New safety Poyer says opponents believed the Dolphins would fold too quickly under pressure

Adversity inevitably approaches every NFL team during the course of the season. How a team responds to challenges can often be the difference between a Super Bowl run or a first-round playoff exit.

For the Miami Dolphins, perhaps the largest question coming into the 2024 season is if the team can finally respond to pressure. While other NFL organizations regard the Dolphins as a team that crumbles easily, nobody has outright called the team “soft.”

Until now.

“Over the past few years playing against this team, you get a sense that if you get on top of this team, they might fold,” said former Bills and current Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer at Tuesday’s media availability.

As an outsider coming to the team this year, Poyer comments reflect how the Bills and other top teams felt when playing the Dolphins through the years. But he also admitted to what Dolphins fans saw with their own eyes the past two years.

After a 8-3 start in 2022, the team went on a five-game losing streak to almost miss the playoffs. The next season, after a 9-3 start, the team dropped three of their last five games, including a close home loss to their rival Buffalo Bills in the season finale, to lose their AFC East lead.

The late-season collapses have also caused fans to wonder if the team is unable to perform in cold weather. The Dolphins’ late-season collapses seem to coincide with the approach of winter, and there are questions whether a warm-weather team can adjust to cold environments.

The Dolphins have the players to be a successful team, particularly offensively. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have shown they are some of the top receivers in the NFL. Raheem Mostert and Devon Achane make a mean backfield. Moreover, the additions of tight end Jonnu Smith and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa an embarrassment of riches to work with.

“God has blessed me to be on some great offenses. Some in Kansas City, obviously the time we won the Super Bowl with myself, [Travis] Kelce, [Sammy] Watkins and [Demarcus] Robinson,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “This group here alone gives me that same feeling.”

On paper everything seems built for the Dolphins to make a deep playoff run. But on their road to redemption, Miami will need to figure out a way to overcome the Buffalo Bills.

The Dolphins are 5-15 against the Bills the past ten years, and the last time they picked up a road win in Buffalo was in 2016. During the 2020 season, Miami’s season-finale loss to the Bills kept them from getting the final Wild Card spot. Similarly in 2021, the Bills season sweep of the Dolphins early in the year prevented Miami from once again getting a Wild Card berth. Then in 2023, the Dolphins lost the season-finale to Buffalo to lose the AFC East title.

But Poyer, the former Bill, could be the key to taking his former team down. The 2021 first-team All-Pro can still provide the Dolphins with solid pass coverage at safety. But beyond his play on the field, Poyer is looking to instill mental fortitude into the team.

“I think that the [mental side] is as important as the physical side of the game,” Poyer said. “In the NFL not everything is gonna happen exactly the way you want it to happen. Most series are gonna come down to the last series or the last play.”

“I told the guys that I played with before, ‘I don’t care if you give up a first down, I don’t care if you give up a touchdown. Just keep playing,’” Poyer said. “All of that has been instilled in me throughout the 12 years that I played.”

South Florida has been home to several champions throughout the past decade, including the Florida Panthers this past season. Now it is the Dolphins turn to represent South Florida on the biggest stage.

“[The Panthers] finally got it done and it’s exciting. To see the type of atmosphere they had in Amerant, with the fans and everyone and South Florida, it just gives you an extra boost,” Mostert said. “I held the Stanley Cup and it was amazing. But I also want to hold up the Lombardi Trophy. [That is] even more important for me.”