Early Biggest Storyline for Every Dolphins Game

The Miami Dolphins’ 2025 regular season schedule dropped Wednesday night, so we can finally start analyzing the team’s matchups. 

Miami is coming off a disappointing 2024 season, which saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time since Mike McDaniel was hired as head coach. Despite that, the Dolphins have had a somewhat quiet offseason. 

They made some upgrades through the draft and free agency, but haven’t made an overly splashy move — yet. 

While it’s debatable whether the Dolphins’ roster is better than last year, their schedule poses plenty of challenges, including seven games against teams that made the playoffs last year. Let’s take a look at each Dolphins’ game to see what the biggest early storyline is. 

Biggest Early Storyline for Every Dolphins Game 

Week 1: at Colts

Storyline: Who is Colts' QB?

Miami opens the season on the road against the Colts, who beat the Dolphins, 16-10, at Lucas Oil Stadium last season. The biggest storyline for this game is which quarterback the Dolphins will face. 

When the teams played last season, the Dolphins got their first look at Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. Miami did a good job containing the passer, as he finished the game completing 10 of 24 passes for 129 yards and zero touchdowns.

However, there’s a chance the Dolphins won’t see Richardson in Week 1. The Colts signed former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones this offseason to compete with Richardson for the starting job.

Jones and Richardson are very different players, so this will be an early storyline for Dolphins fans to watch this preseason. 

Week 2: vs. Patriots 

Storyline: Is Mike Vrabel the answer? 

Since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay and Bill Belichick retired, the Patriots have struggled to maintain relevance in the AFC. Last season, they spent most of the year competing for the top overall pick under head coach Jerod Mayo. 

Somehow, things went worse than expected, leading to the team firing Mayo and bringing in Mike Vrabel. Vrabel had an excellent run as the Titans coach, including several wins against the Dolphins. 

This early-season game should be a good barometer for whether Vrabel is the right head coach to make New England competitive again. Miami has won eight of the last 10 matchups going back to 2020, making this a one-sided rivalry. 

Week 3: at Bills (TNF)

Storyline: Can Miami exorcise its demons? 

The Bills have become a gigantic thorn in the Dolphins’ side in recent seasons. Buffalo has won the last six matchups and five straight AFC titles. 

Those matchups include when the Bills defeated the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 18 of the 2023 season to claim the AFC East crown and Buffalo’s victory in the Wild Card round of the 2022 season when the Dolphins were forced to start Skylar Thompson.

This Week 3 matchup is on Thursday Night Football in Buffalo, giving the Dolphins a chance to beat the Bills at Highmark Stadium for the first time in years and prove to the nation they’re capable of winning games against good teams. 

No Week 3 game should be considered a must win, but if this Dolphins’ season is about ending all of the negative narratives surrounding the team, going up to Buffalo and taking a game off the Bills is an excellent place to start. 

Week 4: vs. Jets (MNF)

Storyline: Are the Jets flying again? 

The Jets are in an incredibly similar spot to the Patriots, except they’ve been bad for a much longer time. However, the Jets made a lot of changes this offseason, like hiring Aaron Glenn as head coach and moving on from Aaron Rodgers and all of his friends. 

This will be the Dolphins’ first look at the Jets since the changes. Miami has won four of the last five meetings, but it lost in embarrassing fashion in Week 18 of the 2024 season. 

Week 5: at Panthers 

Storyline: Battle of Alabama QBs

Assuming both players stay healthy, this game should feature a matchup of two of the better Alabama quarterback prospects in recent memory. 

Tua Tagovailoa has established himself as a solid quarterback when on the field, while Bryce Young saved his career with a resurgent end to the 2024 season. These quarterbacks also have to overcome similar physical deficiencies. 

Neither player is an impressive athlete nor has an overly strong arm. How Young and Tua manage those weaknesses is different, but it should make for an intriguing game. 

Week 6: vs. Chargers 

Storyline: Battle of 2020 QBs 

We’ll have to stick to the low-hanging fruit with this matchup. Dolphins and Chargers fans have created a heated rivalry on social media since the 2020 NFL draft after Tua was taken fifth overall and the Chargers selected Justin Herbert sixth overall. 

We're not here to debate which quarterback is better, but it makes for a compelling storyline, as these two passers will be tied together for their entire careers. 

For reference, Tua is 2-1 against the Chargers in his career. That said, QB wins are not a good stat. 

Week 7: at Browns 

Storyline: Myles Garrett vs. Patrick Paul 

Instead of talking about quarterbacks, we’ll get a little more specific. The Dolphins beat the Browns last season, but one of the most intriguing storylines from that game was how much Patrick Paul struggled against Myles Garrett. 

Paul is taking over for Terron Armstead at left tackle this season and will have to deal with a lot of good pass rushers in 2025. However, none of them is as dangerous as Garrett. This game should be a good barometer for where Paul is in his development relative to last season. 

Week 8: at Falcons 

Storyline: Is Miami’s run defense actually better? 

The Dolphins spent most of the 2025 NFL draft adding players to help solidify the middle of the defensive line. The team selected defensive tackles Kenneth Grant in Round 1, Jordan Phillips in Round 5, and Zeek Biggers in Round 7. 

Last year, the Dolphins’ run defense struggled against teams with physical offensive lines and quality running backs. Although the Falcons missed the postseason, they’ve got an impressive offensive line and a star running back in Bijan Robinson. 

Miami’s rookies should be settled in by this point in the season, and the Falcons will be a good test for how well they’re playing. 

Week 9: vs. Ravens 

Storyline: How tough is Miami now? 

One of the many narratives the Dolphins are looking to change this season is the one that they’re too soft. Well, there’s no better team to test that than the Baltimore Ravens. 

Baltimore is a physical team on both sides of the ball, led by players like running back Derrick Henry and linebacker Roquan Smith. 

This is also the Dolphins’ second TNF game of the season, giving them a chance to prove to everyone they can hang with the league’s best. 

Week 10: vs. Bills

Storyline: Are the Dolphins for real? 

Playing the Bills right after a prime-time game against the Ravens is a tough stretch. However, that just means it will tell us how good the Dolphins are. 

Assuming Buffalo has the season it’s expecting, this game could be huge in the race for the AFC East title. Of course, that would require the Dolphins to be playing well already. 

Either way, after this game, we’ll have a good idea of whether the Dolphins are\ legitimate contenders in the AFC. 

Week 11: vs. Washington (in Madrid, Spain) 

Storyline: Can Dolphins contain mobile QBs? 

This is the final game in what is likely to be Miami’s toughest schedule stretch of the season. 

It’ll be the third straight game against a playoff team with a mobile quarterback. Both of those things have given the Dolphins trouble in recent seasons, and Daniels might be the best running quarterback in the NFL. 

Plus, Miami will have to deal with traveling to Madrid, Spain. If the defense can contain Daniels’ scrambling, it might be another narrative that can be thrown out.

Week 13: vs. Saints 

Storyline: Are Saints finally rebuilding? 

The Saints are a thoroughly uninteresting team that has been treading water for the past few seasons. That said, they might finally be accepting it’s time to rebuild. 

They hired a young head coach, Kellen Moore, and will likely be starting either Spencer Rattler, a second-year player, or rookie second-round pick Tyler Shough at quarterback. Barring a shocking turnaround, this should be a soft landing for the Dolphins after their Week 12 bye. 

Week 14: at New York Jets 

Storyline: Is Justin Fields the answer? 

At this point in the season, the Jets should have a pretty good idea of whether Justin Fields is the long-term answer at quarterback. 

This matters for the Dolphins because if the Jets decide to retain Fields long term, they’ll see him twice a season. Generally, this game should give us a good idea of whether the Jets’ rebuild is ahead of schedule. 

Week 15: at Pittsburgh (MNF)

Storyline: Battle of playoff hopefuls 

No matter what the Steelers roster looks like at the start of the season, head coach Mike Tomlin finds a way to make them competitive. 

The Steelers are always hanging around the AFC wild-card race, making this Monday Night Football clash in the season’s final stretch potentially crucial for playoff seeding. If the season goes roughly as many predict, there’s a good chance these teams are among several battling for a potential playoff berth. 

This game gives the Dolphins a chance to grab a head-to-head victory. 

Week 16: vs. Bengals (SNF)

Storyline: How good is Miami’s secondary? 

We could talk about how this is another battle of quarterbacks from the top of the 2020 NFL draft, but the far more critical storyline is how Miami handles the Bengals’ star pass-catching group. 

Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are arguably the best receiver duo in the sport, and the Dolphins' cornerback room is not expected to be one of the team’s strongest units. 

With Jalen Ramsey still expected to be traded, Miami’s cornerback room currently features Kader Kohou, Jason Marshall Jr., BJ Adams, Cam Smith, Storm Duck, Arite Burns and Kendall Sheffield — not exactly the names you want guarding players like Chase and Higgins. 

Additionally, former Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki should be a good test for the Dolphins’ new safeties, Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu. 

Week 17: vs. Buccaneers 

Storyline: The two best teams in Florida? 

The Buccaneers have been the most successful team from Florida since Tom Brady signed with them after leaving New England. 

Depending on your barometer, the Dolphins have been more successful than the Jaguars (more playoff appearances but fewer playoff wins) since Tampa Bay signed Brady. 

Either way, if the Dolphins are still in contention at this point in the season, it’s another opportunity to prove they can beat quality teams. 

Week 18: at Patriots 

Storyline: Is Drake Maye a franchise QB? 

Just like the Jets’ quarterback position, the Dolphins should pay attention to how Drake Maye develops in 2025. He showed a ton of promise in 2024, and New England surrounded him with better skill players this offseason. 

Maye struggled in his only start against the Dolphins in 2024, but with another season of experience, this game should give Miami an idea of what it’ll be dealing with going forward.

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