MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It's a short week for the Miami Dolphins, as they prepare to take on AFC East rival Buffalo on the road Thursday.
The team will look to get its first win and salvage the season after Sunday's tough loss to New England at Hard Rock Stadium.
"It's disappointing how we're losing," linebacker Tyrel Dodson said Monday. "I don't like how we're losing."
The Dolphins had miscues on both sides of the ball, including special teams, during Sunday's loss.
Miami showed signs of gaining momentum after falling behind early, but the offense had several mishaps down the stretch.
"Our pre-snap alignments and operations, but ultimately, it's all things that we can fix. I think it was just a lack of urgency in those situations," offensive lineman Patrick Paul said.
On top of that, the defensive backs had trouble staying with receivers, and the front seven struggled to create pressure on second-year Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
"We've got to stop the run. That's the first thing: before you can stop the run, you've got to stop the run. If you have a team that's ending up in third and short situations, you know they're not going to pass the ball if they don't have to," edge rusher Chop Robinson said.
Speculation is brewing about whether the locker room has lost faith in head coach Mike McDaniel.
"Everybody in the locker room believes in him," Robinson said. "I appreciate him. He took a chance on me, so I have the most respect and love for him."
"We believe in him as players. Just me in general, I love him, he believed in me when most didn't," Paul said.
While players say they're with McDaniel, he knows that his job security ultimately lies with wins and playoff success.
"I'm very understanding that in this business, it's very result-based," McDaniel said. "My job is that the more other people talk about anything, the less I even hear it."
This is the first time since 2020 that the Dolphins have lost their first two games of the season.
On a brighter note, at least one team that started 0-2 has made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons; three teams did it last season alone.
That also said, only six teams — and one since 1998 — have gotten to the playoffs after starting 0-3.
