The Miami Dolphins were not a good football team last year. They weren't very good the year before either. Needless to say, they will likely be worse in 2026. The NFL will probably know this as well.
Unlike the annual overhyping of the New York Jets that puts them on primetime TV far more than they deserve, the Dolphins are not likely to get such a luxury, and the fans shouldn't care. A slew of mid-afternoon games, especially in South Florida, may be just what this team needs.
Every NFL team plays at least one game on the national stage. Typically, Thursday nights are where that one game lands. Will the Dolphins play on Monday or Sunday night this year? Maybe.
Miami Dolphins have few chances to be in primetime slots in 2026
No matter how bad the Dolphins are projected to be, they are still a draw for games under the lights. In 2026, there are plenty of games that stand out as potential standalone games for the NFL.
L.A. Chargers at Miami Dolphins
This has primetime written all over it. The Chargers will return to Miami with their shiny new OC, Mike McDaniel. It's unclear if the Dolphins' former coach will be in the booth or on the field, but in this game, he may be on the sidelines just to show his face.
McDaniel was surprised when he was fired. He told friends and coaches that he was being retained, but on the day before Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired, the HC position opened for the team's new GM.
The Chargers shouldn't have a problem beating the Dolphins, but the league will take every opportunity to milk his return.
Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers
If McDaniel's return to Miami is a big deal, then surely Hafley and Sullivan's return to Green Bay will be as well. Dolphins fans can get behind this, especially if it is played late in the year under adverse weather conditions. Nothing says Green Bay South like watching this regime show that it can compete in cold weather.
Of course, the real draw won't be Hafley on the sidelines to face his friend Matt LaFleur; it will be the return of Malik Willis that will draw the most conversations around social media. Willis looked good when he was on the field in Green Bay, but it was a short showcase window. Returning to play for the Packers is fitting a year after he left as a free agent.
Any Monday or Sunday night game in the final month
Dolphins fans might not like this, but if I were the NFL scheduling department, I'd put the Dolphins on Sunday and Monday night the last few weeks of the season. Why? Because the Dolphins can be flexed out of those games. If the NFL wants to put playoff-contending teams in primetime, the best way to do that is to put bad teams on the schedule first.
This would allow the league to hand pick those late in the season match ups with playoff implications. A team like the Dolphins, who are not expected to be very good, will get the early primetime buzz, while the NFL will get the late-season option to move them off the schedule and back to a 1:00 Sunday kickoff.
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