The 2023 season was the Miami Dolphins' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 58th overall, their eighth under general manager Chris Grier and their second under head coach Mike McDaniel.
The Dolphins improved upon their 9–8 record from the previous two seasons after a Week 15 win over the New York Jets. With a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, they clinched a playoff spot for a second consecutive season. Despite leading the Buffalo Bills by three games with five to play, the Dolphins faltered late in the season and, combined with the Bills going undefeated since the bye, put AFC East control in their Week 18 matchup. In that game, the Dolphins lost to the Bills, giving the Bills the division due to them beating the Dolphins earlier in the season as well. The loss meant 2008 would remain the most recent season the Dolphins won the AFC East. Throughout the year, the Dolphins were noted to struggle to beat teams with winning records, having gone just 1-5 against teams that finished with a winning record.
The Dolphins once again failed to win a playoff game, not having done so since 2000, losing to the eventual repeat Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 26–7 loss in one of the coldest games in NFL history. This game was Tyreek Hill, Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Emmanuel Ogbah's return to Arrowhead. With the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams and advancing to the NFC Divisional round the following day, the Dolphins officially hold the longest active playoff victory drought in the NFL.
In their Week three 70–20 victory over the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins became the first NFL team to score 70 points in a game since 1966. This was the second most points scored in a regular-season game all time.
The Miami Dolphins drew an average home attendance of 65,922 in 9 home games in the 2023 NFL season.
Offseason
On January 19, 2023, the Dolphins parted ways with defensive coordinator Josh Boyer.
After firing Boyer, the Dolphins signed long time defensive coordinator Vic Fangio (well known for his defense being consistently ranked top 5 in major categories) to a contract making him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the NFL.
On March 12, the Dolphins agreed in principle to a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in which they acquired six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey in exchange for tight end Hunter Long and a 2023 3rd round pick. The Rams used the pick to select Tennessee defensive end Byron Young. The trade was officially announced 3 days later after the start of the NFL league year.
Free agent signings +Free agent signings in the 2023 Miami Dolphins season Position Player Age 2022 Team ContractQBMike White28New York Jets2 years, $8 millionILBDavid Long Jr.26Tennessee Titans2 years, $11 millionOLBMalik Reed26Pittsburgh Steelers1 year, $1 millionWRBraxton Berrios27New York Jets1 year, $3.5 millionFSDeShon Elliott26Detroit Lions1 year, $1 millionTEEric Saubert29Denver Broncos1 year, $1 millionGDan Feeney28New York Jets1 year, $3.25 millionPJake Bailey25New England Patriots1 year, $1 millionTIsaiah Wynn27New England Patriots1 year, $1 millionTCedric Ogbuehi31New York Jets1 year, $1 million
Draft
+ 2023 Miami Dolphins draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 – Selection forfeited 29 Traded to the Denver Broncos From 49ers 2 51 Cam Smith CB South Carolina 3 77 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams From Patriots 84 De'Von Achane RB Texas A&M 4 122 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 5 155 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers 6 178 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs From Bears 197 Elijah Higgins WR Stanford 7 238 Ryan Hayes OT Michigan
+ 2023 Miami Dolphins undrafted free agents Position Player College LB Mitchell Agude Miami (FL) QB James Blackman Arkansas State CB Ethan Bonner Stanford RB Christopher Brooks BYU DE Randy Charlton Mississippi State WR Chris Coleman Cal Poly WR Daewood Davis Western Kentucky TE Julian Hill Campbell T Jarrett Horst Michigan State T Alex Jensen South Dakota LB Aubrey Miller Jackson State DT Anthony Montalvo UCF LB Garrett Nelson Nebraska DT Brandon Pili USC G DJ Scaife Miami (FL) S Keidron Smith Kentucky T James Tunstall Cincinnati P Michael Turk Oklahoma C Alama Uluave San Diego State LB Zeke Vandenburgh Illinois State S Bennett Williams Oregon
Draft trades
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Atlanta Falcons L 3–19 0–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 2 at Houston Texans W 28–3 1–1 NRG Stadium Recap 3 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 18–31 1–2 EverBank Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Los Angeles Chargers W 36–34 1–0 SoFi Stadium Recap 2 September 17 at New England Patriots W 24–17 2–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 3 September 24 Denver Broncos W 70–20 3–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 4 October 1 at Buffalo Bills L 20–48 3–1 Highmark Stadium Recap 5 October 8 New York Giants W 31–16 4–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 6 October 15 Carolina Panthers W 42–21 5–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 7 October 22 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–31 5–2 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 8 October 29 New England Patriots W 31–17 6–2 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 9 November 5 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–21 6–3 Deutsche Bank Park Recap 10 Bye 11 November 19 Las Vegas Raiders W 20–13 7–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 12 November 24 at New York Jets W 34–13 8–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 13 December 3 at Washington Commanders W 45–15 9–3 FedExField Recap 14 Tennessee Titans L 27–28 9–4 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 15 December 17 New York Jets W 30–0 10–4 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 16 December 24 Dallas Cowboys W 22–20 11–4 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 17 December 31 at Baltimore Ravens L 19–56 11–5 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 18 January 7 Buffalo Bills L 14–21 11–6 Hard Rock Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers
In a back-and-forth affair, the Dolphins got the better of the matchup, beating the Chargers 36–34. The Dolphins started off the season 1–0.
Week 2: at New England Patriots
Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos
The 70 points scored by the Dolphins are the highest by any team since the 1966 Washington Redskins scored 72 points in a game, and tied with the third highest points scored in NFL history. Miami had the opportunity to tie the single-game points record with 33 seconds remaining, but opted to kneel the football instead of attempting a 45-yard field goal. In addition to the 70 points scored, the Dolphins had 726 total yards, the second-most in league history, behind only the mark of 735 set by the Los Angeles Rams in a 1951 game against the New York Yanks. They also became the first team in NFL history to gain 350 rushing and 350 passing yards in one game, and also are the first team in NFL history to score 5 passing and 5 rushing touchdowns in the same game.
Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
A week after their historic performance, the Dolphins lost their first game of the regular season, falling to 3–1.
Week 5: vs. New York Giants
Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8: vs. New England Patriots
Week 9: at Kansas City Chiefs NFL Germany games
This was Tyreek Hill's first game against the team he had once played for. This was also the second ever NFL game played in Germany, the previous one being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Seattle Seahawks game just a year prior.
Week 11: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 12: at New York Jets Black Friday games
Week 13: at Washington Commanders
Week 14: vs. Tennessee Titans
With 4:34 to go in the game, the Dolphins had a 27–13 lead and a 99.7% chance of winning the game by one measure. The Titans drove the ball 75 yards in the span of less than two minutes to narrow the lead to six after a successful two-point conversion. Miami had the ball back with 2:40 to go but had three middling run plays result in them having to punt the ball to Tennessee with 2:15 to go because the Titans managed to call two of their timeouts. The Titans drove 64 yards in four plays that resulted in a Derrick Henry touchdown to give them the lead with 1:45 to go. The Dolphins started at their own 26-yard line with the ball but moved just 19 yards before turning it over on downs. With the loss, the Dolphins became the first team to blow a lead of at least 14 points in the final three minutes in regulation.Titans rally to upset Dolphins 28–27 on Monday Night Football: Live updates, highlights, stats and reaction, The Athletic, December 12, 2023
Week 15: vs. New York Jets
Week 16: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 17: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 18: vs. Buffalo Bills
Standings Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card at Kansas City Chiefs (3) L 7–26 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Game summaries AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) Kansas City Chiefs
This game drew an average of 23 million viewers, making it the most live-streamed event in the United States. As the first-ever exclusive streaming NFL playoff game, it accounted for 30% of total internet traffic during the broadcast.
Notes
References
External links Miami Dolphins official website