As the Miami Dolphins prepare for Week 1 of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Indianapolis Colts, fans are scurrying to make their final predictions as to how the team will perform this season. With the Dophins led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and others, there is no doubt that the variance of opinions around the team has been out of this world.
It would not be rare to find opinions with people ranking Miami as a bottom team in the NFL or one that could make a lot of noise in the NFL. If there is one thing for sure in regards to this upcoming season for the team, it is a make-or-break year for a ton of key players on the team, including Tagovailoa and even head coach Mike McDaniel.
After fighting closely for the AFC East against the Buffalo Bills two seasons ago, the team was one game below .500 last year, leading some to confusion as to what can happen in 2025. Nevertheless, let's move on to our Dolphins predictions for the 2025 season.
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Tua Tagovailoa is back to form for the Dolphins
While the conversation around Dolphins star quarterback in Tagovailoa has been about his health, there's no denying that has to be one of the first talking points due to the history in his NFL career. The success of the team is heavily on Tagovailoa's shoulders to have a mostly healthy season, which people debate how likely that can be.
Fans show how efficient and good a player he can be, like in 2023 when he led the league with 4,624 yards to go along with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Fans could also look at the year before or after where injuries ruined the momentum of the season, but in 2025, he'll play at least 15 games and have one of his best seasons yet.
With the relationship between him and Tyreek Hill being reconstructed after last season, the sky is the limit.
“The two men were working on a relationship. I think both parties were just kind of tired and over the semantics of it,” McDaniel said about Tagovailoa and Hill's relationship, via The Rich Eisen Show. “These are people who are working on the relationship. I think the power in that is both of the players, like most relationships, you learn and you grow, and when you invest, you go through whatever, but the relationship becomes more real.”
“I thought it was a maturation or a graduation of Tua as the leader of the team,” McDaniel added. “And also, I think it speaks to how healthy they are because there haven't been that many opportunities for the public to see them interact. But as time passes, you’ll see a more connected relationship and really not hiding anything.”
A monster season for Dolphins' Tyreek Hill is incoming
When it comes to the Dolphins' superstar wide receiver in Hill, the same could be attributed to him as it was to Tagovailoa in regards to the variance of how his season will go. Some people believe that he can head back to his 2023 form, where he recorded one yard shy of 1,800 yards, or have a season where Hill doesn't eclipse 1,000 yards like in 2024.
However, last season didn't have Tagovailoa for a mostly full season, and after the disappointment of last year, Hill will be hungry to showcase how elite a player he really is, even garnering the No. 1 spot on the NFL's Top 100 list after the 2023 season. Hill even said himself how he believes the best version of himself hasn't been revealed yet, leading to the prediction that he will have a vintage, explosive season.
“I feel like I really haven’t been giving the best version of me, of Tyreek, my whole entire career,” Hill said, via The Palm Beach Post.
“I want to see what that version of myself looks like,” Hill continued. “So I’m looking forward to it. Today was our conditioning test. And at 31 years old, I must say I haven’t lost a step. So I’m feeling great.”
The Dolphins win a playoff game
With the pressure on the Dolphins' head coach in McDaniel, as well as with Tagovailoa, Hill, and frankly, the rest of the team, in regards to the players and coaches, there is one milestone that needs to be reached. Miami has not won a playoff game since the first year of the millennium in 2000, a trend that needs to end this upcoming season and one that will, in fact, come to a close.
While the offense will reach heights that we saw in 2023, probably minus the 70-point game against the Denver Broncos, it will also be the defense that exceeds expectations, as it did under coordinator Anthony Weaver. As the front seven, especially the pass rushers, look impressive, the secondary will hold its own for the most part.
When the Dolphins reach the playoffs, the team will be under a microscope due to the drought, but whoever the team faces, they will get the upset victory. At any rate, Miami looks to improve after finishing 8-9 last season, finishing second in the AFC East as they open against the Colts on Sunday, Sept. 7.
