburgh Steelers won that same day.
Ultimately failing to improve on their 7–9 record from theprevious season, the team started the season 0–7, but rallied to win five of their last nine games. Although the victories prevented the Dolphins from obtaining the first overall pick of the 2020 draft, they were able to select Tagovailoa, whose draft stock had fallen due to his injury.
This was the Dolphins' first season with exactly five wins since1968 and their first since the league expanded to 16 games in 1978. It was also their first season winning fewer than six games since their franchise-worst2007 season. Additionally, it was the Dolphins' first season since2004 without long-time snapperJohn Denney, as he was released on September 2, 2019. Denney was the longest tenured player on the Dolphins' roster prior to his release, having been with the team since2005. It made 5th-year wide receiverDeVante Parker the new longest-tenured player on the roster. As of the2024 season, this is the most recent season the Dolphins have finished in last place in the AFC East.
This season marked the first time since the1997 season that the Dolphins failed to have a Pro Bowler.
The Dolphins fired head coachAdam Gase on December 31, 2018, after the team missed the playoffs for a second-straight season and finished 2018 with a 7–9 record.[8] The Dolphins conducted interviews with several candidates such as team assistantsDowell Loggains andDarren Rizzi,Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinatorEric Bieniemy, andNew England Patriots linebackers coach, defensive play caller, and long-time assistantBrian Flores. The team was primarily linked to Flores but had to wait to hire him until after the Patriots were out of the NFL playoffs due to league rules.[9] Flores served in several positions with the Patriots since their2004 Super Bowl-winning season, beginning as a scout before getting promoted toBill Belichick's coaching staff in2008. Flores most recently served as New England's Linebackers' coach from 2016 to 2018, and was also part of three of their Super Bowl-winning squads (2014,2016, and2018), as well as the AFC-winning2011 and2017 squads. On February 4, 2019, the day afterSuper Bowl LIII, the team announced Flores as their thirteenth head coach.[10] Prior to his hiring by the Dolphins, Flores was also interviewed for the head coaching vacancies of teams such as theDenver Broncos,Cleveland Browns, andGreen Bay Packers.[11] The Dolphins announced the majority of Flores' coaching staff on February 8, 2019, includingChad O'Shea as offensive coordinator,Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator,Danny Crossman as special teams coordinator, and formerIndianapolis Colts/Detroit Lions head coachJim Caldwell as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach.[12] On July 29, 2019, just four days into Dolphins camp, Flores sent a quick message by firing the OL CoachPat Flaherty whom he had hired in the spring and replacing him with team analystDave DeGuglielmo. Flores had deemed Flaherty to be ineffective in implementing the team’s new system.[13]
The Dolphins opened their season against the Ravens in Week 1. The Dolphins gave up 49 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and they subsequently allowed Baltimore to score on that same possession. The next drive, Ryan Fitzpatrick was picked off, which already put the Dolphins in an early hole. The Dolphins' misery continued when the Ravens scored right after another Fitzpatrick interception. The Dolphins and Ravens exchanged punts and Ravens' scores. After the series of exchanges, the Dolphins finally got on the board cutting the Ravens lead to 28–3. The Dolphins ended the first half down 42–10, with the Preston Williams touchdown play from Ryan Fitzpatrick. That was the last scoring play by the Dolphins. The Dolphins' defense showed no signs of improvement later in the game with the Ravens scoring on three more drives. The Dolphins defense allowed 59 points off of a total of 643 yards, which was the most yards surrendered by any Dolphins team in NFL history. This was also the franchise's worst loss since a 62-7 loss to theJacksonville Jaguars in the1999 AFC Divisional Round.[15]
In their second consecutive poor performance, the Dolphins had seven possessions that went three-and-out, gave up two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was pulled in favor of his backup, Josh Rosen, after Fitzpatrick accounted for three out of the four interceptions thrown by both quarterbacks. The negative-92 point differential over the first two games was the worst since the 1973 New Orleans Saints, who also had a negative-92 point differential via blowout losses in the first two games of the season.[16]
QuarterbackJosh Rosen, acquired via trade prior to the season, made his first start as a Dolphin in place ofRyan Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins were seeking their first win over Dallas since2003, and entered the game as 22-point underdogs. They showed some competitiveness by narrowing Dallas' lead to 10–6, but afterwards, the Dolphins proved they were no match against the Cowboys. Dallas scored the final 21 points of the game. With this loss, the Dolphins dropped to 0–3.
Dolphins’ quarterback Josh Rosen led the Dolphins to their first lead of the season, 7-3, early in the game. By halftime, the Chargers led by a score of 17-10. After that, it was all Chargers as Bolts’ quarterback Philip Rivers tallied two touchdowns and 310 yards passing.[17] This was the first time the Dolphins had lost at home to the Chargers since the 1982Epic in Miami game, when the Chargers were still based in San Diego.
Josh Rosen was benched in the third quarter after an ineffective performance, throwing for just 85 yards and two interceptions on 25 passing attempts. Though the Redskins took an early 17–3 lead under a strong performance from running backAdrian Peterson, the Dolphins cut the deficit once Ryan Fitzpatrick took over at quarterback as he led Miami to two fourth quarter touchdowns. However, the Dolphins attempted atwo-point conversion after their second touchdown and failed, sealing a 17–16 loss. This game was dubbed by many as the "Tank Bowl", this was the first time since2004 that two winless teams met in Week 6 or later. Miami dropped to 0–5 for the first time since2011.[18][19] The Dolphins recorded their first home loss to the Redskins.[20]
Ryan Fitzpatrick returned to the starting lineup against divisional rival Buffalo, whom he played for from 2009 to 2012. He had a strong second-quarter performance, which led to Miami holding only its second lead over an opponent during the season with a 14–9 halftime advantage, but the Bills rallied after CBTre'Davious White intercepted Fitzpatrick in the third quarter. The Bills went on to score 22 points in the fourth quarter. With the 31–21 loss, Miami fell to 0–6.[21]
The Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Dolphins' offense came out with a surprising 14–0 lead in the first quarter, but the Steelers scored 27 unanswered points to win behind strong performances from quarterbackMason Rudolph, running backJames Conner and receiverJuJu Smith-Schuster. Former Dolphins' safetyMinkah Fitzpatrick, who had been traded to the Steelers several weeks earlier, intercepted the Dolphins twice during the game. With the loss, Miami continued its winless streak to fall to 0–7.[22]
In Jets' head coachAdam Gase's first return to Miami since being fired from the Dolphins the season prior, the Dolphins came out and won their first game of the season behind three touchdown passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick and sloppy play from the Jets. The win was costly, however, as the Dolphins lost leading receiverPreston Williams for the season with a torn ACL during the game.[23]
The Dolphins went to Indianapolis and upset the Colts, who were without starting quarterbackJacoby Brissett, to earn their second win of the season, and improved to 2–7.[24]
For the second time this year, the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins. Josh Allen scored four touchdowns, one running and three through the air for the victory at Hard Rock Stadium.[25]
Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield connected on 24 of 34 passing for 327 yards and three touchdowns while suffering only one interception to beat the Dolphins for the third meeting in a row.[26]
This was Eagles' running backJay Ajayi's first return to Miami since the Dolphins traded him during the2017 season, and the Dolphins came back from a 28-14 second half deficit. The Dolphins improved to 3–9 with the win but were eliminated from playoff contention thanks to the Steelers' victory that same day.
This game is famous for a trick play the Dolphins ran in the 2nd quarter. Down 10-7 with 4th and goal at the 1-yard line, the Dolphins audibled from a field goal formation to an offensive formation withMatt Haack in shotgun facing two rushers with no protection other than the center. The other linemen lined up in threes outside the numbers on both sides of the ball with a receiver behind them to make convoys. KickerJason Sanders lined up one-on-one in the left slot. Haack took the snap and immediately rolled to his left and the convoys started to block. The Eagles defenders engaged at the line of scrimmage but let Sanders slip behind the defense, and Haack flipped it to him for the score. The play was the first and, to date, only punter-to-kicker touchdown pass in NFL history.
On a typically cold and windy December afternoon in New Jersey, the Dolphins just couldn't manage to reach the end zone all day. The Fins tallied a total of 21 points via seven field goals, which turned out to be the difference in the game as they lost by a single point. Jets’ quarterbackSam Darnold had a mediocre day, but pulled out an ugly win.[27] This was Dolphins' quarterbackRyan Fitzpatrick's first return to New York since leaving the Jets via free agency following the 2016 season. With the loss the Dolphins fell to 3–10.
The Dolphins were seeking a win over the Giants for the first time since2003. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 3–11 and were guaranteed to finish the season with their worst record since2007, when they went 1–15. The Giants also snapped a nine-game losing streak, in a game that ended up being long-time quarterbackEli Manning's final start as a Giant. Manning announced his retirement from the NFL on January 22, 2020 after 16 years and winning two Super Bowls with the Giants.
Opposing quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Ryan Fitzpatrick both scored four touchdowns apiece in a close game in South Florida. The Bengals were down 35-12 when they rebounded to tie the game 35-35 and force overtime. Jason Sanders saved the day by booting a 37-yard field goal as the clock ticked down to zero for a Dolphins’ narrow victory.[28]
The Dolphins' regular-season finale against the Patriots was head coachBrian Flores' first return to Gillette Stadium since leaving the Patriots to become head coach of the Dolphins following the PatriotsSuper Bowl LIII victory on February 3, 2019. Flores served in multiple roles with the Patriots after their2004 Super Bowl-winning season, winning four Super Bowls and serving as linebackers coach from 2016 to 2018 and de facto defensive coordinator during 2018. The Dolphins' stunning victory sealed by a touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick toMike Gesicki with 0:29 remaining was one of the biggest upsets of the season. The win combined with aKansas City Chiefs win denied the Patriots a first-round playoff bye for the first time since2009, and was the Dolphins' first win in Gillette Stadium since2008. It also ended up being Patriots' quarterbackTom Brady's final regular season game in a Patriots' uniform, as the Patriots lost to theTennessee Titans in the Wild Card playoffs the following week, and Brady went on to sign with theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason after 20 years with the Patriots.[29] Miami finished the season at 5–11.
^abKansas City claimed the No. 2 seed over New England based on head-to-head victory.
^abcDenver finished ahead of Indianapolis and NY Jets based on conference record. Division tiebreak was initially used to eliminate Oakland (see below).
^abDenver finished ahead of Oakland based on conference record.
^abcOakland and Indianapolis finished ahead of NY Jets based on conference record.
^abOakland finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
^abJacksonville finished ahead of Cleveland based on record against common opponents. Jacksonville's cumulative record against Cincinnati, Denver, NY Jets, and Tennessee was 4–1, compared to Cleveland's 2–3 cumulative record against the same four teams.
^abLA Chargers finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
