The Dolphins are turning to Kyle McCord at quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Colts, a move forced by Malik Willis being on injured reserve as Miami tries to stop a season that has slipped badly out of reach. The change gives the 1-7 Dolphins a new starter in a matchup that now carries even more weight because both teams have been hard to watch, and because somebody still has to come out of it with a result.
The timing matters because the Dolphins have been stuck near the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category that usually keeps a team afloat. They rank 31st in scoring offense at 15.8 points per game and 28th in total offense at 282.3 yards per game, and they have been held to 13 or fewer points in five games this season. For McCord, that means a first start in a setting where Miami needs more than a different name under center; it needs production.
That is also why the game between the Dolphins and Colts has drawn attention beyond the usual interest in a November matchup between teams fighting to steady themselves. The Colts have lost five in a row after starting the season 2-2, and since Week 12 of the 2025 season they are 2-14, the worst mark in the league over that span. The road trip to Cincinnati that follows would become more complicated if Sunday ended without a winner, so the cleanest outcome for both teams is also the one they have struggled to find all season.
There is still a hard edge to it. The Dolphins are changing quarterbacks because they have to, not because the offense has earned a fresh start, and the Colts are trying to reverse a collapse that has left them looking for any break they can get. The source puts it plainly: both teams are struggling, and the Colts need a lot more than a horseshoe to turn their season around. McCord walks into the kind of game where a decent debut would matter, but a win would matter more.
What happens next is simple enough. The Dolphins visit the Colts on Sunday, and McCord will be judged immediately on whether Miami can do more than scrape by on offense. If he cannot, the search for answers will continue with the same urgency, only sharper after a game the Dolphins can no longer afford to waste.
