The Phinsider
The Miami Dolphins’ 2025 season ended on Sunday, bringing to a close a highly disappointing season and leaving the team with a lot of questions that need to be answered. The team has already made a change at general manager, where Chris Grier was let go in the middle of the season, but there could still be a change at head coach, with Mike McDaniel’s status up in the air, and the team has to decide what to do with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was benched during the season, but is slated to account for a $56.4 million cap hit next year.
So many questions that need to be answered for the Dolphins between now and September’s start to the 2026 regular season. One thing that no longer has to be answered, however, is who Miami will be playing next year. The Dolphins’ 2026 slate of opponents is set.
The NFL uses a rotation of divisions in setting its schedule each season. For 2026, the AFC East is scheduled to face the AFC West and the NFC North, accounting for eight of the Dolphins’ games. Add in the home-and-home series with each of the other teams in the AFC East, and 14 of the 17 games are known even before the season begins.
The remaining three games are determined by the finishing position for each team in their respective divisions. With the AFC East facing the entire AFC West in 2026, the Dolphins will face the team that finishes in the same position in the AFC North and South as Miami’s finish in the AFC East – in this case, third place.
The 17-game schedule the league has used the last few seasons adds in a rotation against a team from a division in the other conference as well. For 2026, that rotation will be the NFC West for Miami.
Miami’s 2026 opponents will be the three teams in the AFC East (Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets) twice along with one game against each team in the AFC West (Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers), one against the teams in the NFC North (Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings), the third-place team in the AFC North (Cincinnati Bengals), the third-place team in the AFC South (Indianapolis Colts), and the third-place team in the NFC West (San Francisco 49ers).
The odd number of games in the NFL schedule has led to an alternating season of nine and eight home games across the AFC and NFC. In 2025, the Dolphins had nine home games on their schedule – with the team’s game in Spain counting as a home contest – which means in 2026, there will be eight games at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami’s home opponents in 2026 will be:
Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Cincinnati...
