We can sort the NFL into all sorts of tier lists from brilliant, to mediocre, and even the terrible — but the Dolphins and Jets have created their own tier down at the bottom, with a placard that reads “utter ass.” The cellar-dwellers of the AFC East were absolutely horrific on Sunday in different ways, losing to the Browns and Panthers respectively, cementing themselves as the two worst teams in the league with a bullet.
There’s almost nothing left to say about the Dolphins. This team has packed it up. It was clear Miami didn’t want to play football from the second they arrived in Cleveland, so they didn’t. The icing on the cake was witnessing Tua Tagovailoa evaporate into a pile of dust, struggling for much of the game before throwing three picks and getting benched for Quinn Ewers.
Perhaps the most alarming thing about what the Dolphins did in Cleveland is that they seemingly had no plan for the conditions, despite everyone knowing that the weather was going to be bad. De’Von Achane was actually running the ball effectively, but the Dolphins abandoned the run too early — and as soon as they began relying on Tua to win the game, their hopes evaporated. Meanwhile the Browns did exactly what you’re supposed to do in rain and wind, which was endlessly pounding the rock, even if it was struggling.
This game typified the difference between a good coach and a poor one. What it means to have a coach with belief in a team’s skills, and someone who doesn’t. McDaniel has lost games, the locker room, and all hope.
Everything is just so bad for Miami, not just in 2025, but beyond. The Dolphins have Tagovailoa inked to a colossal, franchise QB contract — and he’s not a franchise QB at all. Next season he’s owed $54M in guaranteed money, which was a risky proposition when the offense was working, but now that the passing offense can’t move the ball as Tyreek Hill is out, it’s all just a disaster.
The Dolphins are about to find themselves in a situation where they could have a Top 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but a near-impossible decision about what to do at quarterback. They might just have to pray someone bails them out and trades up, but that’s really a pipe dream with the quarterbacks all struggling to a degree beyond Fernando Mendoza.
Speaking of, it seems like the Jets are in the driver’s seat to take Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. With each passing week it grows more and more difficult to see where this team will win a game. It felt like Carolina had that potential for them, but now it might truly come down to facing the Dolphins on December 7, or the Saints on December 21. If neither of those are wins then there’s a real chance we see the first team in history go 0-17.
Seeing Aaron Glenn on the sideline is tantamount to watching an overworked preschool teacher struggling to keep his class on task. Defensively the Jets are good, but the offense is such an undisciplined mess that they kill themselves with unnecessary penalties, while offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand seemingly has no awareness that he isn’t in Detroit anymore.
Engstrand is calling a passing game that this team isn’t capable of. It’s very easy to blame Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor, because they’re both very mediocre — but there are calls being made that don’t make sense. During one passage of play in the fourth quarter we saw the Jets call numerous deep shots, noticing the Panthers were playing soft underneath coverage — and that’s how you should attack that defense. However, Taylor’s arm has never been that big, and at 36-years-old it’s compromised. What we saw was numerous underthrown balls, which led to two interceptions by cornerback Jaycee Horn. Horn made great plays, but life was also easy, because the Panthers keyed in on this massive deficiency in Jets playcalling.
The only thing that really bailed out the Jets from this game becoming an embarrassment was Bryce Young leaving due to an injury, when his ankle was stepped on during a sack. Prior to the injury Young was cooking against a stout Jets pass defense, and was on pace for over 300 passing yards prior to leaving. Carolina was also hellbent on splitting the load between Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle, despite Dowdle being the obvious hot hand.
In a perfect world New York would have been able to tee off on Andy Dalton, and realize the Panthers were handcuffing themselves in the run game. However, we didn’t see the offensive adjustment needed to move the ball — while the offensive line was in such disarray that they allowed six sacks on the day, when Carolina only managed to get five all season.
The saving grace for the Jets is that they have a future. The players are still giving max effort, even if they’re not very good. More importantly, the Jets have cap space in the future with a projected $92M in space. It’s important to note they only have 34 players under contract, but it means they have a lot of room to make moves and truly shape the roster in Aaron Glenn’s image.
We can’t say the same of Miami. They have $283K in space with 35 players under contract. They will need to fix their cap, but have no way of getting out from under Tagovailoa. This franchise is doomed.
Now let’s take a run around the league to check out the other winners and losers from this week.
Winner: The Indianapolis Colts being the best team in the NFL
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting for the Colts to crash back down to earth, but it just isn’t happening. Indianapolis is dominating a season where everyone else has glaring weaknesses, and they’ve now cemented themselves as the best team in the NFL — seriously.
The Colts are just playing phenomenal football in almost every phase, especially on offense where Jonathan Taylor’s running is opening up the play action pass for Daniel Jones. If you watch Jones he’s selling the play action better than anyone in the NFL, and that’s made the Colts to become one of the best teams in the league through the air. It the picture of efficiency and smart decision making.
At this point in the season the Colts are 6-1. They are Top 10 in rushing, Top 10 in passing, and have a middling defense — but it’s enough when the team is moving the ball as easily as it is. It was easy to write off their schedule only having a win over the Broncos as a signature performance, but beating the Chargers on Sunday cemented them as an elite team.
Shane Steichen has this team cooking.
The Patriots deserve props in their own right, but today it’s all about Drake Maye turning into the best quarterback in the NFL people aren’t talking about nearly enough. Hand wave away his performance as simply “being against the Titans,” but that is grossly overlooking how amazing Maye was.
Damn near perfect at 21-for-23, Maye threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for a tidy 68 yards. It’s not just the numbers, but how Maye got there — making solid throws to every level and moving the ball effortlessly downfield.
If you were hoping the Patriots were going to struggle forever without Tom Brady, sorry but the Pats are back already.
Winner: The Cowboys getting back on track
It was a week where the Cowboys had a lot of questions to answer. Coming off a crushing loss to the Panthers it was critical for this team to make a statement that it could still compete — and it did just that by beating the Commanders.
Dallas was dominating this game before Jayden Daniels went down with an injury. Marcus Mariota’s inability to play the position just blew the doors off the game. There are a lot of factors that went into Dallas’ win, but the biggest is their offensive big three of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens were able to dismantle the Commanders’ secondary.
Dallas is such an inconsistent team it’s unclear how far they can go this season. At the very least they showed they wont be an embarrassment to close out 2025.
Loser: The Giants incredible collapse
I don’t think many people had the Giants competing with the Broncos on Sunday, but that doesn’t excuse coughing up a massive lead. I know it’s blasphemy to suggest Jaxon Dart isn’t brilliant every time he touches the ball — but Dart was absolute garbage in the crunch time against Denver.
Living on vibes will only get you so far as a quarterback. Dart plays with a frenetic energy akin to a rat in a humane trap. He scrambles around the pocket with a lot of wasted motion, then jump pass hurls the ball like he’s playing NFL Blitz. It’s amazing when it works, but too often he leaves sensible plays on the field because he’s trying to do something ludicrous and flashy.
This game should be a learning lesson for the young QB. Less is more when it comes to playing the position — especially when the game is on the line. The interception Dart threw in the fourth quarter was a backbreaker, and he never needed to attempt to climb to pocket, navigate his own lineman on the ground, and try to hit a crossing route that wasn’t there.
Loser: Jacksonville crashing back to earth
It’s been a rough two weeks for the Jaguars after their massive win over the Chiefs cemented this team as one to watch. Losers of two in a row, Jacksonville had the doors blown off them against the Rams in London, with Matthew Stafford throwing five touchdowns and dismantling the Jaguars.
Thankfully this was also a game where Travis Hunter finally broke out on offense, but that’s cold comfort when you’re in a game against a team you should be able to compete against and come up so short. Now at 4-3 on the season the gap is getting wider with the Colts beginning to run away with the AFC South.
Perhaps one of the most curious elements to Jags’ inconsistency this season has been Brian Thomas Jr. who went from one of the breakout receivers in the league a year ago, to struggling to find targets now. Trevor Lawrence and BTJ are so far off the same page it’s like they’re playing different sports at times.
This needs to get much, much better if the Jaguars can be taken seriously at all this season.
