The Miami Dolphins are 0-2, and the early part of their 2026 season is looking every bit like a rebuild that’s going to sting before it starts to pay off.
After opening with a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, Miami got pushed around by the San Francisco 49ers in a 35-13 defeat on Sunday. That leaves the Dolphins staring at a Week 3 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs and an immediate future that already feels heavy.
That’s the tradeoff when a team commits to tearing things down. Miami has moved away from the old habit of leaning on expensive veterans to cover holes and instead has handed more responsibility to younger players while absorbing the salary-cap pain that comes with it.
The hope is that the team keeps improving week to week. The reality, at least right now, is a lot less comforting.
Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel didn’t sugarcoat it after the loss in Santa Clara:
“Rebuilds often suck. That’s just a brutal reality in sports. They are usually painful, which was the case in the Miami Dolphins’ 35-13 loss at the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and there’s no guarantee of success.”
He added:
“I’ve been through enough of these restarts, rebuilds, recalibrations or whatever you want to call this thing that the winless Dolphins (0-2) are undergoing, to know that the fact is this is going to hurt for a while…”
And then came the bluntest warning of all:
“And the worst part of it is this isn’t rock bottom. Sunday was merely a continuation of what you can expect for at least the first five weeks of this season, the games before the bye week.”
The on-field issues against San Francisco weren’t hard to spot. Miami’s pass rush disappeared again, the penalties piled up, and special teams added more mess to the mix. David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel pointed to the lack of pass rush and coverage issues in the secondary, while Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald noted the Dolphins have invested heavily in the offensive line and still came away with more frustration.
The reactions around the loss were wide-ranging. Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post graded Malik Willis in the defeat, while Jake Gibson of Miami Dolphins on SI sorted through winners and losers from the game and said two weeks in, too much of what hurt Miami against Las Vegas showed up again in an even worse way against San Francisco. Tyler Carmona of Miami Dolphins on SI broke down the five biggest plays that shaped the result at Levi’s Stadium, and Alain Poupart of Miami Dolphins on SI examined the snap counts and what they might mean for Chris Bell, Jason Marshall Jr., Dante Trader Jr., and others.
Barry Jackson also took a deeper look at the data behind Miami’s pass rush and coverage, calling attention to just how difficult it is to win without a consistent rush. In another report, he wrote that Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley addressed injuries, possible changes, Willis’ play, and other issues, with receiver Caleb Douglas’ status for Sunday against the Chiefs in question because of an ankle injury.
The Dolphins also made a move off the field Monday, signing linebacker Andre Jones Jr. from the Buffalo Bills practice squad. David Furones reported the addition came after two weeks of poor special teams play, as Miami looked for an immediate jolt after returning from the West Coast. Marek Brave of The Phinsider also noted the signing, and the team’s early-week chatter now includes a Chiefs matchup in which Miami has opened as a big underdog.
There’s still a long way to go, but the first two games have made the same point in different ways: this is a difficult stretch, and the Dolphins are living through the kind of season that rebuilds tend to bring.
In Other News...
Tua Tagovailoa's Chance To Prove Dolphins Wrong Is Fading Fast
Tua Tagovailoas time with the Falcons has taken an odd turn, and it has left his next chance to get on the field looking less secure than it once did. Atlanta has already named Michael Penix Jr. its starter for Week 3, with Tagovailoa now working as the backup while he recovers from an oblique injury, a shift that came after he had been expected to take the job and start throwing passes for the team.
For Miami fans still tracking the quarterbacks path, the bigger issue is not just the injury, but the reality that the Falcons could keep rolling with Penix if he plays well. Tagovailoa has yet to throw a pass for Atlanta, and every week that passes without him in the lineup makes this situation feel less like a temporary detour and more like a decision the Falcons may not be eager to revisit. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Receiver Problem Before Chiefs Game
The Dolphins made a small roster tweak this week, but it speaks to a bigger concern heading into their Week 3 meeting with the Chiefs. Miami released long snapper Luke Basso and added wide receiver A.J. Henning to the practice squad, a move designed to shore up a position group that is suddenly looking thinner than expected.
With injury concerns surrounding Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell, the Dolphins are trying to protect themselves with more receiver depth before Sunday. Miami now has three receivers on the practice squad and only a limited number of healthy wideouts on the active roster, which leaves the team monitoring a situation that could shape how it approaches the game plan against Kansas City. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Veterans Are Being Tested By A Reset Already Raising Questions
The Dolphins offseason has brought a clear reset, with a new front office and coaching staff steering the roster toward a younger core and a different direction. For veterans like defensive tackle Zach Sieler, that means more than just adjusting to new voices in the building. It means helping set the tone while a team in transition sorts through its next identity.
Miami has already been defined by the kind of churn that usually comes with change, and the early reports around performance, injuries and draft considerations only add to the sense that this is more than a simple tune-up. The veterans are being asked to steady things through a period that could test patience as much as production, and the bigger question is how quickly the roster can settle before the uncertainty starts to show. [Read more 🡒]