2012 Miami Dolphins season The Miami Dolphins season was the franchise ' s 43rd season in the National Football league ( NFL ) , and the 47th overall in the American Football Conference Eastern Division ( AFC East ) . The season concluded with the Dolphins finishing second in the AFC Eastern Division with a 7 – 9 record , and no postseason play for the fourth consecutive season . The Dolphins entered the season under new head coach Joe Philbin , with hopes of revitalizing the franchise from three consecutive losing seasons under head coach Tony Sparano . The team started with drafting quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the NFL draft , to compete for the starting job against incumbent Matt Moore and free agent David Garrard . Tannehill was eventually named the team ' s regular season starter heading in the second preseason game against the Carolina Panthers . The team finished the preseason with an 0 - 4 record for the third time in franchise history . The Dolphins opened the regular season with a disappointing 10 – 30 loss against the Houston Texans , but a week later ended up with an impressive 35 – 13 win over the Oakland Raiders . Following the win , the Dolphins lost two close overtime games against the Arizona Cardinals and division rival New York Jets . However , Miami was able to come back and win three consecutive games including a blow out rematch with the New York Jets , but after close critical loses to the Indianapolis Colts , division rival Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots , the Dolphins were unable to achieve a winning season . Ryan Tannehill became the first rookie quarterback in Dolphins history to complete a full season as the team ' s starting quarterback . During the week four game against the Arizona Cardinals , Tannehill broke former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino ' s single - game rookie passing record with 431 passing yards and came one yard short of breaking Cam Newton ' s NFL rookie single - game passing record . In the same game wide receiver Brian Hartline broke the Dolphins single - game receiving record with 12 reception for 253 yards . Personnel changes . Despite getting an extension through 2013 in the early 2011 off - season , head coach Tony Sparano was fired by the team after 13 disappointing games into the 2011 season with a 4 – 9 record . In Sparano ' s first year , he orchestrated the second greatest record turnaround in NFL history with an 11 – 5 record from a 1 – 15 record between the 2007 - 2008 NFL seasons , and finished second behind Atlanta Falcons ' head coach Mike Smith in voting for the 2008 AP NFL Coach of the Year . However , Sparano failed to capitalize , posting mediocre records in his final three seasons as head coach . Following Sparano ' s firing , assistant head coach Todd Bowles reigned control of the team for the final three games , and entered the off - season as the lead candidate for the 2012 Miami Dolphins ' head coaching position . Former Tennessee Titans ' head coach Jeff Fisher entered talks as becoming the next Dolphins ' head coach , and the Dolphins organization openly pursued him as a top candidate . Other coaches drawing interest were Green Bay Packers ' offensive coordinator Joe Philbin , Cincinnati Bengals ' defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer , Chicago Bears ' special teams coordinator Dave Toub , and Denver Broncos ' offensive coordinator Mike McCoy . Ultimately on January 13 , 2012 , Fisher decided to pursue the vacant St . Louis Rams ' head coaching position , and subsequently on January 20 , 2012 , the Dolphins hired former Green Bay Packers ' offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as the franchise ' s tenth head coach . On January 27 , 2012 , the new coaching regime came into shape with the signing of Philbin ' s longtime friends : former Texas A & M head coach Mike Sherman and Cincinnati Bengals defensive back coach Kevin Coyle , as offensive and defensive coordinators , respectively . Sherman , who was fired by Texas A & M earlier this year after posted a 25 - 25 record in his four seasons , gave Philbin his first NFL job when he served as head coach for the Green Bay Packers . At the time of signing with the Dolphins , Sherman was also a finalist for the vacant head coaching job for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Coyle had spent the last 10 season as a part of the Bengals organization . Both had served as coaches together at the College of the Holy Cross between 1985 and 1988 . The rest of Philbin ' s coaching regime includes the acquisition of linebackers coach George Edwards , and assistant quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor on January 30 , 2012 . Acquirement of offensive line coach Jim Turner on February 1 , 2012 , assistant defensive line backs coach Blue Adams , defensive assistant Charlie Bullen , offensive assistant Ben Johnson and Chris Mosley as offensive assistant line coach on February 10 , 2012 . Philbin also retained the contracts of tight ends coach Dan Campbell , strength coach Darren Krein , special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi , and Jeff Nixon as running backs coach from coach Sparano ' s tenure . Roster changes . After an unpromising 13 – 18 record as a starter , the Miami Dolphins decided not to renew the contract of quarterback Chad Henne . In early March , Henne became an unrestricted free agent , along with defensive end Kendall Langford . Shortly after on March 14 , 2012 , Henne signed a two - year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars and on March 17 , 2012 , Langford signed a four - year deal with the St . Louis Rams . The Dolphins ' first major transaction of the off season was the trade of 2011 Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall . After being acquired in a trade two years prior from the Denver Broncos , Marshall was traded to the Chicago Bears on March 13 , 2012 . The trade further opened up speculation that the Dolphins were trying to gain more cap space to sign free agent wide receiver Reggie Wayne , to lure former teammate and free agent quarterback Peyton Manning to Miami . However , speculation was quickly suppressed when Wayne re - signed with the Indianapolis Colts , leaving the Dolphins without a number one wide receiver entering the draft . On March 14 , 2012 , the Dolphins re - signed the contract of defensive tackle Paul Soliai , to a two - year deal worth $ 12 million . They also extended the contract of linebacker Cameron Wake through the 2016 season on May 5 , 2012 . The contract was worth $ 49 million over 5 years , with a guaranteed $ 20 million . During the season the Dolphins extended the contract of punter Brandon Fields , to a four - year extension worth $ 13 million on August 4 , 2012 . To compete against incumbent starting quarterback Matt Moore the Dolphins signed quarterback David Garrard on March 19 , 2012 . However , after suffering an knee injury during training camp , Garrard was released on September 4 , 2012 . The Dolphins also released veteran and team captain strong safety Yeremiah Bell on March 19 , 2012 . The transaction saved the Dolphins $ 4 . 3 million dollars in cap space , and allowed two - year safety Reshad Jones to move to the position . Bell eventually signed a deal with the division rival New York Jets for a one year deal on May 18 , 2012 . To fill the vacancy left by Brandon Marshall , the Dolphins signed veteran receiver Chad Johnson ( whose last name was Ochocinco at the time of the signing ) on June 11 , 2012 . During training camp Johnson ' s work ethic , which was highlighted on HBO ' s Hard Knocks , put him on track to make the opening day roster ; however , a domestic dispute between Johnson and his wife Evelyn Lozada , prompted the Dolphins to release him on August 12 , 2012 . After struggling to adapt to the new defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle ' s system , the Dolphins traded former first round pick and cornerback Vontae Davis on August 24 , 2012 . In return the Dolphins received a second - round and conditional late - round 2013 NFL Draft pick . 2012 draft class . The 2012 National Football League Draft was held from April 26 – 28 in the Radio City Music Hall in New York City , New York . Entering the draft the Miami Dolphins major positions to fill were quarterback and wide receiver . The Dolphins needed a long term quarterback to take over for incumbent starter Matt Moore at the end of the season , after negotiations failed with top free agent quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn . Many analysts , including ESPN ' s Adam Schefter , believed the Dolphins would draft Texas A & M quarterback Ryan Tannehill with the 8th overall pick , if the Cleveland Browns , who held the 4th overall pick , didn ' t first . Also , many debated that Tannehill , who was once a wide receiver recently turned quarterback , was not deserving of a top 10 pick . Ultimately , with the 8th overall pick of the first round the Dolphins selected quarterback Ryan Tannehill . The selection marked the fourth time that the Dolphins have ever selected a quarterback in the first round of a draft since Dan Marino in 1983 , Bob Griese in 1967 , and Rick Norton in 1966 . With their second pick , the Dolphins selected offensive tackle Jonathan Martin from Stanford . Schedule . Game summaries . Week 1 : at Houston Texans . The Dolphins entered their first game of the season with a 0 – 0 record , traveling to face the 0 – 0 Houston Texans . The game was the first start for rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill and head coach Joe Philbin . Tannehill became the first Dolphins rookie quarterback to start the first game of the season . Entering the game the Texans are the only team the Dolphins have not beaten , holding a 0 – 6 record all - time against the team . Both teams moved the ball well on their opening drives , but failed to score . The Dolphins received the ball on their own 42 yard line after a missed field goal by Houston kicker Shayne Graham . After a Reggie Bush recovered fumble on 3rd down on the Houston 14 yard line the Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter attempted and successfully executed a 39 yard field goal with ( 3 : 19 ) left in the first quarter . Both defenses held steady , keeping both offenses out of the redzone heading to the mid - way point of the second quarter . However , at the ( 7 : 35 ) point , quarterback Tannehill was intercepted by Johnathan Joseph at the 50 yard line for 36 yards . Within the shadow of their own goal posts the Dolphins held the Texans to a Shayne Graham 35 yard field goal . The interception by Tannehill was the first of his career , and marked a downhill spiral for the rest of the game . Following the score the Dolphins moved quickly to the Houston side of the field after a 10 yard rush by Reggie Bush and 32 yard pass to running back Daniel Thomas . But after a few incomplete passes , Tannehill had his pass intended for receiver Legadu Naanee deflected by a defensive lineman and intercepted by linebacker Brian Cushing with ( 4 : 06 ) left in the second quarter . The Texans quickly turned the turnover into points , with an Arian Foster 14 yard rush . On the first play following the Houston kickoff quarterback Tannehill again had his pass deflected by a defensive lineman , but instead was intercepted by Kareem Jackson . After a defensive pass interference penalty , running back Arian Foster rushed for his second rushing touchdown of the game at the ( 0 : 49 ) mark . Again following the kickoff the Dolphins again turned the ball over following a Daniel Thomas fumble . The turnover was shortly followed by a 14 yard pass touchdown from Houston quarterback Matt Schaub to receiver Andre Johnson at the ( 0 : 12 ) mark . Following a quick three and out by the Texans following halftime , punt returner Marcus Thigpen returned a punt for 72 yards for a touchdown . But for the remainder of the game the Dolphins offense failed to produce any scores , but held the Texans defense to two Shayne Graham field goals : 40 and 19 yards , respectively . Week 2 : vs . Oakland Raiders . The Dolphins entered their second game of the season with a 0 – 1 record , hosting the 0 – 1 Oakland Raiders . The game marked the third consecutive season game between the two teams and 36th all - time , with the Dolphins winning the last two games with an average margin of victory of 18 points . Miami opened the game with an impressive 80 yard drive after the opening kickoff , which lead to a quarterback Ryan Tannehill two yard rushing touchdown . Two possessions later at the ( 3 : 28 ) mark in the first quarter , Oakland quarterback Carson Palmer threw a 64 yard touchdown to Mike Goodson tying the game . Through a majority of the second quarter both teams had a hard time moving across the 50 yard line , which was matched with impressive punting by both Dolphins punter Brandon Fields and Oakland punter Shane Lechler . By the end of the game Field punted the ball six times for 319 yards with an average yard per punt of 53 . 2 and Lechler punted the ball nine times for 422 yards with an average yard per punt of 46 . 9 . However , Oakland managed to get the ball back with ( 3 : 33 ) left in the quarter and orchestrated a drive that ended with a Sebastian Janikowski 25 yard field goal . Both teams entered halftime evenly matched . It didn ' t take long following halftime for the Dolphins rushing attack to shine . On the second possession of the half the Dolphins drove the ball down field and allowed Reggie Bush to rush for a 25 yard touchdown . On the next Miami possession , after a quick pass from Tannehill to receiver Brian Hartline , Reggie Bush rushed 65 yards for another Miami touchdown . A few possessions later Oakland answered with a Janikowski 27 yard field goal . With little opposition from the Oakland defense Miami ' s offense kept the ball moving and managed to score on their next two possessions . Once with an Anthony Fasano 14 yard reception touchdown from Tannehill , the first of his career , and again with a Lamar Miller 15 yard rushing touchdown , the first of his career . Oakland tried to stop the bleeding on their next drive , but quarterback Palmer was intercepted by safety Reshad Jones . The impressive game of 172 rushing yards on 26 attempts by running back Reggie Bush earned him the week 2 AFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Air and Ground rusher of the week honors . Week 3 : vs . New York Jets . With the loss , the Dolphins fell to 1 - 2 . Week 4 : at Arizona Cardinals . With the loss , the Dolphins fell to 1 - 3 . Week 5 : at Cincinnati Bengals . With the win , the Dolphins improved to 2 - 3 . Week 6 : vs . St . Louis Rams . With the win , the Dolphins head into their bye week at 3 - 3 . Week 8 : at New York Jets . With the win , the Dolphins improved to 4 - 3 . Week 9 : at Indianapolis Colts . With the loss , the Dolphins fell to 4 - 4 . Week 10 : vs . Tennessee Titans . With the loss , the Dolphins fell to 4 - 5 . Week 16 : vs . Buffalo Bills . With the win , the Dolphins improved to 7 – 8 , but were officially eliminated from playoff contention , due to the Bengals ' 13 – 10 win over the Steelers . Standings . Patriots 13 - 4 W3 d