The Miami Dolphins 2012 season ended this past Sunday, with the Dolphins losing to the New England Patriots. Before we completely move our focus on to the 2013 season and free agency, the draft, and next year's expectations, it's time to take a look back at the 2012 season by looking at some of the best pictures from the year.

We will start with the Dolphins' first four games of the year.

On September 9, the Dolphins were in Houston to take on the Texans, in rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill's first start, and rookie head coach Joe Philbin's first game. Tannehill's start marked the first time in franchise history that a rookie started the team's opening game. The Dolphins were able to keep with the future AFC South division champions for most of the game, other than maybe their worst six minutes of the year, right at the end of the first half. The Dolphins gave up three touchdowns over that span, and ultimately lost the game 30-10.

In Week 2, the Dolphins hosted the Oakland Raiders in the home opener at Sun Life Stadium. Miami scored early in the game, then turned it one for a 28 point second half to down the Raiders 35-13. Running back Reggie Bush led the Dolphins attack, racking up 172 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries while rookie running back Lamar Miller added a touchdown of his own on 10 carries for 65 yards, while Tannehill also ran in a score for the Dolphins. The passing game was not shut out of the performance, with Brian Hartline catching 9 passes for 111 yards, and tight end Anthony Fasano scoring on one of his two receptions for 19 yards.

Miami opened their AFC East divisional campaign in Week 3, hosting the New York Jets. In the return of former head coach Tony Sparano, now the Jets offensive coordinator, the Dolphins came up on the short side of a 23-20 overtime scoreline. Miami had two chances to win the game, with kicker Dan Carpenter missing a 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, then missing a 48-yarder in overtime. When the Jets lined up to try a field goal of their own in overtime, the Dolphins blocked the field goal, only to have it negated by a timeout from Coach Philbin. Jets' kicker Nick Folk hit the second try, and Sparano proceeded to run around the field screaming.

The Dolphins' Week 4 contest once again went to overtime, this time as they visited the Arizona Cardinals. The Dolphins once again looked like they were going to win the game in regulation, before a Kevin Kolb to Andre Roberts 15-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth period resulted in the extra period. In overtime, Tannehill was hit as he tried to throw a pass, with Kerry Rhodes picking off the errant throw, leading to Arizona's game winning field goal. Tannehill threw for 431 yards, at the time, the second highest total ever thrown by a rookie in a single game. Hartline set a franchise record with 253 yards on 12 receptions, and the Dolphins outgained the Cardinals 480 yards to 297.

Miami was 1-3 after the first quarter of the season.