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The NFL says there are roughly a quadrillion possible combinations for its schedule, a claim we are willing to accept without running tests.
The league also says 26,000 factors are considered before its computer spits out the final product.
With that much going into it, it’s fitting we present 10 hidden gems about the Miami Dolphins’ 2025 schedule:
More: Miami Dolphins (past and present) we'd love to see in Summer Olympics flag football
The Dolphins will play the first NFL game in Spain on Nov. 16 against the Washington Commanders. It’s an enticing matchup in an enticing city. If you’re thinking of going, it’s not going to be cheap. Airfare from Miami to Madrid is about $880 roundtrip. Hotel prices widely vary. Obviously you’ll want to do homework before locking yourself into bargain deals that prove to be anything but bargains. A good starting point is to expect to pay about $400 per night. And that doesn't even include game tickets.
The Dolphins’ game at the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26 shapes up to feature Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr. It would be the first NFL game since 2006 with two left-handed starting quarterbacks. Back then, it was Atlanta’s Michael Vick vs. Tampa Bay’s Chris Simms.
The Dolphins won’t face a single team in 2025 that is either coming off a bye or about to enter a bye, with the expected exception of the Commanders. This may not sound like a big deal, but 49ers fans were worked up after their team had a minus-22 rest differential last season. Translated: San Fran’s opponents had 22 more rest days than the 49ers. Not sure that totally explains the 49ers’ 6-11 record, but there it is. For its part, the NFL schedule makers maintain that rest disparity is largely overrated when matched against results.
Eight NFL teams have five or more prime-time appearances this season. The Dolphins are among them with five. Kansas City leads the way with seven. The only teams so honored, yet coming off losing seasons are Miami, San Francisco and, naturally, the Dallas Cowboys.
Remember the 2007 Dolphins? Maybe not. They barely escaped going winless at 1-15. Their punishment: zero prime-time games in 2008. It's the only time in team history that happened since the advent of prime-time football. Turned out the joke was on the league. The 2008 Dolphins bounced back in a huge way, going 11-5 and winning the AFC East. Miami then returned to the prime-time rotation in 2009 with three night games.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, said the league has “no hesitancy” in placing divisional games in Weeks 1 and 2 even though there is incentive to backload rivalry games to build drama in late December. This season, the Dolphins close the regular season at New England but their home opener in Week 2 also is vs. the Patriots. An argument could be made that the league should attempt to assign a home opener vs. a divisional opponent to teams throughout the Southeast. Reason: Twice the Dolphins have been forced to postpone their openers because of hurricanes, giving them a bye at the worst possible time, Week 1. While that can’t be helped, there are two ways rescheduling those games won’t cause a major disruption in the rest of the schedule. One is if both teams involved already had a scheduled bye the same week. The other is if it’s a divisional opponent, in which case the home/away sites could be flipped, avoiding a Week 1 bye.
The Dolphins will play all but one regular-season game in the Eastern time zone in 2025. That’s their most since playing all 16 games in the East in 1990. The exception this year, naturally, is the game in Madrid, which is six hours ahead. Onnie Bose, the NFL’s vice president of broadcasting, said the league gets requests from teams to either have the bye following such trips or to specifically not schedule byes that way. Bose said those requests are taken into consideration. To put it another way: “Not a guarantee,” he said.
Related to Bose’s point, the Dolphins played Jacksonville in London in 2021, then came home to play Atlanta the following Sunday. Word was the Dolphins asked the NFL not to have the bye following the England visit. Instead, Miami wound up with a bye in December.
Since the Madrid game is technically a Dolphins “home” game, it gives them four straight games as the home team: Baltimore, Buffalo, Washington and (after a bye) New Orleans. Only three other seasons in Dolphins history have included four straight home games. These were true home games, too: 1971 (no road games from Oct. 31 until Dec. 5), 1985 (including two playoff games in the Orange Bowl) and 2016.
What's about to follow may be too graphic for some Dolfans.
Miami’s 2026 road looks brutal. Of course, plenty can change in a league where teams go from worst to first and vice versa. But if you’re a Dolphins fan, you’re probably thankful this list of 2026 opponents does not apply to 2025.
Home: Buffalo, New England, N.Y. Jets, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, AFC North team TBA.
Away: Buffalo, New England, New York Jets, Denver, Green Bay, Las Vegas, Minnesota, AFC South team TBA, NFC West team TBA.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A Madrid game, left-handed QBs, Eastern time zone, other Dolphins schedule facts
Continue reading...
The league also says 26,000 factors are considered before its computer spits out the final product.
With that much going into it, it’s fitting we present 10 hidden gems about the Miami Dolphins’ 2025 schedule:
More: Miami Dolphins (past and present) we'd love to see in Summer Olympics flag football
1. Thinking about going to Madrid?
The Dolphins will play the first NFL game in Spain on Nov. 16 against the Washington Commanders. It’s an enticing matchup in an enticing city. If you’re thinking of going, it’s not going to be cheap. Airfare from Miami to Madrid is about $880 roundtrip. Hotel prices widely vary. Obviously you’ll want to do homework before locking yourself into bargain deals that prove to be anything but bargains. A good starting point is to expect to pay about $400 per night. And that doesn't even include game tickets.
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2. Lefty power!
The Dolphins’ game at the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26 shapes up to feature Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr. It would be the first NFL game since 2006 with two left-handed starting quarterbacks. Back then, it was Atlanta’s Michael Vick vs. Tampa Bay’s Chris Simms.
3. The rest factor
The Dolphins won’t face a single team in 2025 that is either coming off a bye or about to enter a bye, with the expected exception of the Commanders. This may not sound like a big deal, but 49ers fans were worked up after their team had a minus-22 rest differential last season. Translated: San Fran’s opponents had 22 more rest days than the 49ers. Not sure that totally explains the 49ers’ 6-11 record, but there it is. For its part, the NFL schedule makers maintain that rest disparity is largely overrated when matched against results.
4. NFL has faith in the Dolphins …
Eight NFL teams have five or more prime-time appearances this season. The Dolphins are among them with five. Kansas City leads the way with seven. The only teams so honored, yet coming off losing seasons are Miami, San Francisco and, naturally, the Dallas Cowboys.
5. … which wasn’t always the case
Remember the 2007 Dolphins? Maybe not. They barely escaped going winless at 1-15. Their punishment: zero prime-time games in 2008. It's the only time in team history that happened since the advent of prime-time football. Turned out the joke was on the league. The 2008 Dolphins bounced back in a huge way, going 11-5 and winning the AFC East. Miami then returned to the prime-time rotation in 2009 with three night games.
6. You don’t want to think about this, but …
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, said the league has “no hesitancy” in placing divisional games in Weeks 1 and 2 even though there is incentive to backload rivalry games to build drama in late December. This season, the Dolphins close the regular season at New England but their home opener in Week 2 also is vs. the Patriots. An argument could be made that the league should attempt to assign a home opener vs. a divisional opponent to teams throughout the Southeast. Reason: Twice the Dolphins have been forced to postpone their openers because of hurricanes, giving them a bye at the worst possible time, Week 1. While that can’t be helped, there are two ways rescheduling those games won’t cause a major disruption in the rest of the schedule. One is if both teams involved already had a scheduled bye the same week. The other is if it’s a divisional opponent, in which case the home/away sites could be flipped, avoiding a Week 1 bye.
7. A feast in the East
The Dolphins will play all but one regular-season game in the Eastern time zone in 2025. That’s their most since playing all 16 games in the East in 1990. The exception this year, naturally, is the game in Madrid, which is six hours ahead. Onnie Bose, the NFL’s vice president of broadcasting, said the league gets requests from teams to either have the bye following such trips or to specifically not schedule byes that way. Bose said those requests are taken into consideration. To put it another way: “Not a guarantee,” he said.
8. NFL doesn’t want to hear about your jet lag
Related to Bose’s point, the Dolphins played Jacksonville in London in 2021, then came home to play Atlanta the following Sunday. Word was the Dolphins asked the NFL not to have the bye following the England visit. Instead, Miami wound up with a bye in December.
9. Four straight ‘home’ games is indeed a rarity
Since the Madrid game is technically a Dolphins “home” game, it gives them four straight games as the home team: Baltimore, Buffalo, Washington and (after a bye) New Orleans. Only three other seasons in Dolphins history have included four straight home games. These were true home games, too: 1971 (no road games from Oct. 31 until Dec. 5), 1985 (including two playoff games in the Orange Bowl) and 2016.
10. Danger ahead? List of Miami Dolphins’ 2026 opponents looks hideous
What's about to follow may be too graphic for some Dolfans.
Miami’s 2026 road looks brutal. Of course, plenty can change in a league where teams go from worst to first and vice versa. But if you’re a Dolphins fan, you’re probably thankful this list of 2026 opponents does not apply to 2025.
Home: Buffalo, New England, N.Y. Jets, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, AFC North team TBA.
Away: Buffalo, New England, New York Jets, Denver, Green Bay, Las Vegas, Minnesota, AFC South team TBA, NFC West team TBA.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A Madrid game, left-handed QBs, Eastern time zone, other Dolphins schedule facts
Continue reading...
