The Dolphins open a genuinely new era in 2026. Jeff Hafley takes over as head coach after Mike McDaniel was fired in January, and the roster he inherited no longer has Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill on it. Miami is trying to end a 17-year AFC East title drought and a 25-season wait for a playoff win.
The schedule itself has one striking feature: there is no prime time on it. Every one of Miami’s 17 games is currently slotted into a Sunday afternoon window. Here’s the full slate.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time (ET) / TV | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun, Sept. 13 | at Las Vegas Raiders | 4:25 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 2 | Sun, Sept. 20 | at San Francisco 49ers | 4:25 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 3 | Sun, Sept. 27 | vs. Kansas City Chiefs | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 4 | Sun, Oct. 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | 4:05 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 5 | Sun, Oct. 11 | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 6 | — | BYE WEEK | — | — |
| 7 | Sun, Oct. 25 | at New York Jets | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 8 | Sun, Nov. 1 | vs. New England Patriots | 4:25 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 9 | Sun, Nov. 8 | vs. Detroit Lions | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 10 | Sun, Nov. 15 | at Indianapolis Colts | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 11 | Sun, Nov. 22 | at Buffalo Bills | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 12 | Sun, Nov. 29 | vs. New York Jets | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 13 | Sun, Dec. 6 | at Denver Broncos | 4:05 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 14 | Sun, Dec. 13 | vs. Chicago Bears | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 15 | Sun, Dec. 20 | at Green Bay Packers | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 16 | Sun, Dec. 27 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 17 | Sun, Jan. 3 | vs. Buffalo Bills | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 18 | TBD | at New England Patriots | TBD | — |
Week 18 dates, times and networks are announced only after Week 17 concludes. Prime-time and late-afternoon games remain subject to the NFL’s flexible scheduling rules, so this slate can still change during the season.
Games That Will Define the Dolphins’ Season
| Game | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Week 3 vs. Kansas City | Hafley’s home debut arrives against Andy Reid. Miami opens with two straight West Coast road trips before this one, so the Dolphins could be 0-2 walking into it. |
| Week 8 vs. New England | The defending AFC champions come to Hard Rock right after Miami’s bye. If the Dolphins are going to make the division interesting, this is the swing game. |
| Week 11 at Buffalo | A late-November trip to Highmark Stadium, historically Miami’s least forgiving road environment, against a Bills team under first-year coach Joe Brady. |
| Weeks 17-18 vs. Buffalo, at New England | Miami closes with back-to-back division games. If the Dolphins are alive in January, the season ends exactly where it should — inside the AFC East. |
How the Schedule Sets Up
The opening month is the hard part. Miami flies to Las Vegas and then San Francisco on back-to-back Sundays, hosts Kansas City, and goes back on the road to Minnesota — four of the first five weeks against teams from outside the division, three of them away from Hard Rock. A Week 6 bye arrives early, which means the Dolphins play 12 straight to finish the year.
The back half is friendlier on paper. Miami hosts Detroit, Chicago, the Chargers and Buffalo in the second half, and its December road games are at Denver and Green Bay — cold-weather trips that have historically been a problem for this franchise. Five of the nine games against 2025 playoff teams come on the road. The eight-home, nine-road split doesn’t help either, and neither does the complete absence of a national showcase window for a team the league clearly isn’t sure about yet. For the other side of the Week 8 matchup, see our New England Patriots 2026 schedule. Full league dates are at NFL.com.
The Bottom Line
Hafley inherits a rebuilt roster and a schedule that front-loads the difficulty: two West Coast trips to start, Kansas City in Week 3, an early bye, then twelve consecutive games. The path to relevance runs through the six AFC East games, four of which land in the second half. Nine dates against 2025 playoff teams is a genuinely tough draw for a first-year coach, and the league scheduled Miami accordingly — no prime time, no international game, no Saturday showcase. Prove it on Sunday afternoons first.