Dan Marino Says Dolphins Can Overcome 0-2 Start Despite Slim Playoff Odds

Dan Marino said the Miami Dolphins can rebound from an 0-2 start, urging optimism even as historical trends and early-season struggles present a steep climb back to playoff contention.

Marino, the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who spent his entire 17-season career with the Dolphins, acknowledged the team’s difficult start but said players and coaches remain professionals who must maintain a week-to-week sense of urgency. Over the past five seasons, 42 NFL teams opened 0-2 and only five ultimately reached the postseason, a success rate of just under 12 percent.

Miami’s slow start included a lopsided Week 1 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and a closer Week 2 home-opener defeat to the New England Patriots. The Dolphins’ offense looked sharper in Week 2, but a handful of late mistakes — including a play in which running back De’Von Achane stepped out of bounds — contributed to the loss.

"I think that if you ask every player on the team, and they’re all pros and the coaches too, they’d all be disappointed in the fact that they’re 0-2," Marino told Fox News Digital, while also referencing his personal health battle with MASH, a serious liver disease. "But once again, I was talking about it earlier, you have to be positive."

Marino defended head coach Mike McDaniel amid public criticism and signs at Hard Rock Stadium calling for the coach’s firing. "Mike is a brilliant offensive mind. He’s proven that," Marino said. "Yesterday, it’s just at the end, like all the games in the NFL, come down to the fourth quarter. Almost all of them are like that, and you have to play all four quarters. We did and we had a chance to win."

He stressed that urgency should be constant across a 17-game season and not triggered solely by an 0-2 mark. "If you’re playing in the NFL and you’re a true pro, which those guys in the NFL are, you have to have a sense of urgency every week no matter if it’s the first week or 15th week or seventh week — whatever it may be," Marino said.

The Dolphins will face the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, a brief turnaround that Marino called another opportunity. Miami played Buffalo closely last season, losing 30-27 in Orchard Park, a game Marino cited as proof the team can compete with top AFC East opponents.

Contextually, Miami reached the postseason in 2022 and 2023 before slipping to an 8-9 finish in 2024. The early-season defeats have increased scrutiny on personnel and game management, but Marino emphasized recoverability: 0-2 is not an insurmountable deficit if the team corrects mistakes and sustains positive results.

Marino’s remarks arrive as the Dolphins seek to re-establish the offensive rhythm that propelled them to recent playoff berths and to quiet growing calls for change. With more than half the regular season still remaining, Miami’s immediate task is to translate Saturday practices and game-week preparation into fewer late-game errors and more consistent execution in all four quarters.