Dolphins miss playoffs for first time under Mike McDaniel as Aaron Rodgers enters elite club in possible Jets finale

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes needed two things this weekend: their own win and a Denver Broncos loss.

On the final Sunday of the NFL regular season, they got neither.

With a 32-20 loss to the New York Jets, the Dolphins failed to make the NFL playoffs for the first time in head coach Mike McDaniels’ tenure. Their 8-9 year follows consecutive seasons of wildcard losses, this year’s injury-riddle season also cut short by the Denver Broncos’ 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Jets finished the year 5-12 as their defense forced a damaging four takeaways and 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers showed potential suitors what the four-time MVP has left to offer. Rodgers posted the first four-touchdown of his Jets tenure, including his 500th career TD pass, in what could be the last game of his Jets, if not also NFL, tenure.

The Dolphins were fighting for their playoff lives without franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was sidelined with a hip injury. They entered the game averaging 24 points with him compared to 11 without, per TruMedia.

Add ball security to the list of problems plaguing an anemic offense.

Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley didn’t just struggle to extend drives – he turned the ball over on three straight drives before halftime, allowing New York to recover a lead they wouldn’t give up.

Near kickoff, it seemed the Jets were bound for the sloppy day the Dolphins ended up claiming.

The home team’s flag crew trotted out its flag upside down, the franchise “JETS” logo needing a mirror for deciphering. When the game began, misdirection continued: Rodgers targeted longtime receiver and friend Davante Adams on his first pass attempt, but safety Jevon Holland wrapped Adams and jarred the ball loose. Linebacker Tyrel Dodson grabbed the loose ball, returning it seven yards to set the Dolphins up for a field goal and the first points of the game.

Miami would add another field goal before the Jets’ next first down, thanks to a 61-yard Devon Achane explosion. But in the spirit of the field goal Miami settled for after Achane’s run set them up for first down at the 3-yard line, the Dolphins were not done coughing up opportunities.

Miami’s defense allowed Rodgers to complete passes to five different targets on the second-quarter drive in which he ultimately found Tyler Conklin in the end zone. The touchdown gave the Jets the lead, and it gave Rodgers another career distinction: his 500th touchdown.

Rodgers joined Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre as the only players in NFL history to throw 500 touchdown passes.

The Dolphins responded by turning the ball over on each of their next three drives – all gifts from Huntley. Huntley’s sideline lob to Jaylen Waddle landed instead in the hands of Jets safety Ashtyn Davis, Huntley next losing a strip sack on third-and-12 the following drive. The short field positioned Rodgers for Touchdown 501. And then? The Jets defense intercepted a Huntley-to-Waddle attempt yet again.

By halftime, Rodgers added 501 to his count.

Only the Jets scored in the third quarter, as Huntley lost yet another fumble on a strip-sack.

The Dolphins didn’t need to speculate on the viability of their postseason hopes as the fourth quarter elapsed: Jumbotrons lighting up the northeast and southwest corners of the stadium projected the Broncos’ 38-point lead across the country. The Dolphins’ brightest spot flashed again, running back DeVon Achane rushing for a 15-yard touchdown to open the team’s final period of the season.

But like their postseason hopes, it was too little, too late.

Rodgers found Adams for touchdown 502 to extend the league.

Huntley completed 21-of-35 passes for 192 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Achane added 121 yards and a touchdown rushing.

Rodgers completed 22-of-34 passes for 268 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

The Jets’ final game result – the win column that eluded them for so much of the season – clarified late Sunday, but almost every major piece of their future remains murky.

The franchise already began interviewing head coach and general manager candidates, after in-season firings of Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas, respectively. Their pursuit of a head coach may face another wrench after the division-rival New England Patriots fired first-year coach Jerod Mayo during the Jets’ finale. The Patriots could be a natural fit for coaching candidate Mike Vrabel, whom the Jets interviewed on Friday.

The team’s next leadership group will have several decisions to make, beginning with the future of Rodgers.

Miami, meanwhile, leaves another season disappointed. Tagovailoa played well when healthy in 11 games, completing a league-high 72.9% of passes as he threw for 2,867 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

But the quarterback Miami extended last summer missed six games due to a concussion and hip injury. Ensuring Tagovailoa’s health in 2025 will be crucial for the Dolphins to get over the playoff hump. Miami also could be looking for a third defensive coordinator in three years if Anthony Weaver, who is expected to generate interview interest, is hired as a head coach.