Dolphins (1-5) at Browns (1-5), Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
Latest line: Browns are favored by 2 1/2 points
Dave Hyde, Sports Columnist (Season record: 2-4): Dolphins 18, Browns 15
Two struggling 1-5 teams. One team averaging 13.7 points. The other averaging 22.3. One with a rookie quarterback. One with a six-year veteran. The only question here is does a bottom-third Cleveland rushing game dominate the Dolphins defense.
Chris Perkins, Dolphins Columnist (Season record: 3-3): Browns 24, Dolphins 21
Coach Mike McDaniel is 2-0 against the Browns, defeating them, 39-17, in 2022 at Hard Rock Stadium and 20-3 in 2024 at Huntington Bank Field. But I can’t pick the Dol[phins, especially on the road, until they show me something more than they’ve shown already.
David Furones, Dolphins Writer (Season record: 2-4): Dolphins 20, Browns 19
Miami continues to make me look awful for believing this team will turn it around and win during this very winnable stretch. It’s a road game, but if the Dolphins can’t even beat the Browns and rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, coach Mike McDaniel’s days certainly would be numbered.
Kathy Laughlin, Sports Editor (Season record: 3-3): Dolphins 27, Browns 24
It seems impossible to gauge how the week’s events have affected the Dolphins, but maybe all the criticism of Tua Tagovailoa has galvanized the team. (Except for maybe players who missed player-only meetings.) Has it gotten so bad Miami players will band together to show the critics they can still win? It helps that the Dolphins look better on paper than struggling Cleveland. It also helps that although the game is in Cleveland, the forecast highs are in the mid to upper 60s — not terribly cold. It could be rainy, though. Let’s say the Dolphins handle it better.
Keven Lerner, Assistant Sports Editor (Season record: 5-1): Browns 20, Dolphins 17
The Dolphins are still playing hard for Mike McDaniel, but if they lose to the 1-5 Browns owner Steve Ross may finally pull the plug on the embattled coach. Tua Tagovailoa may be extra motivated after calling out his teammates following last week’s loss to the Chargers. Cleveland’s All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett, the six-time Pro Bowl selection and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, will wreak havoc. The Browns have one of the NFL’s best defenses, but the struggling offense has scored 17 points or fewer in 11 straight games, dating back to last season. Throw in the high chance of rain in Cleveland, and it could be another tough day for Dolphins fans.
Steve Svekis, Assistant Sports Editor (Season record: 1-5): Browns 13, Dolphins 10
The Browns have the running back in Quinshon Judkins to keep gashing the Dolphins porous rushing defense, but the weather forecast looks horrible off of Lake Erie, so there is a good chance the Dolphins will bunch up 10 close to the line of scrimmage if passing becomes an arduous chore. Meanwhile, if the forecast of 85% rain and possible gusts of 60 mph holds up, that would stand as the second rain game for Tua Tagovailoa in his NFL career, with the first one being the game in Nashville in January of 2022 when the Titans won 34-3, with Tagovailoa fumbling three times and throwing an interception. No matter, this game should be a close affair.
