MIAMI GARDENS — All summer, we’ve been looking in the wrong direction, checking the tropics for impending storms when there hasn’t been a peep in the Atlantic.
The storm, in fact, was there in black and white, handed to everyone in May when the NFL schedule was released.
More specifically, the Miami Dolphins’ home schedule, which opens with a visit by Patrick Mahomes, concludes with a trip south from Josh Allen and offers no relief against a single mediocre quarterback in between.
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Want to talk about pedigree? Seven of the eight starting quarterbacks scheduled to visit Hard Rock Stadium were top-10 draft picks. Seven have been to the Pro Bowl (and the eighth is Chicago’s exciting 24-year-old, Caleb Williams).
Three have been to the Super Bowl.
And not a single one has failed to make the list of the NFL's top 100 players as chosen by peers.
That’s only half the problem. The other half: The Dolphins have struggled on pass defense. It’s what you get when you combine a revamped, inexperienced secondary with an ineffective pass rush.
The next sack by a Miami Dolphin will be the team’s first — the only NFL squad without one. And the defense can’t even claim it’s a half-step shy of sacks because its 16 QB pressures also rank last. With such a comfy pocket, is it any wonder quarterbacks are having a field day against Miami, completing a league-high 78.8 percent?
So yes, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes return to Hard Rock Stadium, where they once won a Super Bowl, to line up against a Miami defense ironing out the basics.
Dolphins focus on better communication on defense
In the words of the wife of a certain Chiefs All-Pro tight end, can the Dolphins shake it off before Mahomes shakes them off?
The buzzword around the Dolphins’ training facility after last week’s loss to San Francisco dropped Miami to 0-2 is that communication in the back end of the defense must improve. Too often we’ve seen situations such as two defenders tailing the same receiver while a nearby receiver is left to roam free.
“We need to help each other out more back there and communicate more back there,” coach Jeff Hafley said. “That starts with coaching and then down to the players.”
Various factors play into that.
“Think about when does it usually get the loudest on a home game?” Hafley said. “It usually gets loudest on third down, right? When, if we’re home, our defense is on the field. And then what happens is the quarterback’s got to get up to the line of scrimmage and he’s trying to change a play, he’s trying to change the protection or he’s trying to call out a different linebacker and they can’t hear him.”
And what of the defense? Hafley sends defensive calls to linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Rookie cornerback Chris Johnson explained what happens from there.
“Defensive communication is a lot different than offensive communication, where you know they have to listen for the snap,” Johnson said. “ … But on defense it’s really a lot less words being said and more just checking with each other and making sure we’re on the same page — just pointing and nonverbal stuff.”
This weekend, it starts with Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, whose understanding with tight end Travis Kelce is legendary, particularly when a play breaks down and Mahomes enters sandlot mode.
“There’s always a second play, right?” Dolphins defensive coordinator Sean Duggan said. “There’s the initial play where you’re covering and you’re doing your job and then, OK, now the play’s off-schedule. He can buy time as good as anyone in the NFL, so there’s always going to be a second play and there has to be that strain, that effort to my guy’s not going to catch it.”
Coaches have spent the week preaching “eye discipline.”
“Not getting your eyes stuck on Mahomes doing whatever he’s doing in the backfield,” Johnson said. “And understanding once a scramble’s there, you’ve got to latch onto a guy and guard him until you hear the whistle.”
Add running back Kenneth Walker, who entered Week 3 as the league’s leading rusher, and oddsmakers doubt Miami can handle the challenge. The Dolphins opened as seven-point home underdogs, but following the showing vs. the 49ers, the spread ballooned to 12.5. Miami struggled against Brock Purdy and his receivers, who established massive separation against Miami’s secondary.
The Dolphins’ JuJu Brents, Jason Marshall Jr. and Johnson find themselves in the bottom third of Pro Football Focus’ cornerback ratings. Zayne Anderson and Dante Trader Jr. are in the top 30 at safety, but rookie Michael Taaffe also is in the bottom third.
The bad news: This week, it’s Mahomes. Next home game, Joe Burrow, followed by visits from Drake Maye, Jared Goff, Geno Smith, Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert and Allen. Put them together and you have 24 Pro Bowls and 35 selections to the top 100 list flinging passes in 2026 at Hard Rock, health permitting.
A storm brewing, in other words.
Quarterbacks scheduled to visit Hard Rock in 2026
A who’s-who of quarterbacks on the Dolphins’ home schedule in 2026, with their number of Pro Bowl selections, number of times making the NFL’s top 100 players list (with highest ranking achieved) and whether they’ve appeared in a Super Bowl.
Date PB NFL 100 SB
9/27 Patrick Mahomes, K.C. 6 8 (No. 1) Y
10/11 Joe Burrow, CIN 3 5 (6) N
11/1 Drake Maye, NE 2 1 (11) Y
11/8 Jared Goff, DET 5 6 (15) Y
11/29 Geno Smith, NYJ 2 1 (77) N
12/13 Caleb Williams, CHI 0 1 (51) N
12/27 Justin Herbert, LAC 2 6 (32) N
1/3 Josh Allen, BUFF 4 7 (2) N
Note: Smith, taken in the second round, is the only QB listed not drafted with a top-10 pick.
Hal Habib covers the Miami Dolphins for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at HHabib@usatodayco.com.Sunday's game
Chiefs at Dolphins
1 p.m., CBS
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins' struggling pass defense braces for Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes
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