Dolphins Schedule Spotlight: the Rest Disadvantage

The Miami Dolphins have two short weeks during the month of November

Alain Poupart | May 24, 2024

Jalen Ramsey against the Las Vegas Raiders last November / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

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Miami Dolphins

It's been well established by now that the Miami Dolphins have a difficult season-ending six-game stretch in their 2024 schedule, but there's another element adding to the challenge.

It comes in the form of rest differential between them and their opponents, and it actually started with Week 11, two weeks before the game against the Green Bay Packers starts the season-ending gauntlet.

According to research from Sharp Football Analysis, the Dolphins will have a minus-18 differential of days between games over the final eight weeks, the worst differential in the league.

The specifics are as such:

-- Week 11 vs. Las Vegas: The Dolphins will be on a short week coming off their Monday night road game against the L.A. Rams, while the Raiders will be coming off their bye.

-- Week 14 vs. N.Y. Jets: This is the one game during that stretch that favors Miami from a rest standpoint because they will be coming off the Thursday night at Green Bay the previous week, while the Jets will be coming off a Sunday game.

-- Week 15 at Houston: The Dolphins will play on the road against a Texans team coming off its bye.

-- Week 16 vs. San Francisco: It's a third consecutive Sunday game for Miami, this one against a 49ers team playing on Thursday night the previous week, therefore having three more days rest.

-- Week 17 at Cleveland: Same scenario as Week 16. As if the challenge of playing a night December game in Cleveland weren't enough, the Dolphins will be doing it against a team coming off another Thursday night game.

The Dolphins also will have a rest deficit early in the season, in Week 5 when they play at New England after facing the Tennessee Titans in a Monday night game at Hard Rock Stadium.

The only two games on the schedule where the Dolphins actually have a rest advantage will come in Week 7 when they'll be coming off their bye to face the Indianapolis Colts on the road and in Week 8 when they face the Arizona Cardinals, who will be coming off a Monday night game.

Overall, the Dolphins' schedule ranks 26th in the NFL in terms of rest differential, according to Sharp Football Analysis, at minus-8 days. San Francisco is last at minus-21. The other AFC East team all have positive rest differentials — New England is at plus-12, the Bills and Jets at plus-5 each.

The Baltimore Ravens have the best rest differential in the NFL at plus-16 days, per Sharp Football Analysis.

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of AllDolphins.com and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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