The 2024 Miami Dolphins schedule drops this week, but most of the questions about this year’s slate have already been answered. We know the who and where — just not the when.
With seven games against playoff teams, the Dolphins have the NFL’s No. 17-easiest schedule. All 17 games — including their nine away from Hard Rock Stadium — will be played in the United States.
No surprise then that the majority of Miami’s most important and compelling games are against teams that did something in 2023 the Dolphins could not: Win a playoff game.
Previewing 2024 Miami Dolphins Schedule
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
New Dolphins Jordan Poyer and Siran Neal return to Western New York for the first time since the Bills ended their long and impactful runs with the organization.
The Bills are a diminished team from 2023 but are still the betting favorites to win the AFC East for the fifth straight season (+160, per DraftKings).
The most effective way for the Dolphins to end that run? Win in Buffalo. Miami hasn’t beaten the Bills on the road since 2016 and are 1-12 in their last 13 trips to Highmark Stadium.
Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers
The first time Mike McDaniel faced off against longtime friend and colleague Kyle Shanahan, an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo ushered in the start of the Brock Purdy era.
Dating back to that eventful game, the Dolphins are just 12-13 (including the playoffs), while the Niners have won 21 of Purdy’s 27 starts.
It would be a complete shock if this potential Super Bowl showdown didn’t get a standalone national audience.
Dolphins vs. New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers’ first trip to South Florida as a member of the Jets was supposed to be back in December 2023, but an Achilles injury scuttled those plans.
Assuming Rodgers makes a full recovery and actually makes it to this game healthy, there should be a lot on the line both times these teams meet in the 2024 regular season.
The AFC East should have a tight three-way race between the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins. But history is on Miami’s side; the Dolphins have won three straight against Gang Green and 11 of 13.
Dolphins at Green Bay Packers
Assuming good injury luck for both teams, Tua Tagovailoa will face fellow 2020 NFL Draft classmate Jordan Love for the first time.
Tagovailoa was the No. 5 pick that year; Love went 26th overall. Both are entering contract years after leading their respective teams to the playoffs in 2023.
Thanks to the NFL‘s unbalanced 17-game schedule, the Dolphins and Packers are playing for the third time in seven seasons after meeting just three times in the previous 15. The Dolphins have won three of their last four visits to Lambeau Field.
Dolphins at Houston Texans
The Texans are a darkhorse Super Bowl pick after C.J. Stroud emerged as one of the NFL’s most electric young quarterbacks in his rookie season.
Houston has the fifth-shortest odds to win the AFC, but if the Texans do reach the Super Bowl, they will have earned it. They have the NFL’s third-toughest schedule in 2024, with the AFC South as dangerous as it has been in some time.
The Dolphins are 3-8 all-time against the Texans, including 0-5 on the road.
Dolphins at Cleveland Browns
Three years have passed since the Dolphins’ failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson, but this will be the first time Tagovailoa will face off against the player with whom Brian Flores wanted to replace him less than two years into his career.
Since his trade to Cleveland in early 2022, Watson has appeared in just 12 games (going 8-4), with a 59.8 completion percentage, a 6.5 yards-per-attempt average, and an 81.7 passer rating.
Tagovailoa, meanwhile, is 19-11 in the regular season over the last two years, with a far superior completion percentage (67.4), yards-per-pass average (8.5), and passer rating (102.9).
Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans
Revenge games are usually overrated, but there’s no understating how disastrous the Titans’ result was for the Dolphins’ 2023 regular season.
Miami blew a 14-point lead with three minutes remaining, a loss that not only cost them the AFC East but also sent them to Arctic Kansas City in the Wild Card round.
The Titans should be better in 2024 than they were in 2023, with Will Levis surrounded by the best weapons of his life (DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, and Treylon Burks) in NFL Season 2.
