Dolphins 2026 NFL Schedule Released for Malik Willis, Jeff Hafley's 1st Year

The Miami Dolphins now know their full road ahead as they transition into a new era as their schedule for the 2026-27 season was released on Thursday.

Full schedule information available on the team's official website.

The franchise boasts a new head coach (Jeff Hafley) and general manager (Jon-Eric Sullivan), while Malik Willis got a three-year, $67.5 million contract to succeed Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback.

Under Sullivan's predecessor, Chris Grier, Miami went all in on chasing a Super Bowl. Now, the Dolphins are building for the future, and that may generate some short-term pain.

Analysis

In a bitter piece of irony for the Dolphins given their current state, they have the second-toughest strength of schedule based on opponent winning percentage in 2025.

That number can be a little deceiving because bad teams can improve and good teams can get worse. In the case of the Dolphins, though, there's no sugarcoating how difficult their 2026 schedule is.

Sharing a division with the AFC runner-up New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills is hard enough.

Miami has the misfortune of hitting the road to play the other AFC finalist from last year, the Denver Broncos, along with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers.

The Dolphins' home slate isn't any easier.

The Kansas City Chiefs aren't looking to take a step backward despite Patrick Mahomes recovering from a torn ACL. The Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears were playoff teams from a year ago, and that's what the Detroit Lions' ambitions will be. Even the Cincinnati Bengals, who lost 11 games, will be better as long as Joe Burrow stays fully healthy.

Pivotal Matchups

The organization can't come out and say it outright, but Miami is basically playing for draft position. In particular, the Jaylen Waddle trade laid out Sullivan's priorities in the present.

In a similar vein, the New York Jets will have a hard time convincing anybody they're trying to win when Geno Smith and Brady Cook are the top two QBs in the depth chart. At best, they're treading water until they can find a more permanent solution under center in 2027.

The Las Vegas Raiders spent a lot of money in free agency, but they didn't land one clear difference-maker who made them better overnight. They figure to be starting a rookie, Fernando Mendoza, at quarterback for all or most of 2026. The alternative is a well-past-his-prime Kirk Cousins.

The Dolphins, Jets and Raiders could plausibly be among the five worst teams in the NFL. Should that prove to be the case, Miami's head-to-head encounters with New York and Las Vegas will have big draft implications.