Dolphins 2023 Schedule Update and Possibilities
The Miami Dolphins' 2023 game against the Kansas City Chiefs has the makings of a marquee matchup, but it apparently will not be the Chiefs' scheduled home game in Germany.
Per a report in the Sunday notes column from Boston Globe NFL writer Ben Volin, the Detroit Lions "believe they will play the Chiefs in Germany in 2023, per one team official."
The NFL announced in January that the Chiefs would be among five teams with a home game in Europe during the 2023 season. The Chiefs and New England Patriots each will play a home game in Germany, with one in Munich and the other in Frankfurt. The Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans will play at London's Tottenheim Stadium, and the Jacksonville Jaguars will play their usual game at Wembley Stadium.
The Dolphins' eight scheduled road games for 2023 include the Chiefs, as well as obviously the Bills and Patriots.
So, if the math is correct, they entered the offseason with a 37.5 percent chance of playing in Europe in 2023, and that would go down to 25 percent if the report about the Lions being the opponent for the Chiefs is accurate.
Based on when the schedule was released in 2022, it could be several weeks before we know for sure all the teams involved in the European games next season and whether the Dolphins will be one of them.
The NFL didn't announce all the teams involved in the international games last year until May 4, eight days before the full regular season schedule was revealed.
There has been no announcement as to when the full 2023 regular season schedule will be announced; the NFL had an announcement May 5 last year that the schedule would be released seven days later.
DOLPHINS-CHIEFS AND THE KICKOFF GAME POSSIBILITY
While Dolphins-Chiefs might not be happening in Germany, there's still a possibility it could happen in the kickoff game.
As the winners of Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs will get the honor of playing at home on the first Thursday night of the season, which will be Sept. 7.
Along with the Dolphins making the playoffs in 2022, Tyreek Hill's return to Kansas City could make this an attractive matchup for the NFL.
But K.C. has an attractive slate of home games from which the NFL can choose, including matchups against the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, the team it defeated in the Super Bowl.
The kickoff opener has featured the two Super Bowl participants from the previous season once — in 2016, the Denver Broncos opened with a 21-20 victory against the Carolina Panthers.
A Buffalo-K.C. matchup featuring star quarterbacks Josh Allen and Mahomes would be tempting, but let's remember that the Bills were on the road in the 2022 opener when they faced the defending Super Bowl champion Rams at SoFi Stadium and left with a 31-10 victory.
Kansas City's other home opponents for 2023 are AFC West rivals Denver, Las Vegas and the Los Angeles Chargers, along with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
Based on the Boston Globe report, though, the Lions would be out of contention for the season opener.
In his weekly "Football Morning in America" column, Peter King made the argument against Buffalo, Cincinnati or Philadelphia as the kickoff opponent for Kansas City because the NFL might want to distribute those marquee games among its other TV partners — CBS, NBC, ESPN.
King ended that segment of his column by pointing out the logical options would be Las Vegas if the Raiders end up with Aaron Rodgers as their new QB, otherwise a choice of Denver, the Dolphins or the L.A. Chargers.
Of the last three options, though, remember that Denver played in prime time in Week 1 last year and the Chargers played at Kansas City in the Week 2 Thursday night game last season, so maybe the NFL will want a different angle.
THE DOLPHINS' 2023 OPPONENTS
As a reminder, here's the full slate of 2023 opponents for the Dolphins:
Home
Buffalo
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders
Tennesse Titans
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Carolina Panthers
Away
Buffalo
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Baltimore Ravens
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders
