Dolphins 2025 Schedule Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins' 2025 regular season schedule became official Wednesday night, and what stood out immediately was the surprisingly large number of prime-time games and a wild stretch toward the middle of the season.

Here are our quick takeaways:

Dolphins Are Prime-Time Players Again

The Dolphins got five prime-time games on the initial schedule for a second consecutive year, but this time was a bit surprising considering the team went 8-9 last season and not 11-6 as it had in 2023 to more easily justify all the prime-time appearances. There's always the possibility of the Dolphins getting flexed out of a prime-time game as they were in Week 17 at Cleveland last year, but the late-season matchups are against teams expected to compete, Pittsburgh (because the Steelers always are contenders) and Cincinnati. The unique part of the prime-time games is the back-to-back sets in Week 3 (Thursday night at Buffalo) and Week 4 (Monday night vs. the New York Jets), and again in Week 15 (Pittsburgh) and Week 16 (Cincinnati).

Staying Away from the Road

The Dolphins schedule features eight road games, but not one of those will take place in November. The schedule calls for four consecutive home games, including the game against the Washington Commanders in Spain and the bye that will follow. After they face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, October 26, the Dolphins won't play another road game until December 7 against the New York Jets. While the home cooking is nice, it's not exactly an easy stretch for the Dolphins, whose opponents during that time will include Baltimore, Buffalo and Washington.

Stage Set for Fast Start

Yes, things change from year to year and we shouldn't take anything for granted before the season actually arrives, but in May some games just look easier than others. It's that simple. And based on 2024 record, the easiest stretch for the Dolphins is the one they have to start the regular season. The opening five games — except for the Thursday night game at Buffalo — looks at the very least favorable for the Dolphins. Four of those first opponents missed the playoffs last year, with the Patriots, Jets and Panthers all failing to win more than five games. Given the way the 2024 season ended and Stephen Ross' comments the night of the finale, head coach Mike McDaniel can't afford a slow start and the schedule is accommating toward accomplishing that goal.

Weather watch

Based on their geography and their stadium, a key factor in the Dolphins schedule always involves afternoon home games early in the season and cold-weather games late. And for those keeping scores, it looks like Dolphins came out on the short end here. The Dolphins play two Sunday afternoon games at Hard Rock Stadium in the first two months of the season, against the Patriots and Chargers, compared to three potential cold-weather games. Those three are the December games at MetLife Stadium and Pittsburgh along with the season finale at New England. Of course, there's always a bigger guarantee that it's going to be scorching hot in South Florida in September than it's going to be cold in the North or Midwest in December. For example, the Dolphins caught a major break at Cleveland last December after the NFL flexed them from the night game to a late-afternoon start and the temperature was an unseasonably warm 54 degrees at kickoff.

The weird Jets trend

What is it with the NFL putting the Dolphins against the Jets in mid-December? The Week 14 game at MetLife Stadium in 2025 will mark the fourth time in five years and five in seven that the teams have faced each other either in Week 14 or Week 15. This will have no effect on the Dolphins season, but we wanted to point it out nonetheless.

A new ending for Miami

For the first time since the 2020 season, the Dolphins will start and finish the season on the road — the price to pay for that long stretch without a road game, we guess. That year the Dolphins opened at New England and finished at Buffalo. Since 2010, the NFL has had division games exclusively in the final week of the regular season and the Miami at New England matchup was the one the Dolphins had gone withouth the longest — after ending at Buffalo, home against New England, home against the Jets, home against Buffalo, and at the Jets the past five seasons.

THE MIAMI DOLPHINS' 2025 SCHEDULE

All Times Eastern

*-Subject to flex scheduling

Week 1 — at Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m.

Week 2 — NEW ENGLAND, Sunday, Sept. 14, 1 p.m. ET

Week 3 — at Buffalo, Thursday, Sept. 18, 8:15 p.m.

Week 4 — N.Y. JETS, Monday, Sept. 29, 7:15 p.m.

Week 5 — at Carolina, Sunday, Oct. 5, 1 p.m.*

Week 6 — L.A. CHARGERS, Sunday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m.*

Week 7 — at Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 19, 1 p.m.*

Week 8 — at Atlanta, Sunday, Oct. 26, 1 p.m.*

Week 9 — BALTIMORE, Thursday, Oct. 30, 8:15 p.m.

Week 10 — BUFFALO, Sunday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.*

Week 11 — WASHINGTON (Madrid, Spain), Sunday, Nov. 16, 9:30 a.m.

Week 12 — Bye

Week 13 — NEW ORLEANS, Sunday, November 30, 1 p.m.*

Week 14 — at N.Y. Jets, Sunday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m.*

Week 15 — at Pittsburgh, Monday, Dec. 15, 8:15 p.m.*

Week 16 — CINCINNATI, Sunday, Dec. 21,8:15 p.m.*

Week 17 — TAMPA BAY, Sunday, Dec. 28, 1 p.m.*

Week 18 — at New England, Sunday, Jan. 3 or 4, TBD

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