Miami Dolphins schedule: The top 3 road games you should go to

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 26: Empty seats are shown as players warm up before a game between the Miami Dolphins and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 26, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NFL games at the stadium are being played without fans in attendance because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 26: Empty seats are shown as players warm up before a game between the Miami Dolphins and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 26, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NFL games at the stadium are being played without fans in attendance because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Dolphins will play nine home games this year and more if they host any playoff games but it is the 8 games on the road you should look at.

Seeing the Dolphins play at Hard Rock Stadium is a pretty cool experience. If you loved the stadium before all the renovations then you will drool over it now. Some of us are only fortunate enough to see one game a year at HRS but there are more fortunate fans that get to see them on the road and those are the games that are especially fun to watch live.

There is nothing like a popcorn shower from two rows behind you and I have never walked out of an opposing team’s stadium and not smelled like beer, and not on my breath. Even as a nine-year-old I witnessed the Dolphins play in Houston and got beer thrown at me for cheering on the Dolphins.

This year, there are three games that stand out as must-see games if you can travel to them. Whether it is the city, the game itself, or things around the game. If you can get there, get there. We won’t include the Jaguars game in London because, well, that’s like “duh”.

Week 3 in Las Vegas will provide Dolphins fans an incredible first look at their new stadium. Some call it the Death Star but it is the newest stadium in the NFL and looks like it would be one helluva place to watch a football game.

Of course, it is Las Vegas and who wouldn’t want to catch a game on Sunday and hit the casino’s Sunday night? That is of course if you have managed to not throw all your money away the night before.

Miami beat the Raiders in Las Vegas last year but due to Covid, no fans were permitted in the stadium. If there is a downside, secondary market tickets are through the roof and likely to go higher now that 2021 will mark the actual first “fan” experience at the stadium.

An interesting side note to this game you may not know, last year the Dolphins were the last team that the Raiders hosted at home in the 2020 season. This year, aside from preseason games, the Ravens will visit in week one and the next home game will be the Dolphins. Miami will have been hosted by the Raiders two out of their last three regular-season home games.

Week 11 in New York sees the return of the MetLife Takeover. Hosted by DolfansNYC, it is the biggest event of the season for fans of the Dolphins away from Miami. The Takeover will sometimes see an entire section filled with Dolphins fans and there is nothing better than seeing Jets fans on either side and outnumbered.

Covid shut down MetLife last year and while DolfansNYC did a great job of supplementing the game with an online event that still raised money for charity, this year, we expect it to be big. How big? Well, check out this 360-degree video I shot a few years back.

Week 16 will take you to New Orleans and for many of us, there is nothing like a trip to the Bayou. If you have never been to Na’wlins, this is a great excuse to go.

From Bourbon Street to the best cajun food in the entire world, New Orleans has a rich history, a million things to experience and encounter, and of course the football game itself. Fans in New Orleans are rabid but they are also very welcoming most of the time.

It’s a great way to start the wind-down to the end of the season and with only two games left after New Orleans, the French Quarter is a perfect vacation spot for late December as you tick off what Miami has to do to make the playoffs.