2021 Miami Dolphins season

The 2021 season is the Miami Dolphins' 52nd season in the National Football League, their 56th overall and their third under head coach Brian Flores. They will attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and win the division for the first time since 2008. However, despite a dismal 1–7 start, where the team failed to improve on their 10–6 record from the previous season, the Dolphins have gone on a five-game winning streak becoming the first team since the 1994 New York Giants to lose 7 straight games, then win at least 5 straight games.

2021 Miami Dolphins season
OwnerStephen M. Ross
Head coachBrian Flores
General managerChris Grier
Home fieldHard Rock Stadium
Results
Record6–7
Division place3rd AFC East
Uniform

Offseason and training camp

On January 5, 2021, Dolphins' offensive coordinator Chan Gailey announced his resignation.[1] On February 2, the Dolphins announced coaches Eric Studesville and George Godsey would share the offensive coordinator position for the upcoming 2021 season.[2]

On May 25, 2021, the NFL announced training camp for all teams will commence on July 27. This will mark the first time the Dolphins have training camp at the new training facility adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[3]

On May 26, Tua Tagovailoa, when reflecting on the 2020 season, said he wasn't comfortable calling plays and he didn't know the playbook really well. He added he feels much more comfortable now.[4] On June 15, during the first day of minicamp and during a heavy downpour of rain, Tagovailoa threw five interceptions. He explained later that during minicamp the team had decided to be more aggressive with riskier throws to see what would happen and that they can now learn from the results.[5]

Atlanta Falcons' head coach Arthur Smith announced his team will hold joint practices with the Miami Dolphins sometime around August 21 at Hard Rock Stadium.[6]

On July 27, 2021, All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard officially requested a trade from the Dolphins over a months-long contract dispute. Despite this, just twelve days later on August 8, 2021, the Dolphins agreed to restructure the cornerback's contract. The deal adds more guaranteed money and incentives, possibly making his payout over 16.285 million dollars. [7]

Draft
Main article: 2021 NFL Draft
2021 Miami Dolphins Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
16 Jaylen WaddleWRAlabamafrom Philadelphia
18 Jaelan PhillipsOLBMiami
236 Jevon HollandFSOregon
42 Liam EichenbergOTNotre Damefrom New York
381 Hunter LongTEBoston Collegefrom San Francisco
7231 Larnel ColemanOTUMass
244 Gerrid DoaksRBCincinnatifrom Washington

Staff
Miami Dolphins staff
Front office
  • Chairman/Managing general partner – Stephen Ross
  • Vice chairman/Partner – Bruce Beal
  • Vice chairman – Jorge Pérez
  • Vice chairman – Matt Higgins
  • Vice chairman, president, and CEO – Tom Garfinkel
  • General manager – Chris Grier
  • Assistant general manager – Marvin Allen
  • Vice president, football administration – Brandon Shore
  • Senior vice president, chief financial officer – Chris Clements
  • Senior personnel executive – Reggie McKenzie
  • Co-Director, player personnel – Adam Engroff
  • Co-Director, player personnel – Anthony Hunt
  • Special advisor to the vice chairman, president, and CEO – Dan Marino
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
  • Assistant special teams – Brendan Farrell
Strength and conditioning
  • Head strength and conditioning – Dave Puloka
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Jim Arthur

→ Coaching staff
→ Management
→ More NFL staffs

AFC East
BUF
MIA
NE
NYJ
North
BAL
CIN
CLE
PIT
South
HOU
IND
JAX
TEN
West
DEN
KC
LV
LAC
NFC East
DAL
NYG
PHI
WAS
North
CHI
DET
GB
MIN
South
ATL
CAR
NO
TB
West
ARI
LAR
SF
SEA

Current roster
Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • Currently vacant

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Roster updated December 14, 2021

47 active, 16 inactive, 17 practice squad (+1 exempt)

→ AFC rosters → NFC rosters

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 14 at Chicago Bears L 13–20 0–1 Soldier Field Recap
2 August 21 Atlanta Falcons W 37–17 1–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
3 August 29 at Cincinnati Bengals W 29–26 2–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

The Dolphins' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.

Week Date Time (ET) Opponent Result Record Venue TV Recap
1 September 12 4:25 p.m. at New England Patriots W 17–16 1–0 Gillette Stadium CBS Recap
2 September 19 1:00 p.m. Buffalo Bills L 0–35 1–1 Hard Rock Stadium Fox Recap
3 September 26 4:05 p.m. at Las Vegas Raiders L 28–31 (OT) 1–2 Allegiant Stadium CBS Recap
4 October 3 1:00 p.m. Indianapolis Colts L 17–27 1–3 Hard Rock Stadium CBS Recap
5 October 10 1:00 p.m. at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–45 1–4 Raymond James Stadium CBS Recap
6 October 17 9:30 a.m. at Jacksonville Jaguars L 20–23 1–5 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
(London, England)		 CBS Recap
7 October 24 1:00 p.m. Atlanta Falcons L 28–30 1–6 Hard Rock Stadium Fox Recap
8 October 31 1:00 p.m. at Buffalo Bills L 11–26 1–7 Highmark Stadium CBS Recap
9 November 7 1:00 p.m. Houston Texans W 17–9 2–7 Hard Rock Stadium Fox Recap
10 November 11 8:20 p.m. Baltimore Ravens W 22–10 3–7 Hard Rock Stadium Fox/NFLN/
Prime Video		 Recap
11 November 21 1:00 p.m. at New York Jets W 24–17 4–7 MetLife Stadium CBS Recap
12 November 28 1:00 p.m. Carolina Panthers W 33–10 5–7 Hard Rock Stadium Fox Recap
13 December 5 1:00 p.m. New York Giants W 20–9 6–7 Hard Rock Stadium Fox Recap
14 Bye
15 December 19 1:00 p.m. New York Jets Hard Rock Stadium CBS
16 December 27 8:15 p.m. at New Orleans Saints Caesars Superdome ESPN
17 January 2 1:00 p.m. at Tennessee Titans Nissan Stadium CBS
18 January 9 1:00 p.m. New England Patriots Hard Rock Stadium CBS

Notes:

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
  • Networks and times in Weeks 17 and 18 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling; Week 16 is exempt, as it occurs on a Monday.
  • Week 18 is subject to being flexed to Saturday, January 8.

Week 1: at New England Patriots
Week 1: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 7 3 7017
Patriots 0 10 3316

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

The Dolphins take sole possession of first place in the AFC East with this win as they improved to 1–0, their first such start since 2018. It was also the first time since 2017 that the Patriots had lost a season opener. Head coach Brian Flores also became the first Dolphins head coach since Don Shula to beat New England multiple times in Foxboro.

Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 2: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bills 14 0 71435
Dolphins 0 0 000

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Despite forcing two turnovers to extend their streak of games with takeaways to 24, the Dolphins suffered their worst loss to the Bills with a 35–0 shutout by Buffalo. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a rib injury in the first quarter, forcing backup Jacoby Brissett to finish the game in his stead.[8]

Week 3: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 3: Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders – Game summary
1 2 34OTTotal
Dolphins 14 0 011328
Raiders 2 10 76631

at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada

Game information

Week 4: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 4: Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Colts 0 7 101027
Dolphins 3 0 01417

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 5: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 5: Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 10 0 7017
Buccaneers 7 17 02145

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Week 6: at Jacksonville Jaguars

NFL London games

Week 6: Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 7 6 0720
Jaguars 3 7 7623

at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England

  • Date: October 17
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. BST/9:30 a.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 60,784
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 13 71030
Dolphins 7 0 71428

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
Week 8: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 3 0811
Bills 3 0 71626

at Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 9: vs. Houston Texans
Week 9: Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Texans 0 6 039
Dolphins 7 10 0017

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: November 7
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
  • Game attendance: 60,232
  • Referee: Adrian Hill
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Jen Hale
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 10: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 10: Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Ravens 3 0 0710
Dolphins 0 6 01622

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 11: at New York Jets
Week 11: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 7 0 71024
Jets 7 0 7317

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 21
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 54 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 72,303
  • Referee: Alex Kemp
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta, and AJ Ross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 12: Carolina Panthers at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Panthers 7 3 0010
Dolphins 7 14 6633

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: November 28
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)
  • Game attendance: 62,389
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, and Jen Hale
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: vs. New York Giants
Week 13: New York Giants at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Giants 0 3 339
Dolphins 0 10 01020

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: December 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Partly sunny, 82 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,898
  • Referee: Brad Allen
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Jen Hale
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

The Dolphins defeated the Giants at home for the first time in franchise history, and defeated them for the first time since 2003. The 2021 Dolphins also became the first team since the 1994 Giants to win at least 5 straight games after losing 7 in a row. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa became the first Dolphins quarterback since Dan Marino in 1994 to throw at least 21 completions in the first half of a game.

Week 15: vs. New York Jets
Week 15: New York Jets at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Jets 0 0 000
Dolphins 0 0 000

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: December 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta and AJ Ross
  • Preview

Division
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
New England Patriots 9 4 0 .692 3–1 7–1 350 200 W7
Buffalo Bills 7 6 0 .538 3–1 5–5 363 229 L2
Miami Dolphins 6 7 0 .462 2–2 4–5 254 288 W5
New York Jets † 3 10 0 .231 0–4 3–6 226 397 L2

Conference
AFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1[lower-alpha 1] New England Patriots East 9 4 0 .692 3–1 7–1 .479 .427 W7
2[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] Tennessee Titans South 9 4 0 .692 4–1 6–3 .462 .462 W1
3[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] Kansas City Chiefs West 9 4 0 .692 3–1 4–4 .550 .521 W6
4 Baltimore Ravens North 8 5 0 .615 1–3 5–5 .485 .476 L2
Wild cards
5 Los Angeles Chargers West 8 5 0 .615 2–1 5–3 .536 .495 W2
6[lower-alpha 3] Indianapolis Colts South 7 6 0 .538 3–2 6–3 .467 .319 W1
7[lower-alpha 3] Buffalo Bills East 7 6 0 .538 3–1 5–5 .482 .418 L1
In the hunt
8[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] Cleveland Browns North 7 6 0 .538 2–2 4–5 .509 .390 W1
9[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] Cincinnati Bengals North 7 6 0 .538 3–1 5–3 .447 .401 L2
10[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 6] Denver Broncos West 7 6 0 .538 1–2 3–5 .450 .368 W1
11 Pittsburgh Steelers North 6 6 1 .500 2–2 4–4 .494 .487 L1
12[lower-alpha 7] Las Vegas Raiders West 6 7 0 .462 1–3 4–4 .530 .545 L2
13[lower-alpha 7] Miami Dolphins East 6 7 0 .462 2–2 4–5 .450 .397 W5
Eliminated from postseason contention
14 New York Jets East 3 10 0 .231 0–4 3–6 .509 .462 L1
15[lower-alpha 8] Houston Texans South 2 11 0 .154 2–2 2–7 .509 .423 L3
16[lower-alpha 8] Jacksonville Jaguars South 2 11 0 .154 0–4 2–6 .538 .500 L5
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 9]
  1. New England wins tiebreaker over Kansas City and Tennessee based on conference record.
  2. Tennessee wins tiebreaker over Kansas City based on head-to-head victory.
  3. Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cleveland and Denver are rank based on conference record. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Cincinnati (see below).
  4. Cleveland win tiebreaker over Denver based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Cincinnati (see below).
  5. Cleveland win tiebreaker over Cincinnati based on head-to-head victory.
  6. Cincinnati win tiebreaker over Denver based on conference record.
  7. Las Vegas wins tiebreaker over Miami based on head-to-head victory.
  8. Houston wins tiebreaker over Jacksonville based on head-to-head victory.
  9. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

References
  1. Patra, Kevin. "Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey resigns after one season". nfl.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  2. Poupart, Alain. "Reports: Dolphins Going With Co-Offensive Coordinators". si.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  3. Poupart, Alain. "Training Camp Details Coming Into Focus". si.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  4. Simmons, Myles. "Tua Tagovailoa admits he didn't know playbook well enough as a rookie". nbcsports.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  5. "Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa throws 5 interceptions at Tuesday's minicamp practice". usatoday.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  6. Bair, Scott. "Joint practices with Dolphins should help Falcons progress". atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  7. Alper, Josh. "Xavien Howard, Dolphins agree on restructured contract". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 8 Aug 2021.
  8. "The Dolphins' big offensive line investment left them with 6 sacks, one hurt QB vs. Bills". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
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