Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
| Teams | Miami Dolphins (AFC East) vs Cleveland Browns (AFC North) |
| Most recent matchup | October 19, 2025 — Cleveland Browns 31, Miami Dolphins 6 |
| Previous matchup | December 29, 2024: Cleveland Browns 3, Miami Dolphins 20 |
| Browns 2025 venue | Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, Ohio |
| Attendance (Oct 2025) | 63,762 |
| Closing odds (Oct 2025) | CLE -2.5, o/u 35.5 |
| Browns winning QB (Oct 2025) | Dillon Gabriel — 13/18, 116 yards |
| Dolphins QB (Oct 2025) | Quinn Ewers — 5/8, 53 yards |
| Browns top rusher (Oct 2025) | Quinshon Judkins — 25 carries, 84 yards, 3 TDs |
| Dolphins top rusher (Oct 2025) | De’Von Achane — 13 carries, 82 yards |
| Top Browns receiver (Oct 2025) | Harold Fannin — 4 rec, 36 yards |
| Top Dolphins receiver (Oct 2025) | Malik Washington — 5 rec, 30 yards |
| Series trend | Split in recent years — alternating dominant performances |
Introduction: Two Teams, Two Very Different Stories in 2025
There’s something endlessly compelling about an AFC cross-divisional matchup when both teams are navigating their own version of a rebuild. That’s exactly what the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns brought to Huntington Bank Field on October 19, 2025.
The Browns won that one decisively — 31 to 6. But the broader story of these two franchises over the past two seasons tells something more nuanced than a single final score. The Dolphins dominated their December 2024 meeting 20-3. Cleveland dominated back in October 2025. These are two organisations in genuine transition, fielding rosters built around young quarterbacks, emerging running games, and defenses with legitimate playmakers.
This article covers both recent matchups in full detail — the player stats, the key moments, the storylines — and sets them in the context of where both franchises currently stand.
See also “Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic Match Player Stats: Complete Match Breakdown and Top Performers“
The October 2025 Matchup: Cleveland’s Dominant Performance
The October 19, 2025 game at Huntington Bank Field told a simple story: Cleveland’s ground game was unstoppable, their defense forced turnovers at critical moments, and Miami’s offence never found its footing.
Final score: Miami Dolphins 6–Cleveland Browns 31
The scoring told the narrative quarter by quarter. Cleveland drew first blood with a 30-yard Andre Szmyt field goal in the first quarter. Miami responded with a 33-yard Riley Patterson field goal in the second, briefly making it 3-3. Then Cleveland shifted gears.
Quinshon Judkins turned in one of the standout individual performances of either team’s 2025 season. The Cleveland running back carried 25 times for 84 yards and three touchdowns — scoring from 46 yards out in the second quarter, then a short 3-yard punch-in before halftime, and finally a 2-yard finish in the fourth quarter to close the scoring at 31-6. His three-touchdown game was the defining performance of the afternoon.
The Browns’ second quarter was particularly decisive. Cleveland scored 14 unanswered points in that frame while holding Miami scoreless beyond a late field goal. By halftime, the Browns led 17-6 and had effectively controlled the game’s outcome.
The play that eliminated any realistic Miami comeback came in the third quarter. Browns defensive back Tyson Campbell returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 24-6. For a Miami offence that was already struggling, giving up a defensive score shifted the mathematical reality of the game beyond recovery.
Dillon Gabriel managed the Browns’ game efficiently. The Cleveland quarterback completed 13 of 18 passes for 116 yards — not spectacular numbers, but exactly what a team doesn’t need when the running back is scoring three times. His 89.1 passer rating reflected clean, turnover-free football.
Quinn Ewers struggled under the conditions — the game was played in rain and wind in Cleveland, with temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius and 27 km/h southward winds. He completed just 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards with no touchdowns and the interception that Campbell returned for the score. The numbers were compressed by game script as much as individual performance — Miami fell behind early and the Browns’ defence kept them from mounting anything sustained.
De’Von Achane was the one consistent positive for Miami on the day. The electric running back carried 13 times for 82 yards at a 6.3 yards-per-carry average, showing the explosiveness that has made him one of the most dangerous backs in the league when given space. Unfortunately, the game situation limited how often the Dolphins could feed him effectively.
Malik Washington led Miami’s receiving corps with five catches for 30 yards on eight targets — solid effort in difficult circumstances. Harold Fannin was Cleveland’s top receiver with four receptions for 36 yards, complementing the running game effectively without needing to carry the passing offence.
The December 2024 Matchup: Miami’s Response
Rewind ten months and the script was completely reversed.
Final Score: Miami Dolphins 20 — Cleveland Browns 3
The December 29, 2024 game — Miami’s regular season closer — was a comprehensive Dolphins victory that showed the kind of defensive performance their roster is capable of when clicking together.
Jason Sanders opened the scoring with a 54-yard field goal in the first quarter, putting Miami up 3-0. The Browns’ only points came on a Dustin Hopkins 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, drawing Cleveland level at 3-3. After that, Miami scored 17 unanswered points across the final two quarters while the Browns’ offence went completely silent.
The game reflected Cleveland’s end-of-season struggles in 2024. Jameis Winston was Cleveland’s quarterback at that point, and while he’d been serviceable for extended stretches, the team finished 5-12 and found itself entering 2025 in a significant roster rebuilding process.
Miami’s 2024 season was similarly disappointing overall — the Dolphins went 7-10 — but they demonstrated what their defence could do in this game. Holding Cleveland to 3 points, limiting the Browns to minimal yardage, and dominating possession were performances their entire season hadn’t consistently delivered.
Both Teams’ 2026 Season Context
It’s worth noting where both franchises stand as of November 2026, given the broader context of these matchups.
The Miami Dolphins entered the 2026 season with significant questions after multiple consecutive disappointing campaigns. Their 2026 schedule through early November showed a team still searching for consistency — losses to Las Vegas (27-13), San Francisco (35-13), Kansas City (24-10), and Minnesota (15-10) were offset by a win at the New York Jets (28-25) and home games still ahead. The Dolphins do not play Cleveland in 2026.
The Cleveland Browns showed more promise in their 2026 campaign with a 4-4 record through eight games. After an opening-week blowout at Jacksonville (34-10), they won at Tampa Bay (23-19), beat Carolina at home (21-18), won the Thursday Night Football matchup against Pittsburgh (27-24), and followed with an upset win over Baltimore (13-10). Their loss to Pittsburgh in Week 8 (27-6) was a significant step backwards, but their overall trajectory with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback showed genuine development.
Player Spotlight: The Key Performers in This Matchup History
Quinshon Judkins — Browns Running Back
Judkins’ three-touchdown performance in October 2025 was the breakthrough game of his Cleveland career to that point. The rookie running back — Cleveland’s first-round pick entering the 2025 season — showed exactly the vision and power running ability that made him a highly anticipated prospect. His three scores on 25 carries told a story about how Cleveland’s offence is built: physical, ground-focused, and effective when the offensive line creates running lanes. His 84-yard afternoon wasn’t overwhelming in raw yardage, but the touchdowns were decisive and came at exactly the moments Cleveland needed them.
De’Von Achane — Dolphins Running Back
Achane remains one of the most electrifying players in football when given open space. His 82 yards on 13 carries at 6.3 per attempt in that October rain game underscored his ability to find yards even in adverse conditions and against a disciplined Browns defence. Through the 2025 season, Achane had established himself as the centrepiece of Miami’s offensive identity — a back capable of turning a short run into a long gain on any given carry. The challenge for Miami has been getting him consistent opportunities when their offence is falling behind early.
Dillon Gabriel — Browns Quarterback
Gabriel’s story is one of the more interesting quarterback developments in the AFC. The former college star — who put up extraordinary numbers at Oregon before entering the NFL — has shown steady growth in his professional career. His performance against Miami in 2025 wasn’t a stat-line showcase, but it was exactly what efficient quarterback play looks like: completing 72% of passes, taking care of the football, and letting his running game and defence do the work. Through eight games of the 2026 season, Gabriel continued showing development with better numbers as the season progressed.
Quinn Ewers — Dolphins Quarterback
The Dolphins have been searching for sustained quarterback performance, and Ewers represented Miami’s bet on a young passer from his Texas college career. The October 2025 outing was clearly one to forget — five completions and an interception returned for a touchdown in cold, wet Cleveland conditions is a rough afternoon. What Miami needs from Ewers is exactly the consistency that his 2025 season statline didn’t always show. His potential is real; the execution in adverse conditions remains a work in progress.
Tyson Campbell — Browns Cornerback
The defensive back who made the game-defining play in October 2025 — a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown — was cornerback Tyson Campbell. That play came midway through the third quarter with Cleveland already leading 17-6. Converting a defensive turnover into a score, rather than simply returning to offence, is the difference between a winnable game and a rout. Campbell’s pick-six effectively ended the competitive portion of the afternoon.
Series History: The Broader Pattern
The Dolphins and Browns have met periodically across the decades, with the matchup carrying different weight depending on each franchise’s competitive cycle.
The two franchises have faced each other with some regularity given the NFL’s scheduling rotation, though as AFC East and AFC North teams they don’t meet every year. The December 2024 and October 2025 games represent consecutive seasons where these teams met — giving us a rare back-to-back comparison of how both rosters have evolved.
The pattern across both recent games is consistent with what both teams are: talented pieces in some positions, genuine question marks in others, and results that swing based on which unit shows up on a given Sunday.
What makes the matchup compelling is the contrast in offensive philosophies. Cleveland has committed firmly to a ground-first identity built around Judkins and a physical offensive line. Miami’s offence is built around speed and big-play potential — Achane’s explosiveness, the receiver threats, and an air-raid concept that can be brilliant when clicking and inconsistent when facing physical pressure.
What the Stats Tell Us
Stepping back from individual games and looking at the statistical picture both teams carried into these matchups tells a broader story.
Miami in 2025 entered the Browns game ranked 30th in points per game on offence at 8 points per game — a catastrophically low figure for a team with the talent their roster contained. Their defence ranked 29th in yards allowed per game. These weren’t the numbers of a competitive team.
Cleveland in 2025 ranked 13th in offensive yards at 339 per game and held opponents to just 159 yards per game on defence — the best mark in the NFL at the time of their October matchup with Miami. That defensive ranking is extraordinary and explains much of why their 2025 season looked more competitive than their raw win-loss record suggested.
The disparity in those numbers explains the October 2025 final score. A top defensive unit matching up against a struggling offence, on a cold wet day in Cleveland, was always going to produce a lopsided result.
Final Words
The Dolphins-Browns rivalry — such as it is — doesn’t carry the intensity of a division matchup, but it regularly produces games that reveal something honest about where both franchises stand.
The December 2024 game told us Miami’s defence could dominate when motivated in a meaningless end-of-season contest. The October 2025 game told us Cleveland had genuinely improved on both sides of the ball, with Quinshon Judkins emerging as a legitimate feature back and their defence continuing to be one of the league’s best units.
Both teams enter the later stages of the 2020s with genuine uncertainties — about their quarterbacks’ ceilings, about their ability to compete with the AFC’s best in January, and about whether the building blocks they’ve assembled will produce the results their fan bases need.
What we know is that when these two teams meet, the game usually reflects exactly where both franchises are at that precise moment. Right now, Cleveland’s floor looks higher. Miami’s ceiling might be higher still — if everything comes together at once.
FAQs
1. When was the most recent Miami Dolphins vs Cleveland Browns game?
Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field on October 19, 2025. The Browns won 31-6 in a game defined by Quinshon Judkins’ three rushing touchdowns and a Tyson Campbell pick-six.
2. What was the score of the December 2024 Dolphins-Browns game?
Miami Dolphins 20, Cleveland Browns 3. The Dolphins dominated defensively, holding Cleveland to a single Dustin Hopkins field goal while Jason Sanders contributed three Miami field goals alongside two touchdowns.
3. Who were the top performers in the October 2025 game?
Quinshon Judkins led Cleveland with 25 carries, 84 yards, and three touchdowns. De’Von Achane was Miami’s best performer with 13 carries for 82 yards. Tyson Campbell’s 34-yard interception return for a touchdown was the defining play.
4. Who started at quarterback for each team in October 2025?
Dillon Gabriel started for Cleveland and completed 13 of 18 passes for 116 yards. Quinn Ewers started for Miami and completed 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards with one interception.
5. What were the weather conditions for the October 2025 game?
Rain and cold in Cleveland — approximately 18 degrees Celsius with southward winds at 27 km/h and precipitation throughout. The conditions affected Miami’s passing game particularly.
6. What were Cleveland’s defensive stats heading into the October 2025 matchup?
The Browns ranked first in the NFL in yards allowed per game, surrendering just 159 yards per game. That elite defensive performance was a primary factor in their lopsided win over Miami.
7. How was Miami’s offence performing at the time of the October 2025 game?
Poorly. Miami ranked 30th in the NFL in points per game at 8 points, and 29th in yards allowed defensively. Their arrival in Cleveland as a struggling team against one of the league’s best defences made the result predictable.
8. How has De’Von Achane performed in games against Cleveland?
Achane has been Miami’s most consistent offensive performer in both recent matchups. Despite the team’s overall struggles, his explosiveness creates yards even in difficult conditions. His 6.3 yards per carry in the October 2025 rainy game was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak afternoon.
9. Do Miami and Cleveland play each other in the 2026 season?
No. As of the 2026 schedule, the Dolphins and Browns are not scheduled to meet. The scheduling rotation puts these two AFC teams in different divisional matchup cycles.
10. What was the attendance at the October 2025 Dolphins-Browns game?
The game was attended by 63,762 spectators at Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field.
11. How has Dillon Gabriel developed as Cleveland’s starting quarterback?
Gabriel showed steady improvement through 2025 and into 2026. His game-management approach — protecting the football, hitting open receivers, letting the run game work — has been effective even if he hasn’t yet posted spectacular individual statistics.
12. What is the significance of these matchups for both franchises’ rebuilding processes?
Both games reveal honest snapshots of where each team stands. Cleveland’s dominant October 2025 performance showed genuine defensive excellence and an emerging ground game. Miami’s December 2024 win showed a defence capable of shutting down opponents. The divergence in their 2026 records — Cleveland at 4-4 through eight games versus Miami at 1-6 — suggests the Browns’ rebuild is currently tracking better.
