Looking Ahead to Dolphins’ 2026 Bouts in First Half of Season Against Fellow AFC East Teams
The consensus view is that the Miami Dolphins’ regular-season schedule for the upcoming 2026 season will be one of the NFL’s toughest. Folks often point to the fact that the Dolphins’ strength of schedule will be the second-strongest in the league for evidence of this, and that’s totally valid. Miami does have a shocking number of games against teams that were competitive last season, but on closer look, its slate against fellow AFC East teams — specifically in the first half of the season — looks decently favorable.
Across the Dolphins’ first eight games, they have two contests against divisional rivals, and they could very well go on to win both of them. First, they’ll take on the ever-woeful New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 25, and New York has served as little more than Miami’s punching bag over the last several years.
Since the start of this decade, the two teams have faced off 12 times in total in the regular season, with the Dolphins winning all but two of those matchups. Plus, Miami routed New York the last time the two teams met, in December of 2025, by a final score of 34-10.
Not long after their Jets bout, the Dolphins will then host the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium in early November. At first glance, it might be hard to believe that Miami stands a chance against a team that won 14 games in 2025.
But many folks expect the Patriots to come back down to earth in 2026, and history suggests that when the Dolphins and Patriots play in Miami, the home team comes out on top more often than not. After all, New England has a sub-par 2-5 regular-season record at Hard Rock Stadium dating back to 2019, and a 3-8 record dating back to 2016.
Looking Ahead to Dolphins’ 2026 Bouts in First Half of Season Against Fellow AFC East Teams
Looking Ahead to Dolphins’ 2026 Bouts in First Half of Season Against Fellow AFC East Teams
The consensus view is that the Miami Dolphins’ regular-season schedule for the upcoming 2026 season will be one of the NFL’s toughest. Folks often point to the fact that the Dolphins’ strength of schedule will be the second-strongest in the league for evidence of this, and that’s totally valid. Miami does have a shocking number of games against teams that were competitive last season, but on closer look, its slate against fellow AFC East teams — specifically in the first half of the season — looks decently favorable.
Across the Dolphins’ first eight games, they have two contests against divisional rivals, and they could very well go on to win both of them. First, they’ll take on the ever-woeful New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 25, and New York has served as little more than Miami’s punching bag over the last several years.
Since the start of this decade, the two teams have faced off 12 times in total in the regular season, with the Dolphins winning all but two of those matchups. Plus, Miami routed New York the last time the two teams met, in December of 2025, by a final score of 34-10.
Not long after their Jets bout, the Dolphins will then host the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium in early November. At first glance, it might be hard to believe that Miami stands a chance against a team that won 14 games in 2025.
But many folks expect the Patriots to come back down to earth in 2026, and history suggests that when the Dolphins and Patriots play in Miami, the home team comes out on top more often than not. After all, New England has a sub-par 2-5 regular-season record at Hard Rock Stadium dating back to 2019, and a 3-8 record dating back to 2016.
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