FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Miami Dolphins’ 2025 season mercifully came to its woeful end, and now the focus for the franchise immediately shifts to a pivotal offseason.
The New England Patriots’ running backs combined for five touchdowns, and a Dolphins offense quarterbacked by rookie Quinn Ewers and without running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle didn’t stand a chance in a 38-10 final to cap another vastly disappointing season.
Miami finished 7-10, a game worse than its 2024 record. A decision will soon be made on the fate of coach Mike McDaniel for a franchise which will already be looking for a new permanent general manager after firing Chris Grier midway through the season.
After the game, McDaniel declined to reveal the nature of conversations with owner Steve Ross and said he’d go about his business same as normal going into Black Monday.
“I’m operating the same exact way that I always have, which is no one’s entitled to anything,” McDaniel said. “I take the job serious, and so I will aggressively attack the job (Monday and like every day that I have the job because I think it’s supremely important to not minimize your responsibility and what people need from you.”
The Patriots (14-3), who remained the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs because of the Denver Broncos’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers, completed a 10-game turnaround from 2024, matching the 1999 Indianapolis Colts and 2008 Dolphins for the greatest single-season turnaround.
Ewers, who exited in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury, finished 16 of 23 for 137 yards with a touchdown and an interception, completing his three-game slate as starter to wrap up the season.
“I thought I did a good job of, No. 1, responding to challenges all three weeks,” Ewers said. “It’s unfortunate whenever the season doesn’t end your way and how you want it to end, but I thought I did a good job of rallying the guys around me and continuing to fight.”
Said McDaniel of Ewers: “The expectation is to go play the game, be able to lead the troops and make some plays while you do that, each start growing. I thought he did a great job each and every start adding to the lessons learned while on the sidelines, and then while under center.”
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, possibly capping an MVP season, was 14 of 18 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
But the running backs stole the show against the Miami defense. Rhamondre Stevenson scored on the ground and through the air for three total touchdowns as he accumulated 153 total yards from scrimmage. TreVeyon Henderson added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
“They had a good game,” said linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who with nine tackles Sunday finished with the NFL lead in tackles (183). “They ran the ball hard and thought their O-line blocked for them well. They made more plays than we did.”
Ewers kept Miami in it in the first half through early into the second. The Dolphins were driving on the opening series of the third quarter, but Ewers made his first costly mistake, intercepted in the end zone by safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who came off wide receiver Tahj Washington to pick off a pass to the trailing Theo Wease Jr.
“I was looking at Theo, and I think I was trying to force it a little bit too much there,” Ewers said. “I think I could have dumped it off to (tight end) Greg (Dulcich) at the end of the day, but I think it’s part of the learning process.”
That’s when the third-quarter onslaught began.
Stevenson caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Maye in the corner of the end zone after blowing by linebacker Tyrel Dodson with a quick move to the inside.
He rumbled for another score on the ground, from 35 yards out a few minutes later.
Early in the fourth quarter, Henderson tacked on a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
Down, 14-0, Ewers led a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Malik Washington to get Miami back within a score after a hot Patriots start.
Running back Jaylen Wright later lost a fumble, forced by linebacker Jack Gibbens and recovered by defensive lineman Elijah Ponder, but when the Patriots lined up for a field goal to extend their advantage, Miami defensive tackle Zach Sieler blocked it and cornerback Jason Marshall recovered it up the field.
The Dolphins scored 3 points on the foot of kicker Riley Patterson, good on a 52-yard field goal with 28 seconds left before halftime.
A Maye scramble allowed New England to get into long field goal range, and former Miami Hurricanes kicker Andy Borregales made the kick from 59 yards out to send the teams into intermission with the Patriots leading, 17-10.
Ewers had an impressive opening drive, going 5 for 6 with a 20-yard third-down conversion to Wease and a tight completion to Tahj Washington on third-and-8 in the red zone. That 7-yard pass, though, set up a fourth-and-1, and Ewers threw to the back of the end zone to Cedrick Wilson Jr., who couldn’t come down with the touchdown catch.
The Patriots scored first after three plays from scrimmage Sunday. Henderson scored from 5 yards away after Stevenson rolled for a 56-yard scamper on the previous play.
While Miami lost, it remained with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the late April draft thanks to losses by the Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, the latter on a 60-yard field goal at the buzzer by kicker Daniel Carlson.
The Dolphins now turn to a decision on McDaniel, while they are expected to immediately jump into the GM search, with interim Champ Kelly among potential candidates.