The Miami Dolphins have one of the toughest schedules next season. They face off against great teams like the Seahawks, 49ers, and Chiefs on top of their competitive divisional games. Some analysts even have the Dolphins with the third hardest schedule in the league. However, this should not be taken seriously because a lot of things can and will happen this season. Every team faces different curve balls and obstacles each year, and from injuries to trades, anything can happen in a given season. The other teams in the AFC East also have difficult schedules, as they have to play the entire NFC West and AFC West as well. This levels the playing field because other teams in the division will be competing against most of the same teams. The Dolphins’ most important games are not against the Seahawks or even the reigning champions, but against the teams, they play every year. The AFC East is wide open and entering a new era. Every team has something to be excited about and has a chance to take the divisional throne. The key games for the Dolphins to focus on are the divisional games. If they can put together a solid divisional record they will put themselves in a position to potentially win the division.
The 2008 season comes to mind when analyzing this upcoming season. In the 2008 season opener, Tom Brady tore his ACL sidelining him for the rest of the season making Matt Cassel the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. This was the first team in a while that Brady was not the starting quarterback for the Patriots, and many were curious how his absence would affect the division. The Dolphins would end up winning the AFC East with an impressive record of 11-5, and coincidently, the Patriots also went 11-5 in 2008. However, the Dolphins were still crowned divisional champs earning a playoff berth, unlike the Patriots who were not even in the wildcard. The Dolphins had the same divisional record as the Patriots but a better conference record giving them the tiebreaker.
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As noted by the sports investors at Ghost Insights, the Dolphins open the season with two very important and tough divisional games. In week one, the Dolphins travel to Gillette Stadium and face the New England Patriots, and the following week, the Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. The 2020 season starts strong for the Dolphins because these games are very important for this team’s success. Traveling to New England week one gives the Dolphins a chance to build off last year’s momentum. The Dolphins finished out last season strong capping it off with an unimaginable win against the Patriots on the road. This offseason no team has been as aggressive as the Dolphins. The team was extremely active in free agency signing star cornerback Byron Jones, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, running back Jordan Howard, and many others. The Dolphins also have a talented draft class that consists of eleven rookies with one of those being Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa. There are a lot of new faces and a lot of chemistry to build before everyone can play cohesively as a unit, but the Dolphins undoubtedly possess the talent to win. If they can have a successful offseason and smooth out the learning curve, they could come out of Gillette with another win.
Week two against the Buffalo Bills is a huge test for this young team. The Bills appear to be the heavy favorite to win the division, and after this game, we will be able to gauge where the Dolphins stand and how impactful our offseason was. One thing that helps the Dolphins is that this will be quarterback Josh Allen’s first game at Hard Rock in September. The young quarterback will have his first experience in Miami heat, and it is not an easy condition to play in. The Dolphins need to take advantage of playing the Bills early at home especially given that the Dolphins have a very new team. It is going to be interesting to see how well this up and coming team does against the early division favorites.
If the Dolphins drop two games back, they will put themselves in a position of catch up, and they would have to make up those games in tougher matchups against the Seahawks and 49ers. This would make the beginning of the season an uphill battle. If the Dolphins come out of week two with one win and one lose, that would be a good start for this team considering how peculiar this offseason has been and the number of new faces the Dolphins have. Now, if the Dolphins end up coming out of these two weeks undefeated, they are right in the driving seat for AFC East, and it is no longer we are coming but that we are here.
