Last Sunday’s 15-10 win over the New England Patriots was a step in the right direction, but at 2-3, the Miami Dolphins have plenty of work left to rebound from an early-season three-game losing streak.
The Dolphins tied the Arizona Cardinals with a league-high 118 penalties in 2022, Mike McDaniel’s first season as head coach. Though Miami dropped out of the top 10 last season with 105 penalties, through five weeks of this season, penalties have again become a defining part of their identity.
With the Dolphins on their third-string quarterback instead of Tua Tagovailoa, the 390 penalty yards this season are tougher to overcome without a high-powered passing attack. Miami is tied with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns with 43 penalties this season. Only the Houston Texans (47), Seattle Seahawks (47), and Baltimore Ravens (44) have been penalized more.
“Just moving forward, no matter what the call is, we got to go execute and without the negatives bringing us back after we have some positive gains,” left tackle Terron Armstead said on Oct. 7. “So that’s going to be something that we continue to do, and the more we can do that, we can execute without the penalties, our offense will start to look a lot better.”
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The Dolphins average 4.7 yards per play and while penalties have impacted the No. 26-ranked offense, pre-snap problems have doomed the unit. Miami’s 21 pre-snap penalties rank second behind only Cleveland’s 23.
“There’s a lot of nuances in an offense, especially when you have a lot of motions, you have a lot of personnel,” Armstead explained. “You have quarterback changes so the cadence could be different; he might hold the cadence longer than others or he wants to operate faster than Tua [Tagovailoa] or maybe Skylar [Thompson].
“So the illegal formation, illegal shift, guys are taking their time getting set as opposed to [Tyler Huntley] being in more of a hurry – we got to get set off of him. So those small little details or nuances that nobody really pays attention to until it’s a problem.”
The Dolphins have been called for eight false starts, six illegal formations, and five illegal shifts. On average, teams have averaged 1.41 illegal formations and 0.84 illegal shifts per game through five weeks. Additionally, their nine offensive holding penalties rank among the league’s highest.
Tight end Jullian Hill has been responsible for a team-high seven penalties, including four pre-snap infractions. Three of Liam Eichenberg’s four penalties also came before the snap.
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The Dolphins offense, averaging a league-low 12 points per game, has struggled, but the outing against the Patriots showed improvement. Miami’s 15 points in New England matched its combined scoring output from the previous two weeks — a few special teams blunders were the difference from breaking 20 points in the outing.
The Dolphins were called for a season-high 11 penalties Week 3 against the Seahawks but the team set a season-low with just six penalties on the road in New England. Miami struggled significantly in the season’s first quarter but appears to be slowly trending in the right direction.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
Jack and Jill of America’s Miami chapter closed out Black History Month with an inaugural “Roots Across Waters” trip to Nassau, where families explored ancestral sites, honored the Bahamian labor that helped build early Miami, and donated Afro‑Caribbean children’s books to local students.
