{"id":295989,"date":"2026-06-04T16:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295989\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:46:21","slug":"which-4-games-will-define-the-miami-dolphins-2026-season-the-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295989\/","title":{"rendered":"Which 4 Games Will Define the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 Season? \u2013 The Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami Dolphins come into the season with the second-toughest schedule.<\/a> Nine of the 17 teams that Miami will play this season have made the playoffs in the past two seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are many familiar foes on the Dolphins\u2019 schedule. There are a handful of games in particular, however, that the Fins and their fans will be focusing on.<\/p>\n

Week 1, at the Las Vegas\u00a0Raiders<\/p>\n

The Dolphins will start the season on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n

The Raiders held the first overall pick this last draft and took Indiana University quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. However, it\u2019s anticipated that he won\u2019t be the starter that day and that it will be veteran Kirk Cousins<\/a>. Last season, he threw for 1,700 yards in 10 games before going down with shoulder and elbow injuries.<\/p>\n

Kirk Cousins is getting all first team snaps at Raiders OTAs today, while Fernando Mendoza is working mostly with rookies. Cousins, Aidan O\u2019Connell and Mendoza appear to be getting equal reps.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sam Warren (@samwarren83) May 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season, Las Vegas averaged a league-worst<\/a> 14 points a game. The Dolphins will be hoping those offensive woes continue and that they can earn a win back to Miami from Allegiant Stadium.<\/p>\n

More importantly, it\u2019s the Dolphin debut of many players, including quarterback Malik Willis<\/a> and first-round pick Kadyn Proctor, among others. Many sports fans are quick to call their teams\u2019 season a success or failure based on the first week of play, so it\u2019s no surprise that the stakes are going to be high in this Week 1 matchup.<\/p>\n

Week 7, at the New York\u00a0Jets<\/p>\n

This will be Head Coach Jeff Hafley\u2019s first game against a divisional opponent in the New York Jets. The Dolphins are 8-2<\/a> against the Jets in the past five years, including a sweep last season.<\/p>\n

Like the Raiders, the Jets were one of the lowest-scoring offenses<\/a> in the NFL last season, only averaging 17 points a game. Additionally, New York, miraculously, had zero interceptions<\/a> on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

The New York Jets made NFL history in the 2025 season\u2026for all the wrong reasons. \ud83d\ude11<\/p>\n

The Jets became the first team in NFL history to collect zero picks throughout the course of a full season. NFL interceptions were first tracked in 1933. pic.twitter.com\/GLEfqBMF2Z<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sportico (@Sportico) January 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dolphins bumped former Texans Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik up from senior passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator in hopes of fixing a bottom-half offense in Miami. The Dolphins fans are circling this matchup against the Jets in particular as a favorable game for the offense on the schedule this year.<\/p>\n

Week 15, at the Green Bay\u00a0Packers<\/p>\n

The Dolphins have not fared well in recent years in cold-weather matchups. Under the previous coaching regime, the Dolphins went 0-7.<\/a><\/p>\n

A December matchup in the frozen tundra has disaster written all over it. However, Hafley and Willis are bound to be fired up to get some revenge on their former team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Packers were a solid squad in 2025 despite their first-round exit, as they were top 15 in yards allowed per game and points per game. The Packers went 5-3 at home last season, and the Fins went 2-6 on the road.<\/p>\n

Week 18, at the New England\u00a0Patriots<\/p>\n

The last week of the season always has big implications for a multitude of reasons. Clinching a first-round bye, clinching your division, squeaking into a playoff spot, or, most likely for the Dolphins, getting themselves closer to the first overall pick in the draft.<\/p>\n

This game is a bit of deja vu for both fan bases as they faced each other in Week 18 last season, where the Fins got killed 38-10. If the Patriots already have the division clinched by then, as they did last year, the Dolphins could be looking at playing the Pats\u2019 backups and finding another win.<\/p>\n

This season will be an important one in Dolphins history. Is Malik Willis a capable starting quarterback in the NFL? Does Hafley have what it takes to run a football team?<\/p>\n

There are a lot of changes and new faces in Miami. But with so much change, there is a lot of excitement and anticipation around this year\u2019s Dolphin squad.<\/p>\n