The Miami Dolphins entered Week 8 coming off a win for the first this season, but they walked out with a 24-19 loss to the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Miami actually led at halftime in this game, but a poor showing in the third quarter quickly flipped the score. With the loss, the Dolphins are just one game out of last place in the NFL and one game out of third place in the AFC East.

As we head into a new week, let's round up power rankings from several publications and see how Miami is being viewed after suffering their first division loss in 2026.

"As generally bad as this 1-6 outfit has been, their schedule still very much portends a world where Miami winds up … 3-14," Nate Davis wrote.

"I will say it every week: I love where this team is headed. They play hard and the young players seem to be improving," Pete Prisco wrote.

"The Dolphins came out of their bye and beat the Jets last week and then led the Patriots 13-3 at halftime on Sunday, and honestly that’s a lot more than I expected out of them this season. They should get hats and T-shirts for that. No, of course it didn’t last, though they did hang tough against the Pats for most of the game. And that, too, is more than we could have expected. They’re playing well enough that maybe, just maybe, they can see the potential for two more wins with the Colts and the Jets (again) on their schedule in November," Ralph Vacchiano wrote.

"It’s a good thing the Dolphins are getting used to playing a lot of rookies this year because they almost certainly are going to have another one playing quarterback next year. First-year head coach Jeff Hafley was given a team built to compete for the 2027 No. 1 pick, and it’s on track to do just that while showing some flashes of hope. Miami’s last three losses have been by one score," Chad Graff and Josh Kendall wrote.

"Sieler has been a productive defensive tackle for many years, but he's also 31 years old. Still, the Dolphins haven't entertained trade talks for him, according to SI.com. Miami is in full rebuild mode and while Sieler helps the Dolphins now, a 1-6 team should be looking for the future, and trading a 31-year-old defensive lineman who still would have plenty of trade value makes sense. We'll see what the Dolphins do.

Trading offensive tackle Austin Jackson has also been speculated, and teams are always looking for line help. The stripped-down Dolphins roster doesn't have a lot of attractive veteran trade candidates, which makes the decision on Sieler that much more important," Frank Schwab wrote.

"Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has been quietly compiling some strong performances over the past two weeks. Following in the Kyle Shanahan mold, he’s also been offsetting his backs and playing with some interesting backfield setups that have generated above-average rushing performances. Miami has cleanly fit what we expected of Jeff Hafley in Year 1: functional and more difficult to play than expected," Connor Orr wrote.

"There are no moral victories in the NFL. And given that the Dolphins held a 13-3 lead over the Patriots at halftime Sunday, the team no doubt feels like this one got away from them. But given how these Dolphins looked earlier in the season, there is progress being made in Miami—even if it's only incremental.

"Perhaps most importantly for the Dolphins, after a rough start to his first season with the team, Malik Willis has looked better the last few weeks—he threw for 211 yards and two scores against the Pats and posted a passer rating north of 90. In some respects, this may be the best-case scenario for the Dolphins. They can use the remaining games to evaluate their young players, with draft position a secondary consideration. Because if Miami believes in Willis, bringing wide receiver Jeremiah Smith back to Florida wouldn't be the worst way to start the 2027 draft," Gary Davenport wrote.