Dolphins Preseason Game at Detroit Has Date and Time

The Miami Dolphins will face the defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions in the 2025 preseason, and we now have a date and time for the matchup at Ford Field.

The game will be played Saturday, August 16 at 1 p.m. ET.

It will be the second of three preseason games for the Dolphins, whose preseason will begin with a matchup against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field and end against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. The dates and times for those games haven't been determined yet.

The August 16 game will be the third of four in the preseason for the Lions, who are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame Game on July 31.

What's yet to be determined about the Dolphins' trip to Detroit is whether it also will involve a joint practice or two with the Lions.

The Dolphins will be working with/against the Jaguars prior to the teams' preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium, first-year Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen revealed this week.

Each team is allowed a maximum of four joint practices each summer, and those can be spread out however a team wishes.

The Dolphins, for example, last year conducted two joint practices with/against the Atlanta Falcons and one each with/against the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

THE PRESEASON MATCHUPS

The Dolphins are 4-10-1 all-time against the Bears in the preseason, with the teams' last meeting in 2021 — the Dolphins lost that game 20-13. This will be the first NFL action for new Bears coach Ben Johnson, who they hired after a successful tenure as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Johnson also spent seven seasons on the Dolphins staff from 2012 to 2018. 

Speaking of the Lions, the Dolphins will face another former coach in Week 2 of the preseason. Lions head coach Dan Campbell was on the Dolphins staff from 2010 through 2015, including a stint as the interim head coach in 2015. 

Miami is 6-1 all-time against the Lions in the preseason, but the teams haven’t met since 1999.  

Lastly, the Dolphins will play the Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami is 6-5 all-time in the preseason against the Jaguars. The teams played in the preseason finale before the 2023 season, with the Dolphins dropping that game 31-18. However, the Dolphins did beat the Jaguars in the 2024 season opener. 

Like the Bears, the Jaguars are coming into the 2025 season with a new coach. The team hired Liam Coen after his successful tenure as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator. It could also be an opportunity for the Dolphins fans to get a look at two-way phenom Travis Hunter. 

Although he likely won’t play because front-line players typically sit out the preseason finale, there’s a small chance Hunter sees the field after the Jaguars traded up to second overall to select the Colorado star. 

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