The Dolphins announced Thursday their 2026 schedule, which features eight games at Hard Rock Stadium and nine more on the road. Miami's 61st campaign will kick off on the road at Las Vegas, while the home opener will take place in Week 3 with the Kansas City Chiefs visiting South Florida.
The Dolphins will play nine games against seven different playoff teams from 2025, which is tied for the third most in the NFL behind Denver (10) and Seattle (10). Four of those nine games will be against division champions while five will be played on the road.
Here's a week-by-week breakdown and a look at each of the Dolphins' opponents in 2026.
Week 1 | Las Vegas Raiders (Sunday, Sept. 13 at Las Vegas)
Miami will travel to Las Vegas for the first time since 2021 to kick off the 2026 regular season. This will be the 39th time in franchise history that the team opens the season on the road and the second-consecutive year doing so. It will also be just the third time in team history that the Dolphins play the Raiders to start a season (1966, 1975), including Miami's first game as a franchise in 1966.
It's a new era in Las Vegas as first-time Head Coach Klint Kubiak gets to work with No. 1 overall draft pick, quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and college football national champion, is joined in the room by veteran Kirk Cousins, the latest in a flurry of veteran signings. The Raiders also added center Tyler Linderbaum, linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, cornerback Taron Johnson, defensive end Kwity Paye and offensive lineman Spencer Burford in free agency.
Week 2 | San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, Sept. 20 at San Francisco)
The Dolphins will remain on the road for Week 2, heading further west to visit the 49ers in Santa Clara. This will be the 16th time in history the Dolphins have played back-to-back road games to start a season and Miami's first visit to Levi's Stadium since 2022.
After a down year in 2024, the 49ers returned to the postseason in 2025. Under Head Coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have made the playoffs five times, won 12 or more games four times and notched nine postseason victories. The offense returns several Pro Bowlers, including tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Joining the group is six-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans, along with Christian Kirk, who will join the wide receiver room to give quarterback Brock Purdy plenty of weapons.
Week 3 | Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, Sept. 27 at Miami)
The Dolphins will open their home slate in Week 3 when they host the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and failed to reach at least the AFC Championship Game for the first time since naming Patrick Mahomes their starting quarterback in 2018. Mahomes, a two-time NFL MVP, suffered a torn ACL injury in December. The Chiefs' main objective this offseason was to bolster the running game – mission accomplished via Super Bowl LX MVP, running back Kenneth Walker.
Kansas City dealt Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams, then traded up from the ninth pick to the sixth slot to take LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Week 4 | Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, Oct. 4 at Minnesota)
The Vikings offense went from ninth in scoring in 2024 to 26th last season. Enter quarterback Kyler Murray. If Murray can lift the Minnesota offense, with a defense that finished fifth and seventh in scoring the last two seasons, the Vikings have a great shot at returning to the postseason.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson has gained 8,480 yards in six seasons but is coming off a year with career-lows with 1,048 yards and just two touchdowns. He remains one of the premier playmakers in the game and rounds out a loaded Vikings receiving room with Jordan Addison and newcomer Jauan Jennings.
Week 5 | Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, Oct. 11 at Miami)
The Bengals made the biggest trade of the offseason by shipping the No. 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Giants for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Repairing a defense that finished 31st, 25th and 31st in total defense the last three seasons was a priority and Cincinnati also added defensive end Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook and defensive tackle Jonthan Allen. It'll be a group effort to replace the departed Trey Hendrickson, who tallied 61.0 sacks in a five-year Bengals career.
The Bengals high-powered offense remains intact as quarterback Joe Burrow returns with his pair of top-tier receivers, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The pair combined for 2,258 receiving yards in 2025 despite Burrow playing in just eight games.
Weeks 7 & 12 | New York Jets (Sunday, Oct. 25 at N.Y. Jets | Sunday, Nov. 29 at Miami)
The Dolphins' first divisional matchup of the 2026 season will be on the road against the Jets in Week 7.
Quarterback Geno Smith resumes his career in the same place where it began, and he has a re-stocked Jets offense to guide. After back-to-back first-round picks on the offensive line in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou in 2024 and 2025, New York used two of its three first-round selections in 2026 on tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
The Jets also invested in the defense via free agency and the draft. Texas Tech defense end David Bailey was the Jets' second overall pick in April. He joins a unit full of veteran additions. New York inked linebacker Demario Davis, defensive tackle David Onyemata and traded for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Weeks 8 & 18 | New England Patriots (Sunday, Nov. 1 at Miami | Jan. 9 or 10 at New England)
The defending AFC champions might be only just scratching the surface of their potential. Third-year quarterback Drake Maye was the NFL's runner-up in the MVP voting following a season with 4,394 passing yards 31 touchdowns tosses. Gone is last year's receiving leader Stefon Diggs and in his place is the Patriots big free agent splash, Romeo Doubs from the Packers.
Week 9 | Detroit Lions (Sunday, Nov. 8 at Miami)
The Lions had a chance to make the postseason in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1993-95 but came up just shy in 2025. However, a winning campaign in 2026 would give the Lions five consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 1930s.
Detroit, who features star running back Jahmyr Gibbs, built the offensive line both in free agency and the draft. They signed center Cade Mayes, guard Juice Scruggs, tackle Larry Borom and spent the 17th pick in the draft on tackle Blake Miller. In three NFL seasons, Gibbs has scored 49 touchdowns and produced 5,029 yards from scrimmage.
Week 10 | Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Nov. 15 at Indianapolis)
The Colts extended quarterback Daniel Jones after his impressive start to the 2025 season. After opening 7-1, Indianapolis went 1-8 over its final nine games and saw its newly established franchise quarterback suffer a torn Achilles in the process. The Colts hope to recapture some of that early-season success by bringing back Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce, both of whom were set to hit free agency.
The 2026 season will also be the first full year in Indianapolis for cornerback Sauce Gardner, whom the team acquired from the Jets at the 2025 trade deadline.
Weeks 11 & 17 | Buffalo Bills (Sunday, Nov. 22 at Buffalo | Sunday, Jan. 3 at Miami)
It's a new era for the Bills as they say goodbye to old Ralph Wilson Stadium after 53 seasons and open up the brand-new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. There's also a change up top as Head Coach Joe Brady takes over for Sean McDermott, following a nine-year run that produced a 98-50 record and eight playoff wins.
With any coaching change personnel turnover follows. Stalwart cornerback Taron Johnson and linebacker Matt Milano are gone from the defense, but Buffalo reinforced its pass rush with Bradley Chubb and second-round pick T.J. Parker. The Bills also acquired wide receiver D.J. Moore via a trade involving a second-round pick, giving quarterback Josh Allen another weapon in the passing game. Running back James Cook won the 2025 rushing title with 1,621 yards, helping make Buffalo's offense one of the NFL's most balanced attacks.
Week 13 | Denver Broncos (Sunday, Dec. 6 at Denver)
The Broncos were one win away from their first Super Bowl appearance since 2015. Second-year quarterback Bo Nix missed the AFC Championship Game after suffering a broken ankle in the divisional-round win over Buffalo. Nix has a new weapon in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, an explosive playmaker who has averaged roughly 1,100 receiving yards per season.
The bulk of Denver's suffocating defense returns, led by 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Patrick Surtain. Denver racked up a league-leading 68 sacks last season led by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto. He finished fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting with 14 sacks of his own.
Week 14 | Chicago Bears (Sunday, Dec. 13 at Miami)
The Bears were the cardiac team of the 2025 season, winning 11 games and the NFC North behind a series of narrow victories, including a thrilling overtime win over the rival Packers.
The offense broke out under first-year Head Coach Ben Johnson and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, helping Chicago produce one of the highest-scoring seasons in franchise history.
The Bears will need to replace a pair of veteran stalwarts, as wide receiver D.J. Moore was traded to Buffalo and center Drew Dalman retired.
Week 15 | Green Bay Packers (Sunday, Dec. 20 at Green Bay)
The Packers were 9-3-1 before dropping their final four regular-season games to finish 9-7-1, a slide that began after star defensive end Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in a Week 15 loss at Denver.
It was an offseason of significant turnover for Green Bay. Departures included defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, now the Dolphins' head coach, defensive end Rashan Gary, wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, and linebacker Quay Walker. The Packers were also without a first-round pick, as the selection was part of the trade package to acquire Parsons.
Hafley returns to Green Bay alongside new Dolphins' General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who spent more than two decades with the Packers.
Week 16 | Los Angeles Chargers (Sunday, Dec. 27 at Miami)
Coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, the Chargers are in search of their first playoff victory since 2018. Starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt return after missing a combined 28 games last season and should help keep quarterback Justin Herbert upright after he was sacked on 9.5 percent of his dropbacks, the third-highest rate in the NFL.
Defensively, Los Angeles ranked ninth and first in points allowed over the past two seasons under coordinator Jesse Minter, who parlayed that success into the head coaching job in Baltimore. Chris O'Leary replaces him after serving in the same role at Western Michigan in 2025. On offense, the Chargers added former Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator.
