The Miami Dolphins were handily beaten, ending their 2025 season in the same disappointing manner that it began.
The Miami Dolphins were routed by the New England Patriots with a final score of 38-10. Despite keeping pace with their division rivals through the first half, the Patriots began to score easily and often in the third quarter.
Miami was routed by the Indianapolis Colts 33-8 to begin the season, and a nearly identical score has ended the season for the team. As an organization, huge changes are expected and are set to start on Monday.
Initially, the Dolphins lost the lead quickly, as the Patriots needed three rushing plays and a big 56-yard run from Rhomondre Stevenson helped set up the quick touchdowns.
The Dolphins would march downfield, and Quinn Ewers moved the ball well but a turnover on downs led to the Patriots securing another quick touchdown to put the score at 14-0 with less than five minutes in the first quarter.
Some big plays to Tahj Washington and Malik Washington led to a quick answer from the Dolphins in the second quarter, as they cut the defecit to one score.
Both the Patriots and Dolphins would trade punts, and a fumble from Jaylen Wright would help set New England up with good field position. After Drake Maye and company marched downfield and attempted a field goal, Zach Siler came up with a huge block.
Trading field goals late in the second, the score was 17-10 at the end of the second quarter.
Moments into the third quarter, Ewers threw an ugly pass right to a Patriots defender, which helped to jumpstart the usual third-quarter woes.
The Patriots would score 14 unanswered points, taking a huge 31-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ewers and the Dolphins offense could not get anything going, and a final fourth-quarter touchdown would lead to the Patriots walking away with a dominant 38-10 final score.
Ewers appeared to be injured in the fourth quarter, suffering a knee injury that led to Zack Wilson taking over for a couple of offensive drives.
The Dolphins end their season with a 7-10 record. Reports have indicated they will begin their search for a new general manager on Monday.
When the regular season ends, Monday is also known as "Black Monday," as teams that move on from their head coaches are generally announced that day.
There have been plenty of conflicting reports regarding what the Dolphins will do with Mike McDaniel. There is a belief he may return for a fifth season as head coach, but that remains to be seen.
One bright spot from the season finale for the Dolphins is that linebacker Jordyn Brooks will be the lead tackler. He secured nine against the Patriots, which will give him a total of 183 in 2025. He had a six-tackle lead on Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Devin White, who secured six tackles in his final game for a total of 174.