The 2018 season was the Miami Dolphins' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 53rd overall and their third and last under head coach Adam Gase. During the offseason, the Dolphins tweaked their uniforms' orange color to better align with their classical past and history. For the second straight season, they also brought back their throwback uniforms from the Shula/Marino eras and wore them for three games.
With quarterback Ryan Tannehill playing for the first time since 2016, the highlight of the Dolphins' season came during a memorable Week 14 win against division rival and defending back-to-back AFC champion New England Patriots, which prevented the Patriots from clinching the AFC East that week. However, the Dolphins would lose all of their remaining games and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The 7–9 finish was also the team's second consecutive losing season, with all 7 wins decided by one possession scores.
Roster changes
Signings
Position Player Age 2017 Team ContractWRDanny Amendola32New England Patriots2 years, $12 millionRBBrandon Bolden281 year, $850,000RBFrank Gore35Indianapolis Colts1 year, $1.015 millionQBBrock Osweiler27Denver Broncos1 year, $880,000GJosh Sitton31Chicago Bears2 years, $18 millionWRAlbert Wilson25Kansas City Chiefs3 years, $24 million
Departures
Position Player Age 2018 Team ContractDTNdamukong Suh31Los Angeles Rams1 year, $14 millionCMike Pouncey29Los Angeles Chargers2 years, $15 million
Draft
2018 Miami Dolphins Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 11 Minkah Fitzpatrick FS Alabama 2 42 Mike Gesicki TE Penn State 3 73 Jerome Baker OLB Ohio State 4 123 Durham Smythe TE Notre Dame From Carolina via Cleveland 131 Kalen Ballage HB Arizona State From New England via Philadelphia 6 209 Cornell Armstrong CB Southern Miss From Kansas City 7 227 Quentin Poling LB Ohio From San Francisco 229 Jason Sanders K New Mexico
Draft trades The Dolphins traded wide receiver Jarvis Landry to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's fourth-round selection they acquired from Carolina (123rd overall), and a 2019 7th round pick Cleveland originally acquired from Pittsburgh. The Dolphins traded running back Jay Ajayi to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's fourth-round selection they acquired from New England (131st overall). The Dolphins traded their fifth-round selection (147th overall) to New Orleans in exchange for linebacker Stephone Anthony. The Dolphins traded the seventh-round selection they acquired from Tampa Bay (223rd overall) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's seventh-round selection (227th overall) and center Daniel Kilgore.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–26 0–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 2 at Carolina Panthers L 20–27 0–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap 3 Baltimore Ravens L 10–27 0–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 4 at Atlanta Falcons W 34–7 1–3 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
Regular season The Dolphins' 2018 schedule was finalized and announced on April 19.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 Tennessee Titans W 27–20 1–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 2 September 16 at New York Jets W 20–12 2–0 MetLife Stadium Recap 3 September 23 Oakland Raiders W 28–20 3–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 4 September 30 at New England Patriots L 7–38 3–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 5 October 7 at Cincinnati Bengals L 17–27 3–2 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 6 October 14 Chicago Bears W 31–28 4–2 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 7 October 21 Detroit Lions L 21–32 4–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 8 at Houston Texans L 23–42 4–4 NRG Stadium Recap 9 November 4 New York Jets W 13–6 5–4 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 10 November 11 at Green Bay Packers L 12–31 5–5 Lambeau Field Recap 11Bye 12 November 25 at Indianapolis Colts L 24–27 5–6 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 13 December 2 Buffalo Bills W 21–17 6–6 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 14 December 9 New England Patriots W 34–33 7–6 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 15 December 16 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–41 7–7 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 16 December 23 Jacksonville Jaguars L 7–17 7–8 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 17 December 30 at Buffalo Bills L 17–42 7–9 New Era Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Tennessee Titans
Due to two weather delays, the game lasted for 7 hours and 10 minutes, the longest game since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. Coincidentally, wide receiver Danny Amendola met with former teammates Malcolm Butler and Dion Lewis. The three played for the New England Patriots from 2015 to 2017 and helped them win Super Bowl LI over the Atlanta Falcons.
Week 2: at New York Jets
Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders
With the win, the Dolphins improved to 3–0, their first such start since 2013.
Week 4: at New England Patriots
With their first loss of the season, the Dolphins failed to earn their first 4–0 start since 1995, during the Dan Marino era and Don Shula's final year as the Dolphins' head coach.
Week 5: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears
A last-second field goal kick by Jason Saunders barely averted a tie and gave the Dolphins the win in overtime.
Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions
The Dolphins were seeking their first win over the Lions since 2006.
Week 8: at Houston Texans
Week 9: vs. New York Jets
Week 10: at Green Bay Packers
Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills With the win the Dolphins improved to 6-6. However this would turn out to be their last win over Buffalo until 2022.
Week 14: vs. New England Patriots
Week 15: at Minnesota Vikings This was the Dolphins' first loss to the Vikings since 2002.
Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
With the loss, the Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention.
Week 17: at Buffalo Bills
This season finale marked the final games of players such as quarterback Ryan Tannehill, linebacker Cameron Wake, and head coach Adam Gase all in Dolphins uniforms.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links