The Miami Dolphins made it three in a row with their 35-32 victory against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, and now have climbed into the top five in some national power rankings.
But there is a bigger disparity in the opinions among the 10 national power rankings we survey, with the Dolphins as high as 5 and as low as 14, after their span was 7 to 12 after their Week 8 win at Detroit.
In our survey of rankings of those 10 national outlets —CBS Sports, NFL.com, The Athletic, The Sporting News, The Ringer, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo, and Pro Football Talk — the Dolphins averaged a ranking of 8.1 among the 32 NFL teams, down from their average of 8.7 after Week 8.
Here’s the breakdown of the Dolphins’ 10 power rankings spots, along with the commentary associated with it:
CBS Sports
Ranking: 6 Previous: 7
Analysis: The offense has been a heck of a story, but if the defense doesn’t improve it might not matter. They have to be better on that side of the ball.
NFL.com
Ranking: 12 Previous: 12
Analysis: When the Dolphins surrendered a first-round pick to land pass rusher Bradley Chubb, it was something of an admission their defense wasn’t where they needed it to be through eight weeks. Chubb should make a difference in the long term, but Sunday’s 35-32 shootout win over the Bears offered more evidence that Miami has a lot of work to do to improve on Josh Boyer’s side of the ball. The Dolphins keep winning because Tua Tagovailoa and the offense are on a rampage: Tua went over 300 yards with three touchdowns for the second straight week, while Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle delivered their typical carnage (12 catches for 228 yards and two TDs combined). Had Tua not missed time, this offense would likely be on a historic pace.
The Athletic
Ranking: 5 Previous: 8
Analysis (on a trade the Dolphins wish they had back): Minkah Fitzpatrick, fourth-round pick Kevin Dotson and seventh-round pick Tre Norwood for first-round pick Austin Jackson, fifth-round pick Jason Strowbridge and sixth-round pick Jonathan Marshall (trade with Steelers, September 2019). The Dolphins rank No. 2 in offensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) and No. 28 in defensive DVOA, so the task here is finding a way to best improve the side of the ball holding them back. Quantity over quality is an option in reversing their 2021 trade-up for Liam Eichenberg. That would bring back a young pass rusher in Azeez Ojulari and a capable cornerback in Cordale Flott. But rescuing Fitzpatrick from a Steelers season going down the drain and pairing him with Jevon Holland would give the Dolphins one of the league’s best safety tandems. Losing Jackson also hurts less with the return of another capable starting offensive lineman in Dotson.
Pro Football Talk
Ranking: 9 Previous: 10
Analysis: he defense needs more work. The offense doesn’t.
Yahoo Sports
Ranking: 7 Previous: 7
Analysis: Tua Tagovailoa’s 17-game pace this season is 4,809 yards and 36 touchdowns, and that counts the Bengals game in which he suffered a concussion before halftime. The Dolphins have to be relieved. Even if Tagovailoa isn’t Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert, their pick looks fine now.
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Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 10 Previous: 9
Analysis: Most of the country has fallen in love with watching the Dolphins’ new offense, with Tua Tagovailoa airing it out to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. And the team’s losses have come with second- and third-stringers playing quarterback, or else its ranking might be even higher.
ESPN
Ranking: 6 Previous: 7
Analysis (on non-QB MVP, Tyreek Hill): Hill leads the NFL in receiving yards, receptions and targets. He is on pace for 2,088 yards this season, which would be not only a new NFL record but the first time any wide receiver has cracked the 2,000 receiving yards mark. His impact on the field is palpable, and his teammates rave about his leadership in the locker room. Nothing we’ve seen through nine weeks suggests that the fastest player in the NFL is slowing down anytime soon.
The Ringer
Ranking: 7 Previous: 7
Analysis: We had the Dolphins as a middle-of-the-pack team (no. 17) in our rankings heading into Week 1—back before we knew exactly how all of Miami’s major offseason moves would work out. Through nine weeks, we have an answer: Adding offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel and the league’s most dynamic player in Tyreek Hill has turned Miami into Super Bowl contenders overnight. McDaniel has unlocked a version of QB Tua Tagovailoa we haven’t seen since his days under Nick Saban at Alabama, and Hill is off to a historic pace and showing no signs of slowing down. In a league dominated by the best offenses, McDaniel, Tagovailoa, Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Co. are comfortably in the top tier.
The Sporting News
Ranking: 14 Previous: 12
Analysis: The Dolphins’ offense is unstoppable when the speed of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert are working well off each other. But the defense is a growing concern after letting the Bears explode on them, despite having Bradley Chubb.
USA Today
Ranking: 5 Previous: 8
Analysis: Miami has barely survived in Detroit and Chicago the past two weeks. Still, Fins are poised to get really dangerous as they assimilate newly acquired LB Bradley Chubb and RB Jeff Wilson into the fold.
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