In anticipation of the Miami Dolphins’ 2024 season, here are the five most intriguing games I believe are on the 2024 Miami Dolphins schedule.
1. Week 2 Thursday Night Football at home against the Buffalo Bills is a crucial opportunity for Mike McDaniel and Tua to prove they can beat the Beast of the AFC East. This is regardless of the fact that the Dolphins’ biggest advantage of playing at 1 pm in September won’t be a factor here; Miami enters this game needing to beat Buffalo finally. If the Dolphins can knock off the Buffalo Bills and finally get rid of the Josh Allen monkey on their back, it will be a huge step forward for the team.
2. Week 4 Monday Night Football Home against the Tennessee Titans—In this rematch of last year’s week 14 debacle against the Titans, as the last two minutes of that game changed the whole trajectory of the season for the Dolphins. Does Miami find the killer instinct they lacked last season and get revenge on the Titans? Or will the Titans bring back the terrible feeling of last year’s heartbreaking defeat?
3. Week 13 of the NFL season features a prime-time Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers. It is also another cold-weather game against a fellow 2020 draft-class alumni, Jordan Love. A night game at Lambeau Field will be tough to play in. The Dolphins must prove they can run the ball in cold-weather games and beat good teams if they want to compete for a Super Bowl.
4. Week 14 at home against the New York Jets – Tua vs. Aaron Rodgers – a quarterback who made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play for the Dolphins before being traded to the Jets. Is Tua able to beat Aaron Rodgers and remain unbeaten against the Jets? The question now is whether Aaron Rodgers will show the Miami Dolphins what could have been by putting a damper on the Dolphins’ chances of winning the AFC East in this late-season clash of bitter enemies.
5. The master versus the apprentice in week 16 at home vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Shanahan vs Mike McDaniel. The media calls it a match-up between the ultimate game managers with Tua Tagovailoa vs Brock Purdy. Is it possible for Miami to take revenge on its defeat two years ago? This might be the Dolphins’ toughest home test of the year against the NFC Champion 49ers
Bonus – Week 15 away game against the Houston Texans. Could the Dolphins make a statement and prove they are better than the Texans and CJ Stroud? Having to play in Houston is one of the league’s loudest stadiums.