No one believes in the Miami Dolphins.
Is that the kind of narrative that football teams like to create all the time just to have some extra motivation? You know it.
But in this case, it’s also pretty much true.
Outside of the Dolphins’ building, it’d be hard to find anyone who thinks this is a Miami team that can even slightly push for a playoff spot.
“The Miami Dolphins are an underdog in all 17 of their games this season, according to ESPN’s matchup predictor,” ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques wrote in a new article on Sunday. “They say they are not paying attention to any predictions, but are embracing the underdog mentality the low expectations have helped create. The Dolphins’ projected win total for the 2026 season is 4.5 games, and early mock drafts already have them earning the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft.”
Sometimes, people are exactly right. Sometimes, the team everyone thinks will be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft ends up with that pick.
And sometimes, the team with no believers proves all the doubters wrong.
The Dolphins know which team they want to be.
Dolphins’ Plan Is Simple
Miami doesn’t plan to lay down. The Dolphins plan to fight.
They know that expectations are low, and they plan to prove that wrong.
“I don’t think we have a choice [but to have an underdog mindset], honestly,” linebacker Jordyn Brooks told ESPN. “I don’t think there’s one outlet on social media, anybody that’s got us picked to win anything. Not that it matters, but that’s just what it is. I don’t think any of our opponents respect us. So, 100% underdog mindset, and I think that’s always the best position to be in. We’re going to carry that mindset into the season and have that ‘us against the world’ mentality and do our best to win football games.”
At least early in the season, the Dolphins could sneak up on a few teams.
Youngest Team in NFL
The Dolphins are a team with youth, which creates more fascinating narratives, too.
“Miami will field the youngest roster in the NFL this season, thanks in part to a 13-player rookie class — all of whom made the initial 53-man roster, although seventh-round pick Max Llewellyn was waived and re-signed to the practice squad,” Louis-Jacques writes.
There’s a difference between a bad and aging team, and an inexperienced and young one.
Maybe it turns out these Dolphins don’t have talent. But they could also prove to be players with burgeoning potential who embrace the opportunity to prove themselves.
That includes quarterback Malik Willis, who was viewed as a bust with the Titans before reviving his career as a Packers backup. Now a starting QB in Miami after a big free agent contract, put him right at the front of the list of guys hoping to prove themselves.
And hey, you never know. The start of a season brings hope for everyone. These Dolphins feel like they can legitimately believe in themselves, even if no one else does.
Dolphins’ Plan For 2026 NFL Season Is Simple