‘Never happened to me in my life’—Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley’s eye-opening revelation about his team’s preseason loss to the New York Giants
The Miami Dolphins’ preseason loss to the New York Giants offered a first for head coach Jeff Hafley.
If you didn’t watch the Miami Dolphins‘ preseason home opener on Saturday afternoon against the New York Giants, I have good news for you. You didn’t miss much in the way of highlights. Miami fell to New York by a final score of 26-3. They were out-gained nearly four times over in yardage and failed to register a first down in the second half.
Miami kept their starters on ice for this game, limiting the playing time opportunities to (mostly) the back half of their 90-man roster. But things unfolded throughout the game, Miami’s experience got a touch beyond tough and dipped into some uncharted waters for head coach Jeff Hafley. He experienced a new “first’ throughout the second half of last night’s game. And it perfect encapsulates why the lows of the performance need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley pulls back the curtain on his team’s unique defensive situation
“Shoot, we had a linebacker who I met this morning in my office. Steve (Dix Jr.) came in, met him, and he started the whole second half where we had to tell him the call, he had to give the call, then we had to tell him what to do on every single play. So we were able to play only like two calls in the second half, which has never happened to me in my life. So I just give him credit for going out and fighting. That’s what the preseason is all about, to find out who those guys are.”
— Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley after Miami’s 26-3 preseason loss to the New York Giants
I mean. When you put it like that…
Saturday night’s performance as a whole was an unsavory watch. The Dolphins’ roster this season is limited as it. Then to go out and not have names like Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer, De’Von Achane, Patrick Paul, Malik Willis, Chop Robinson, Zach Sieler, and other standouts not play? You saw the result on the field. Depth is not going to be a calling card for this roster when all the starters are playing in 2026. Nevermind when the top dogs get sat down in the exhibition season.
None of this justified to play looking the way it did. It needs to be better. And, as Hafley pointed out in his post-game comments, these self-inflicted wounds make it next to impossible to have success in a game setting.
Who played on Saturday matters
But zoom out for a second. The Dolphins’ top defensive snap taker on Saturday night was LB Cam Riley. He signed with the team seven days ago and had not been with a team since the end of April. The team’s second-half quarterback was an undrafted rookie (their QB4) who the team had already released. Mark Gronowski was brought back for the end of camp due to an injury to Quinn Ewers. Five defensive players logged 40+ snaps: Riley, Alex Austin, Keith Cooper, Alex Huntley, and Max Llewellyn.
A select handful of rookies, such as (now injured) Trey Moore, Chris Johnson, and Jacob Rodriguez played eight snaps or fewer apiece. And as Hafley pointed out, the team’s MIKE linebacker for the second half met the coach yesterday morning and had to be told what to do on every play.
Take last night for what it is. Some good, old fashioned preseason football.
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