FLSportsDesk · The Dolphins Journal

What the desk said. Dated.

Every call on the record. The words do not change after publication.

Saturday, September 26, 2026First edition · The read holds. Confidence 87/100.

What changed

Miami added a second regular-season result with the 35-13 loss at San Francisco, falling from 0-1 to 0-2. Active space rose to $8,238,743 from the previous $7,945,143 checkpoint, and Sept. 25 reports ruled Douglas out against Kansas City. Confidence holds because the second loss confirmed the basement forecast.

Why it matters

Miami is 0-2 and has been outscored 62-26 after losses of 27-13 at Las Vegas and 35-13 at San Francisco. This is a bottom-tier rebuild with no playoff case. Head coach Jeff Hafley is sorting starters around quarterback Malik Willis and running back De'Von Achane, with a ceiling near four wins, the No. 1 pick in play and development driving the season.

What to watch

Watch the Sept. 27 home opener against Kansas City at Hard Rock Stadium for Willis' completion rate and yards per attempt, Achane's workload and yards per carry, and any official lineup change.

What would change our mind

Efficient passing from Willis across multiple regular-season games, paired with clear improvement from at least two last-place units, would force a higher grade. One upset would not.

The counterevidence

Protection and coverage set the hard ceiling. Miami has allowed nine sacks, recorded none, surrendered a 78.8 percent completion rate and allowed touchdowns on 88.9 percent of opponents' red-zone trip
The offense stalls when it must create separation. Miami is 9 of 25 on third down and has scored touchdowns on 20 percent of its red-zone trips. Dolphin Nation and DolphinsTalk reported that wide rece
Nine players are on injured reserve or listed out without confirmed return timetables, forcing churn instead of a quick fix.

Evidence on record: 51 linked sources. Content id dolphins-journal-20260926-e1.

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