NFL schedule-makers remind Miami Dolphins that respect must be earned in 2021

Adam H. Beasley
·4 min read

The NFL is approaching the 2021 Miami Dolphins season similarly to a lot of the team’s hard-luck fans:

Let’s wait and see before we crown them.

After going largely forgotten by much of America — or at least America’s network TV executives — the past two years, the Dolphins finally are getting some respect. But not as much as they probably deserve.

They will appear on national television no fewer than three times in 2021 — including a return visit to London where they’ll face the Jacksonville Jaguars at 9:30 a.m. Miami time on Oct. 17.

But one elusive token of validation remained, well, elusive.

For the fourth consecutive season, the league left the Dolphins off its Sunday Night Football slate — the keystone game of the NFL weekend reserved for the either the best teams, or the most watched.

What’s more, the Dolphins’ two prime-time games — Thursday, Nov. 11, against the Ravens at Hard Rock and Monday, Dec. 27 at the Saints — were the fewest among the 13 NFL teams that won 10 or more games last year.

The front-end of the Dolphins’ schedule is certainly its most challenging, at least on paper. They open with four road games in the first six weeks and play three playoff teams plus the Patriots in the first month.

Capping that grueling opening stretch? A visit to the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 10.

Speaking of New England, Bill Belichick’s club will bookend Miami’s season. The Dolphins visit Foxboro in Week 1 (Sept. 12) and then host the Patriots in the finale (Jan. 9).

Still, the Dolphins shouldn’t complain too much. They have two more home games than true road games — a function of the league expanding the schedule to 18 weeks and the NFL’s decision to send Miami to London for a game that was supposed to be in Jacksonville. The Jets, who play in London against the Falcons the week before, have a similar advantage.

The Dolphins will not have a scheduled bye the week after their London game, which is usually when it falls for teams who visit the UK. Instead, they will host the Falcons on Oct. 24 and take their bye on Dec. 12 — that’s Week 14, the latest in team history.

But again, the NFL — either intentionally or not — did the Dolphins a solid. Miami plays north of the Mason-Dixon line just once after Nov. 1 — and might not have a cold-weather game after visiting the Jets on Nov. 21.

As usual, the Dolphins are on the road the weekend of the Orange Bowl (which this year will be a College Football Playoff semifinal game). They travel to Nashville to play the Titans on Jan 2.

Three former league MVPs will visit Hard Rock Stadium this fall: Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (Oct. 24), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (Nov. 11) and New England’s Cam Newton.

The Dolphins are making their fifth trip to London, but this will be their first time playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They have lost three of their previous four games in the UK.

As for the preseason, the Dolphins open at Chicago on Aug. 14, host Atlanta on Aug. 21 and then visit Cincinnati on Aug. 29.

Miami Dolphins 2021 schedule

Week 1: Sept. 12 at New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, CBS, 4:25 p.m.

Week 2: Sept. 19 vs. Buffalo Bills, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX, 1 p.m.

Week 3: Sept. 26 at Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, CBS, 4:05 p.m.

Week 4: Oct. 3 vs. Indianapolis Colts, Hard Rock Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

Week 5: Oct. 10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

Week 6: Oct. 17 at Jacksonville Jaguars, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London), CBS, 9:30 a.m.

Week 7: Oct. 24 vs. Atlanta Falcons, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX, 1 p.m.

Week 8: Oct. 31 at Buffalo Bills, Highmark Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

Week 9: Nov. 7 vs. Houston Texans, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX, 1 p.m.

Week 10: Nov. 11 vs. Baltimore Ravens, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX/NFLN/Amazon, 8:20 p.m.

Week 11: Nov. 21 at New York Jets, MetLife Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

Week 12: Nov. 28 vs. Carolina Panthers, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX, 1 p.m.

Week 13: Dec. 5 vs. New York Giants, Hard Rock Stadium, FOX, 1 p.m.

Week 14: Bye

Week 15: Dec. 18 or 19 vs. New York Jets, Hard Rock Stadium, TBD, TBD

Week 16: Dec. 27 at New Orleans Saints, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, ESPN, 8:15 p.m.

Week 17: Jan. 2 at Tennessee Titans, Nissan Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

Week 18: Jan. 9 vs. New England Patriots, Hard Rock Stadium, CBS, 1 p.m.

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