Week 18 Result: Lost at New York Jets 32-20

The Miami Dolphins are a team on the brink.

Miami’s $200 million quarterback can’t stay healthy. Opponents took the long pass away from the Dolphins this year, and the offense never truly compensated. And now, as the team was fighting for the final playoff spot in the AFC, Miami’s star wide receiver may have quit on his team.

In the second half of Sunday’s loss to the lowly Jets, with it clear that Denver would claim that last playoff spot, Tyreek Hill pulled himself out of the game.

“I was informed that he was unavailable right before a drive,” head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters in a postgame presser. “I was not informed that it was a new injury. You know, I think at that point in time my focus was on the players… There was guys on the field that were competing, we were trying to win a game.”

Hill’s comments after the loss didn’t help matters.

“This is the first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” Hill told reporters. “For me, I have to do what’s best for me and my family, if that’s here or wherever the case may be. I’m opening the door. I’m out. It was great playing here.”

Hill is under contract with Miami through 2026. But this is a bridge that could be awfully hard to rebuild—not that teams won’t line up to acquire Hill’s services anyway.

There’s been some buzz that the Dolphins could fire GM Chris Grier in the offseason—another report suggests he may retire. Neither outcome would surprise me because poor roster building was Miami’s biggest issue in 2024.

Despite having a top-10 overall defense and a surplus of speedy offensive playmakers, the Dolphins fell short of the playoffs/squeaked in as a wild-card team. An unreliable offensive line and a lack of offensive physicality meant Miami largely had to win with finesse. This simply wasn’t a team built to win without Tua Tagovailoa, and, to make matters worse, the Dolphins failed to invest in a strong backup plan at quarterback.

Those early losses while Tagovailoa was sidelined burned Miami in a big way. — Knox