He was off to a rocky start in his first two regular-season games, losing both of them with fans booing Culpepper and calling for backup Joey Harrington in the second game. However, he had an improved performance in the third game, winning 13–10 over the Tennessee Titans who had the second to last ranked defense in the NFL. However, the next week the Houston Texans with the last ranked defense in the NFL won their first game of the season against the Dolphins.