The Miami Dolphins entered Week 9 coming of a loss to the New England Patriots, and after a hard-fought battle with the Detroit Lions, Jeff Hafley's team finished with a 19-9 loss.
Miami's defense was strong against Denver, holding Jared Goff to just 170 passing yards and an interception. Jahmyr Gibbs also averaged just 3.7 yards per rush. However, it was the Dolphins' offense that struggled once again, as Malik Willis threw for just 128 yards and an interception, while Ollie Gordon II rushed for 3.4 yards per attempt.
As we head into a new week, let's round up power rankings from several publications and see how some of the experts view Miami after they lost to the Lions.
USA Today Sports:No. 27 (-)
"After a couple encouraging performances, the offense has tailed off significantly
in recent weeks. A trip to Indianapolis could be a cure-all," Nate Davis wrote.
CBS Sports: No 29 (+1)
"They competed against the Lions, especially the defense, but they just don't have the talent yet. They need a quarterback," Pete Prisco wrote.
FOX Sports: No. 30 (-)
"A loss is a loss, and it hardly matters in a 1-7 season, but I don’t have the words to explain how impressed I was with the job Jeff Hafley’s defense did against the Lions on Sunday. Holding that team to 270 yards, keeping Jahmyr Gibbs under 100, and not allowing a touchdown pass is basically a pre-Christmas miracle in Miami. They should hang a banner if they can fit all the details on it. Unfortunately, their own offense didn’t show up (just 228 yards), so they completely wasted the effort. But at least the film review won’t be all bad. And hey, they’ve got the Colts and Jets over the next three weeks. If their offense can elevate to a mediocre level, maybe they can grab another win," Ralph Vacchiano wrote.
The Athletic: No: 28 (-)
"The record is ugly. But in some ways, it has almost been a dream start. Jeff Hafley’s Dolphins play hard. Their young receivers have had some nice moments. And then they still lose, preserving a good draft pick," Chad Graff and Josh Kendall wrote.
Yahoo! Sports: No 27 (+2)
"The story of the Dolphins' loss to the Lions on Sunday was familiar to their season. There were plenty of mistakes, like 11 penalties that contributed to the offense not scoring a touchdown. QB Malik Willis was inconsistent. Miami faded in the second half. It did things a bad team generally does to lose games.
"But the Dolphins' defense played very well, limiting a very good Lions offense to 19 points. And there is still fight from a team whose playoff hopes were nil before the season even started," Frank Schwab wrote.
Sports Illustrated: No 17 (+14)
"I am giving the Dolphins a one-week ceremonial bump due to effort. This team of largely rookies and younger players are working their collective asses off on a week-to-week basis. While linear ascension is not guaranteed, I would expect Miami to be in the surprise playoff conversation sooner (2027) rather than later," Connor Orr wrote.
Bleacher Report: No. 30 (-1)
"At 1-7, the Miami Dolphins currently own a top-three pick in the 2027 NFL draft. Yes, the draft should already be a significant point of discussion even though it's early November. This setup shouldn't come as a surprise, either. Entering this season, the Dolphins were already seen as the franchise fielding the NFL's worst roster. The team didn't make long-term investments this past offseason, except for quarterback Malik Willis, who signed a three-year, $67.5 million free-agent contract.
"Willis may well be on his way to a one-and-done campaign as Miami's QB1, because the Dolphins could be in a position to draft next year's top quarterback prospect. Willis could possibly stay as a bridge option, or the organization can release him and eat what he's already owed next season. Either way, he hasn't shown enough to warrant long-term consideration at the game's most important position," Brent Sobleski wrote.
ESPN: No. 30 (+1)
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Where did Dolphins land in Week 10 NFL power rankings?
