Ranking the 2025 Dolphins Games by Degree of Difficulty

There are many ways to analyze and evaluate the Miami Dolphins' 2025 schedule, and one of them is to rank each game by degree of difficulty.

And doing that exercise, we'll plainly see that the hardest parts of the schedule mostly in the second half of the season.

So here, understanding that circumstances can and will change between now and the four months of the regular season because of injuries and other factors, is our ranking (countdown style) of the Dolphins' 17 games by degree of difficulty.

17. Week 13 — vs. New Orleans

The Saints' year of kicking the cap down the road has caught up to them and they're starting over with a new head coach (Kellen Moore) and a new quarterback (rookie second-round pick Tyler Shough maybe). The Saints appear headed for a long year.

16. Week 2 — vs. New England

We hesitated to rank this matchup so high because the Patriots should be much improved with Mike Vrabel as the new head coach and with 2024 third overall pick Drake Maye, but it probably won't happen overnight. And we'll never go against the Dolphins at home in a September afternoon game.

15. Week 4 — vs. N.Y. Jets (MNF)

Likewise, we like the hiring of Aaron Glenn as new head coach, but until Vrabel he doesn't have a young hotshot quarterback to run his offense, but rather the enigmatic Justin Fields.

14. Week 1 — at Indianapolis

We have our first road game on the list and, yes, it's the opener and it's because the Colts don't have a clear answer at quarterback after bringing in Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson. And, as they say, when you have two quarterbacks, you don't have a quarterback.

13. Week 14 — at N.Y. Jets

Another road game. Again, the Jets will be competitive before long under Glenn; we just don't see it happening to a large degree right away.

12. Week 7 — at Cleveland

Remember what we said about the Colts having two quarterbacks? Well, the Browns have four, between veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett and rookie draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Playing this game in October eliminated the chances of bad weather being a factor, which also will help the Dolphins.

11. Week 5 — at Carolina

While they finished with only five wins, the Panthers looked like a team that could make a move up the standings in 2025 after Bryce Young came back from his benching looking more like the No. 1 overall pick than ever before. This looks like a favorable matchup for Miami, though.

10. Week 17 — vs. Tampa Bay

It might seem a strange ranking considering the Bucs are three-time NFC South champs, but it's a home game for the Dolphins, one they should be able to handle if they become the team in 2025 they hope to be.

9. Week 18 — at New England

Yep, big discrepancy with the first matchup against the Patriots, and it's the combination of the cold-weather potential and the fact New England should be a totally different team by the end of Vrabel's first season as head coach. In fact, outside of facing Buffalo, this was the toughest matchup the Dolphins could have gotten for their season finale.

8. Week 8 — at Atlanta

The Falcons stumbled at the end of last season while coming up short of making the playoffs, but the league office clearly thinks they're on the move with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback because they were scheduled for six stand-alone games in 2025.

7. Week 6 — vs. L.A. Chargers

The Chargers made the playoffs in Jim Harbaugh's first year as head coach and made some big moves at running back in the offseason by signing Najee Harris and selecting Omarion Hampton in the first round of the draft. This is a tough matchup for the Dolphins, but weather could be a factor — it's still hot in South Florida in mid-October — and facing a West Coast team at 1 p.m. Eastern time always helps.

6. Week 16 — vs. Cincinnati (SNF)

The Dolphins haven't fared particularly well in prime time under Mike McDaniel, and the Bengals offense should be as potent as ever after they secured Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in the offseason, though their defense remains a question mark.

5. Week 15 — at Pittsburgh (MNF)

This might have ranked even higher in previous years when the Steelers really were difficult to defeat in prime time under Mike Tomlin, though that has faded in recent years. The Steelers also have a question mark at quarterback until Aaron Rodgers actually does sign with them, but this is a tough venue with the potential of being a cold-weather game.

4. Week 10 — vs. Buffalo

Surprise! We didn't have both Buffalo games at the top of our list. This just shows the top of the Dolphins schedule has some heavyweights on it.

3. Week 9 — vs. Baltimore (TNF)

Why put the Ravens as the toughest game at Hard Rock Stadium and not the Bills? Well, it says here that Baltimore was the best team in the AFC heading into the 2024 playoffs and they'd emerge as conference champion if that same tournament was played five games. Besides, the Dolphins defense had no answers for Lamar Jackson in the teams' last two meetings, even if Miami was able to pull out that miraculous 42-38 comeback victory at Baltimore in Week 2 of the 2022 season.

2. Week 11 — vs. Washington (Madrid, Spain)

This is a neutral-site game even though the Dolphins are the designated home team, and we rank it this high as a nod to QB Jayden Daniels after his spectacular rookie season.

1. Week 3 — at Buffalo (TNF)

What else? Until the Bills stop ruling the AFC East, this always will be the toughest matchup on the Dolphins schedule. This actually isn't a bad spot for the Dolphins because this is preferable to facing Buffalo on the road in December and it could set up a memorable season if they can pull off the upset.

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