2023 Miami Dolphins season

The 2023 season was the Miami Dolphins' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 58th overall, their eighth under general manager Chris Grier and their second under head coach Mike McDaniel.

The Dolphins improved upon their 9–8 record from the previous two seasons after a Week 15 win over the New York Jets. With a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, they clinched a playoff spot for a second consecutive season. Despite leading the Buffalo Bills by three games with five to play, the Dolphins faltered late in the season and, combined with the Bills going undefeated since the bye, put AFC East control in their Week 18 matchup. In that game, the Dolphins lost to the Bills, giving the Bills the division. The loss meant 2008 would remain the most recent season the Dolphins won the AFC East. Throughout the year, the Dolphins were noted to struggle to beat teams with winning records.

The Dolphins once again failed to win a playoff game, not having done so since 2000, losing to the eventual repeat Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 26–7 loss in one of the coldest games in NFL history. This game was Tyreek Hill, Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Emmanuel Ogbah's return to Arrowhead. With the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams and advancing to the NFC Divisional round the following day, the Dolphins officially hold the longest active playoff victory drought in the NFL.

In their Week 3 70–20 victory over the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins became the first NFL team to score 70 points in a game since 1966. This was the second most points scored in a regular-season game all time.

Offseason
On January 19, 2023, the Dolphins parted ways with defensive coordinator Josh Boyer.

After firing Boyer, the Dolphins signed long time defensive coordinator Vic Fangio (well known for his defense being consistently ranked top-5 in major categories) to a contract making him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the NFL.

On March 12, the Dolphins agreed in principle to a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in which they acquired 6 time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey in exchange for tight end Hunter Long and a 2023 3rd round pick. The Rams used the pick to select Tennessee defensive end Byron Young. The trade was officially announced 3 days later after the start of the NFL league year.

Draft
Notes

Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers
In a back-and-forth affair, the Dolphins got the better of the matchup, beating the Chargers 36–34. The Dolphins started off the season 1–0.

Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos
The 70 points scored by the Dolphins are the highest by any team since 1966, and tied with the third highest points scored in NFL history. Miami had the opportunity to tie the single-game points record with 33 seconds remaining, but opted to kneel the football instead of attempting a 45-yard field goal. In addition to the 70 points scored, the Dolphins had 726 total yards, the second-most in league history, behind only the mark of 735 set by the Los Angeles Rams in a 1951 game against the New York Yanks. They also became the first team in NFL history to gain 350 rushing and 350 passing yards in one game, and also are the first team in NFL history to score 5 passing and 5 rushing touchdowns in the same game.

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
A week after their historic performance, the Dolphins lost their first game of the regular season, falling to 3–1.

Week 9: at Kansas City Chiefs
NFL Germany games

This was Tyreek Hill's first game against the team he had once played for. This was also the second ever NFL game played in Germany, the previous one being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Seattle Seahawks game just a year prior.

Week 14: vs. Tennessee Titans
Despite leading 27–13 with just 3 minutes left, which gave the Dolphins a 99.7% chance to win the game, the Dolphins went on to lose 28–27, becoming the first team to blow a 14+ point lead in the final three minutes in regulation.