Dolphins, while at their lowest, try to channel midseason turnarounds of recent years

"Desperate times can bring the best out of teams. That would sound great if the Miami Dolphins weren't already desperate last week against the lowly Cleveland Browns, only to suffer an abysmal 31-6 loss. It was a defeat of the likes that, at 1-6 and in the fourth year of a coach-general manager tandem, would call for immediate change at the top of most franchises."

""I think it's really a mentality of taking everything one step at a time. Don't get too far. Don't worry about everything we just had. We got to win today," Sudesville said this past week. "You can't fix everything at one time, but everybody can do what they're supposed to do right now where we are. And let's fix that one step at a time. I think that's the answer to it."

"As difficult as it may be to imagine this Dolphins team starting a midseason turnaround, that is what they aim to do, beginning Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And it isn't unheard of in similar situations for recent Dolphins teams. Just last year, the Dolphins started 2-6. They won six of the next eight to still have a shot at the playoffs entering the regular-season finale. In 2021, former coach Brian Flores' last season at the helm, Miami was 1-7 before winning seven consecutive and eight of nine to finish 9-8."

The Miami Dolphins sit at 1-6 after a lopsided 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns but the ownership is opting for patience with coach Mike McDaniel and GM Chris Grier. McDaniel has retained Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback despite consecutive three-interception games. The team aims to begin a turnaround starting against the Atlanta Falcons and points to recent franchise precedents of late-season surges, including a 2-6 to playoff push last year and a 1-7 to 9-8 run in 2021. Coaches emphasize a step-by-step mentality to rebuild focus and execution.

Read at Sun Sentinel