I usually think very little about the NFL preseason. I see it as one of those necessary evils in life—just a way for the coaches to see the players in competition against someone other than their teammates on the way to making essential roster decisions. Another benefit is getting the players into some competition that gives them the actual speed of a real game, especially as it applies to rookies. Beyond that, I have never considered winning or losing the preseason games important to the regular season.
I can still remember the New England Patriots during the years that they dominated the NFL, not winning any of their preseason games in the same season that resulted in a Super Bowl championship.
Recently, I have seen more than one fan mention that our Miami Dolphins need to improve their preseason performance compared to last season. For those that do not remember, the Dolphins went 1 and 2 in their 3 preseason games in 2023. Miami dropped their first contest to the Atlanta Falcons 19 to 3 before winning their second game over the Houston Texans 28 to 3 and then dropping their last matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars 31 to 18.
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I, too, would like to see the Dolphins win all of their preseason contest, but I am not sure that I can ever bring myself to care all that much, as I do during the regular season, if they drop a game. But now that I have seen more than a couple of people mention it, I wonder if it has any effect, and if so, why.
The Miami Dolphins used to be a franchise that won on a consistent basis, but they’ve only been able to tally six postseason appearances since the 2000 campaign. Their last playoff victory, which came that year, took place Dec. 30 against the Indianapolis Colts in an overtime wild-card thriller.
