2015 Miami Dolphins season

2015 Miami Dolphins season
OwnerStephen M. Ross
General managerDennis Hickey
Head coachJoe Philbin (fired on October 5; 1–3 record)
Dan Campbell (interim; 5–7 record)
Home stadiumSun Life Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th AFC East
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro BowlersMike Pouncey, C
Branden Albert, OT
Jarvis Landry, WR
Reshad Jones, SS
Brent Grimes, CB
Uniform

The 2015 season was the Miami Dolphins' 46th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 50th overall. The Dolphins looked to improve on their 8–8 record from 2014 and return to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. However, Miami failed to clinch a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season after a Week 14 loss to the New York Giants.

The Dolphins entered 2015 with Joe Philbin as their head coach for a fourth season. After the team started 1−3, Philbin was fired by the Dolphins. Dan Campbell, the team's tight ends coach, served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season and recorded a 5−7 record.

Highlights from the season include the Dolphins' first-ever victory over the Houston Texans, their first win over the Philadelphia Eagles since 1999, and their first road win over the Washington Redskins since 1984.

Free agents

PositionPlayerTag2015 TeamNotes
QBMatt MooreUFAMiami Dolphins
SLouis DelmasUFAMiami Dolphins
RBKnowshon MorenoUFA
DTJared OdrickUFAJacksonville Jaguars
GDaryn ColledgeUFA
CSamson SateleUFA
TECharles ClayUFABuffalo Bills
SJimmy WilsonUFASan Diego Chargers
LBKelvin SheppardUFAMiami Dolphins
DEDerrick ShelbyRFAMiami Dolphins
LBJonathan FreenyRFANew England Patriots
RBDaniel ThomasUFAChicago Bears
SMichael ThomasERFAMiami Dolphins
RBLaMichael JamesUFAMiami Dolphins
SJordan KovacsERFAMiami Dolphins
CBR.J. StanfordRFA
TEGerell RobinsonERFA
CSam BrennerERFAMiami Dolphins
RBJerome MessamRFA

2015 draft

2015 Miami Dolphins Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
114 DeVante ParkerWRLouisville
252 Jordan PhillipsDTOklahoma
4114 Jamil DouglasGArizona State
5145 Bobby McCainCBMemphis
149 Jay AjayiRBBoise State
150 Cedric ThompsonFSMinnesota
156 Tony LippettCBMichigan State

Notable undrafted free agents

2015 Miami Dolphins Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
—— Matt DarrPunterTennessee
—— Andrew FranksPlacekickerRPI
—— Neville HewittLinebackerMarshall

Notes

Staff

2015 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Darren Krein
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – David Puloka
  • Sports science analyst – Dave Regan

Final roster

2015 Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

 Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 reserve, 9 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 13 at Chicago Bears L 10–27 0–1 Soldier Field Recap
2 August 22 at Carolina Panthers L 30–31 0–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap
3 August 29 Atlanta Falcons W 13–9 1–2 Sun Life Stadium Recap
4 September 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–22 1–3 Sun Life Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 at Washington Redskins W 17–10 1–0 FedExField Recap
2 September 20 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 20–23 1–1 EverBank Field Recap
3 September 27 Buffalo Bills L 14–41 1–2 Sun Life Stadium Recap
4 October 4 New York Jets L 14–27 1–3 United Kingdom Wembley Stadium (London) Recap
5 Bye
6 October 18 at Tennessee Titans W 38–10 2–3 Nissan Stadium Recap
7 October 25 Houston Texans W 44–26 3–3 Sun Life Stadium Recap
8 October 29 at New England Patriots L 7–36 3–4 Gillette Stadium Recap
9 November 8 at Buffalo Bills L 17–33 3–5 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap
10 November 15 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–19 4–5 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
11 November 22 Dallas Cowboys L 14–24 4–6 Sun Life Stadium Recap
12 November 29 at New York Jets L 20–38 4–7 MetLife Stadium Recap
13 December 6 Baltimore Ravens W 15–13 5–7 Sun Life Stadium Recap
14 December 14 New York Giants L 24–31 5–8 Sun Life Stadium Recap
15 December 20 at San Diego Chargers L 14–30 5–9 Qualcomm Stadium Recap
16 December 27 Indianapolis Colts L 12–18 5–10 Sun Life Stadium Recap
17 January 3 New England Patriots W 20–10 6–10 Sun Life Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Washington Redskins

Week One: Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 7 01017
Redskins 3 7 0010

at FedExField, Landover, Maryland

Game information

With the win, the Dolphins started 1-0 for the second straight year. This was the Dolphins' first road win over the Redskins since their 1984 Super Bowl season.

Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week Two: Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 3 10 7020
Jaguars 10 10 0323

at EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

Game information

Jacksonville kicker Jason Myers would kick the game winning 28-yard field goal with under 2 minutes left to give the Jaguars the win.

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 1–1.

Week 3: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week Three: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bills 14 13 01441
Dolphins 0 0 8614

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Ryan Tannehill would be intercepted 3 times in this game, including a pick 6 by Preston Brown, and the Bills trounced Miami in their home opener 41–14.

With the embarrassing loss, the Dolphins fell to 1–2. This was also the worst home opening defeat in franchise history.

Week 4: vs. New York Jets

NFL International Series

Week Four: New York Jets at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 10 10 7027
Dolphins 0 7 0714

at Wembley Stadium, London, England

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. BST/9:30 a.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 83,986
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts and Evan Washburn
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

The Dolphins were considered the home team in the season's first International Series game. They lost dropping them to 1-3 heading into their bye week. A day later, Head Coach Joe Philbin was fired following a 24–28 record with no postseason appearances. Tight Ends Coach Dan Campbell was his replacement serving as an Interim head coach.

Week 6: at Tennessee Titans

Week Six: Miami Dolphins at Tennessee Titans – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 10 7 71438
Titans 3 0 7010

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Date: October 18
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 62,342
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Steve Beuerlein and Steve Tasker
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

On a day in which Miami fans traveled well to seemingly outnumber Tennessee fans, the Dolphins would pick up their first win under Dan Campbell.

With the win, Miami improved to 2–3.

Week 7: vs. Houston Texans

Week Seven: Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Texans 0 0 131326
Dolphins 21 20 0344

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 65,251
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

The Dolphins thoroughly dominated the first half, scoring 6 touchdowns for a 41–0 halftime lead. With the win, the Miami Dolphins defeated the Houston Texans for the first time in franchise history. This was also the first time since 2003 that the Dolphins scored over 40 points in a game.

Week 8: at New England Patriots

Week Eight: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 707
Patriots 7 12 31436

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

The Dolphins travel to New England to take on the undefeated Patriots. The Dolphins looked to end the streak of the Super Bowl champions, but it was too late as Miami struggled offensively and defensively all game.

Cameron Wake left the game with an Achilles tear. The Dolphins later announced that he would miss the rest of the season. He finished the game with two tackles and a sack.

Week 9: at Buffalo Bills

Week Nine: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 7 7317
Bills 9 10 7733

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 8
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C), sunny with some clouds
  • Game attendance: 70,214
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 3-5 and were swept by Buffalo for the first time since 2013.

Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Ten: Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 3 10 0720
Eagles 16 0 0319

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Dolphins would trail 16–3 at one point, but they would come back to beat Philadelphia. Near the end of the game, Reshad Jones intercepted Eagles backup quarterback Mark Sanchez to seal the game. This was the Dolphins' first win over the Eagles since 1999.

With the win, Miami improved to 4–5.

Week 11: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week Eleven: Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 14 01024
Dolphins 0 7 7014

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Tony Romo started this game for Dallas, and the Cowboys would snap their 7-game losing streak, while the Dolphins failed to get into any rhythm on offense or defense in the game. The Dolphins were also seeking a home win over the Cowboys for the first time since 1984. This game is known for being Romo's last win in the NFL.

With the tough loss, the Dolphins fell to 4–6.

Week 12: at New York Jets

Week Twelve: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 71320
Jets 7 7 71738

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 29
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 78,160
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts and Evan Washburn
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 4–7.

Week 13: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week Thirteen: Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ravens 0 3 7313
Dolphins 0 15 0015

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 64,519
  • Referee: John Parry
  • TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Steve Beuerlein and Steve Tasker
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the win, Miami kept their slim playoff hopes alive, and improved to 5–7.

Week 14: vs. New York Giants

Week Fourteen: New York Giants at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 3 14 7731
Dolphins 7 10 7024

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 5–8 (2-2 against the NFC East), and they were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 7th straight year, a franchise record. They also fell to 0–4 all time against the Giants at home.

Week 15: at San Diego Chargers

Week Fifteen: Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 7714
Chargers 6 17 0730

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: December 20
  • Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST/1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), fair
  • Game attendance: 66,676
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Steve Beuerlein, Steve Tasker and Scott Kaplan
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 5–9 and they finished 3-5 on the road.

Week 16: vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week Sixteen: Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Colts 8 7 0318
Dolphins 0 6 3312

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 5–10 (1-3 against the AFC South), and with Buffalo defeating Dallas the same day, they were assured last place in their division.

Week 17: vs. New England Patriots

Week Seventeen: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Patriots 0 3 7010
Dolphins 3 7 01020

at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: January 3, 2016
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 62,918
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the stunning win, the Dolphins ended their 50th season at 6-10 (1-5 against the AFC East) and kept the Patriots from clinching home field advantage in the AFC Playoffs.[2] Miami also finished 3-5 at home.

Standings

Division

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) New England Patriots 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 465 315 L2
New York Jets 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 387 314 L1
Buffalo Bills 8 8 0 .500 4–2 7–5 379 359 W2
Miami Dolphins 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 310 389 W1

Conference

AFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division Leaders
1[a] Denver Broncos West 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 .500 .479 W2
2[a] New England Patriots East 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .473 .448 L2
3[a] Cincinnati Bengals North 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 .477 .406 W1
4 Houston Texans South 9 7 0 .563 5–1 7–5 .496 .410 W3
Wild Cards
5 Kansas City Chiefs West 11 5 0 .688 5–1 10–2 .496 .432 W10
6[b] Pittsburgh Steelers North 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .504 .463 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[b] New York Jets East 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .441 .388 L1
8[c] Buffalo Bills East 8 8 0 .500 4–2 7–5 .508 .438 W2
9[c] Indianapolis Colts South 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 .500 .406 W2
10 Oakland Raiders West 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 .512 .366 L1
11 Miami Dolphins East 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 .469 .469 W2
12[d] Jacksonville Jaguars South 5 11 0 .313 2–4 5–7 .473 .375 L3
13[d] Baltimore Ravens North 5 11 0 .313 3–3 4–8 .508 .425 L1
14 San Diego Chargers West 4 12 0 .250 0–6 3–9 .527 .328 L2
15[e] Cleveland Browns North 3 13 0 .188 1–5 2–10 .531 .271 L3
16[e] Tennessee Titans South 3 13 0 .188 1–5 1–11 .492 .375 L4
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. 1 2 3 Denver finished ahead of New England and Cincinnati for the No. 1 seed based on head-to-head sweep. New England finished ahead of Cincinnati for the No. 2 seed based on record vs. common opponents — New England's cumulative record against Buffalo, Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh was 4–1, while Cincinnati's cumulative record against the same four teams was 2–3.
  2. 1 2 Pittsburgh finished ahead of the New York Jets for the No. 6 seed and qualified for the last playoff spot based on record vs. common opponents — Pittsburgh's cumulative
    record against Cleveland, Indianapolis, New England and Oakland was 4–1, while the Jets' cumulative record against the same four teams was 3–2.
  3. 1 2 Buffalo finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
  4. 1 2 Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based on head-to-head victory.
  5. 1 2 Cleveland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory.
  6. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

References

  1. ↑ "Eagles Trade For No. 47 Pick". Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Pats miss chance to clinch No. 1 seed, losing to Miami 20-10". Patriots.com. Associated Press. January 3, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
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