Are These 'Phins Phor Real?

What does the Season have in store for the Dolphins?

By Kevin Reese

US Presswire

The Miami Dolphins opened up their 2013 season with three wins, two of which came on the road.  They began the season by beating the Cleveland Browns in a game where Miami’s leading rusher had 14 yards.

 In Week 2, the Phins took down a considerably better opponent when they went to Indianapolis and defeated Andrew Luck and the Colts. Many started to deem the Dolphins a legitimate contender after they took down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.

The Dolphins entered the week undefeated facing the unbeaten New Orleans Saints in the vaunted Superdome. In just one game, our perception of this version of the Miami Dolphins might have been altered. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn’t look like the same player who led the Dolphins on a game-winning drive the previous week. 

Tannehill turned the ball over four times in this contest (one fumble and three interceptions). The defense got torched by Drew Brees to the tune of 413 yards and four touchdowns. The Dolphins ultimately fell to the Saints 38-17, putting them at 3-1 for the season.

So was this one bad game or was the first three weeks misleading as to who the real Dolphins are? Only time will tell. The Dolphins remaining schedule is quite favorable. The Dolphins only play one team who currently has a winning record the rest of the way. 

That team is their division rival New England Patriots, whom the Dolphins get to face twice. Also, it’s worth noting that half of the Dolphins remaining games are against division opponents.

In this very young NFL season, Miami is still very much in the race for the AFC East. It just depends on what Dolphins team we see. Do we get the team that won games against teams that were in last year’s playoffs, or the team who can’t seem to stop anything? The Dolphins are only one game back and have a multitude of winnable games left. 

So whatever team shows up, Miami will most likely exceed expectations this season, considering many picked them to not even smell a division title. This Dolphins team will most likely experience more ups-and-downs like this previous game, but one thing is for certain: they’re not going undefeated.