Unlikely, but Miami Dolphins could play in London twice in 2020

The Miami Dolphins could conceivably play in London twice in 2020 and while it is a stretch to believe that could happen, there is a possibility.

To be clear, there are no rumors that say the Miami Dolphins could will, or maybe scheduled to play twice in London as part of the leagues International Series. The Dolphins will play one game, a home game yet to be determined.

The Dolphins opted to give up a home game in 2020 with the hopes of landing another Super Bowl in the future. The NFL requires a team wanting to host the Super Bowl to play a home game in one of the International series games.

Last month a rumor was being circulated by FOX Mexico that Miami would be heading to Mexico City in 2020 but the NFL said that was an erroneous report (or simply “we won’t confirm that because they stole our thunder”). That brings us to London.

If Miami is not playing in Mexico then they will play in London. Miami will give up the home game but they also will play the Jaguars on the road in 2020 and the Jaguars will play two games in London this year. Those games will be back-to-back home games for the Jaguars.

Considering that the Jaguars will now have only six home games in Jacksonville and the Miami Dolphins is one of them, could the Dolphins play in back-to-back weekends in the U.K.?

Maybe. More than likely not. The Jaguars are the first NFL team to play two games out of the country in the same season so putting the Dolphins on the schedule for them would steal some of their own thunder so to speak and I can’t believe I used that phrase twice in one article.

Yet the possibility still remains.

"“…the Jaguars can confirm that their home games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears in 2020 will be played in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Field.” –Jaguars.com"

The above quote was from an article on the Jaguars official web site. Two of their games for the 2020 season have been confirmed to be in Jacksonville. That leaves six other teams that will visit Jacksonville, of those four, two will be played in London. The Dolphins, Texans, Colts, Titans, Browns, and Lions are on the Jaguars’ home schedule.

The NFL is not a nice league office so we can’t rule out that one of the division games will be played in London but if I were the Jaguars, I would be telling the NFL to keep my division games at home. It would make sense and would be a small concession by the league. Let us assume that the NFL agrees with that line of thinking.

The Texans, Colts, and Titans would all play in Jacksonville and with Chicago and Pittsburgh already confirmed, five of the Jaguars games in Jacksonville will have been set. This leaves one more home game and two London games with the Dolphins, Lions, and Browns remaining.

More from Phin Phanatic

• 4 offensive tackles Miami Dolphins could draft at 51
• Miami Dolphins don’t need CB help but these 5 could be available at 51
• 4 players that could replace Wilkins if Miami Dolphins don’t re-sign him
• Miami Dolphins have a starting point with Wilkins after Simmons deal
• The Miami Dolphins should not take a running back in the draft

Of course, this is predicated on the NFL leaving the division games in the United States. Looking at the remaining three teams, the Lions make a lot of sense to play in London given they are an out of conference game. That would leave Cleveland and Miami.

Honestly, if this all played out I would think Cleveland would get that other game in London but if the league sees fit, the Dolphins schedule could make them the first or second team to play in London twice in a season. It would look something like this.

Miami hosts team X one weekend and then plays the Jaguars as the visiting team a week later. The other scenario would be the Jaguars host team X one weekend, host the Dolphins the following weekend, and the Dolphins stay in London to host team Y the following weekend.

As crazy as it sounds, it is possible but if I were a betting man, I would think this will not be the case, although to be honest, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the league. Consider that the Jaguars are making their presence known in the European market and the Dolphins already have a strong fan base there as it is. Two Florida teams playing in three consecutive weeks would be a win for both franchises and for the league.

Again, there is nothing out there on this that I have seen to make me think this is a possibility. It’s simply speculation on the possibility that it could.