The 2026 season was always going to be a slog for the Miami Dolphins. A miserable 0-3 start with all three losses coming by double digits cemented that outlook. The Dolphins were non-competitive at full strength, and now they will reportedly be without star running back De'Von Achane for the rest of the year after he sustained a torn ACL in the Week 3 defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs.
This campaign could go from terrible to abysmal. Achane is the most talented player on the Dolphins' roster, and it is not particularly close. The versatile back led the NFL last season in yards per carry and is among the league's most prolific pass-catchers out of the backfield.
He was set to be the lifeblood of a young and inexperienced offense. Without him, Miami will find it dreadfully difficult to move the ball. The Dolphins had a rough go offensively even with Achane in the lineup.
They have yet to score more than 13 points in a game, their leading rusher in each contest managed no more than 74 yards, quarterback Malik Willis does not have a game above 220 passing yards and no receiver owns a 100-yard outing. This franchise is in the midst of a talent drain, and Achane's injury exacerbates the issue. Entering the year, there was a strong argument to be made that this Miami roster is the worst collection of talent the NFL has ever seen.
Now it lacks its best player. The chances of Miami going winless in 2026 are modest simply because it is incredibly difficult to lose 17 games. No team has gone 0-17 since the NFL expanded its regular season in 2021.
Before that, the Cleveland Browns were the last squad to lose every contest, and that came in the 16-game 2017 campaign. But if any franchise can be the first to drop every matchup on a 17-game schedule, it is this one. Severe financial strain prevented the Dolphins from constructing a competitive roster in the offseason.
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