2012 Miami Dolphins season

The 2012 season was the Miami Dolphins' 43rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 47th overall. The season concluded with the Dolphins finishing second in the AFC East 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 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 30–10 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 blowout 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 receptions for 253 yards.