When the schedule for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season came out, Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts was definitely not on anyone’s list of likely blowouts. And if it had been, we would have bet on a big road win for the Fins. But the opposite has happened, as the Dolphins were whooped by Danny Dimes and the Colts 33-8 in the biggest shocker of the weekend.
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The Tua Tagovailoa-led unit got blown out, but it was ugly even by blowout standards. They possessed the ball for barely 20 minutes, managed just 133 passing yards, gave up three sacks, and committed three turnovers. The Dolphins simply didn’t look prepared, so much of the blame falls on the coaching staff. Still, quarterback Tagovailoa certainly didn’t do himself any favors either.
He threw two bad interceptions and also lost a fumble on the day as he put up a 51.7 passer rating, the second-lowest of his entire career. Tagovailoa has shown brilliant flashes, but he’ll have a game like this from time to time, and it had Dolphins fans opining for a different youngster under center for them: Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders.
“Shoulda coulda woulda,” one fan tweeted after seeing fellow Phins fans vent about how bad the team looked.
shoulda woulda coulda https://t.co/CozHzwn5GS pic.twitter.com/WZTaaFhB2Y
— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) September 7, 2025
The Dolphins had five opportunities to draft Sanders before he was taken No. 144 overall by Cleveland in the fifth round. But they stood pat and waited until the last round, taking Texas’ Quinn Ewers to round out their QB room with Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson.
No doubt, Sanders would have made that a much more interesting room and put a little more pressure on the starter to perform. Tagovailoa’s not losing his job to Wilson, especially after signing that massive $212 million deal in 2024.
The Dolphins also had every chance to snatch Sanders from the Browns in a trade. Cleveland had a four-man QB battle going throughout the entire camp. Sanders was clearly at the bottom, so a trade was a real possibility. All it would have taken is likely a fourth- or fifth-rounder, and they would have a legitimate option behind Tagovailoa if the latter does, in fact, implode.
“I 100% thought the Dolphins were gonna draft him,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “Still could…” suggested another.
However, most were not getting on board with the idea that Shedeur is better than Tagovailoa. “Bro cooked the 3rd string Panthers defense in pre season and people think he’s Christ,” pointed out one. “Thinking he still wouldn’t ride the bench there is so delusional & hilarious,” added another.
Miami’s fanbase certainly seems split, though they have generally shown a loyalty to Tagovailoa as a group. There’s no way he can play worse than he did in Week 1. So at least they can take solace in the fact that it’s only up from here for Miami’s QB situation, with or without Shedeur.
