Important things to know about the 2026 Miami Dolphins schedule

Also, the schedule doesn’t see Miami facing an AFC East team until heading north in Week 7 to face the New York Jets following their bye, which is the latest divisional matchup to start a season since 2013. Coincidentally, that year also replicated two away games to begin the year, three out of the first four on the road, and a Week 6 bye before they hosted the Buffalo Bills. That season, Miami finished 8-8 under then-coach Joe Philbin

No primetime games

The NFL also decided not to grant Miami a primetime game, and the Dolphins join the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders and the Jets in not being featured nationally at night. The last time Miami was without a primetime game was following their 1-15 2007 season, yet the Dolphins happened to have won the AFC East division in 2008 under a first-year head coach, the late, great Tony Sparano.

Six-game gauntlet

The Dolphins will also have three late-season tests with potential weather and elements, which can be a good indication if general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan is on the right track in attempting to build a tougher identity for games in December and January. Miami will head to Denver to face the Broncos in Week 13, and then Sullivan, Hafley, and quarterback Malik Willis will return to Green Bay Week 15 to face the Packers, on what could be a frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Miami will close the season once again, like in 2025, up in New England to face the Patriots.

Finally, those three games are part of a brutal six-game gauntlet to close the 2026 regular season. The Dolphins will host the Chicago Bears in Week 14, the Los Angeles Chargers and new offensive coordinator, former Miami head coach Mike McDaniel, in Week 16 and the Bills in Week 17.

If there was ever a season in which the Dolphins have to face all these unfavorable situations, it’s 2026, as it is universally known and accepted that Miami is in a full rebuild with no playoff expectations. The schedule could be a tough immediate scenario for the Dolphins, but 2027 will be a year in which there is a tremendously talented NFL draft class, as well as plenty of salary cap space for Sullivan to utilize in free agency next offseason.

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This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Important things to know about the 2026 Miami Dolphins schedule