Dolphins Schedule Reports: Hitting the Road Early

Looks like the Miami Dolphins' new era under GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley will get started on the road — and with back-to-back away games.

Along with the international games and selected matchups unveiled by the NFL in recent days, additional games began leaking (or being reported) Wednesday and one of those involved the Dolphins' season opener.

That game will have Miami facing the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in a 4:05 p.m. ET start, according to the schedule-focused account NFL Nerds (which has a good track record for accuracy).

This would mark the third season opener against the Raiders, though the first two took place all the way back in 1966 (the Dolphins' first-ever game) and 1975, with the Raiders winning both.

The Dolphins last played at Allegiant Stadium early in the 2021 season and they left Las Vegas with a 31-28 overtime loss.

This would be the second consecutive road season opener for the Dolphins after their humbling 33-8 loss against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2025.

ROAD WARRIORS TO START

Assuming the report is accurate, this almost assuredly would mean starting off the season with two road games for the Dolphins.

The telltale sign here is Hard Rock Stadium being the site of concerts by pop artist Bruno Mars on the nights of September 19 and September 20, the Saturday and Sunday of Week 2 of the NFL season.

Setting up and dismantling a stage is not an insignificant task, so the idea of the Dolphins playing at home in the Week 2 Monday night game seems unrealistic and the Week 2 Thursday night game already has been announced and will feature the Buffalo Bills opening their new stadium against the Detroit Lions.

Opening his first head-coaching season with back-to-back road games would put Hafley in the same company as former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase when Miami opened their 2016 season with road games against the Seattle Seahawks and New England.

The Dolphins lost both games but turned things around and wound up earning a playoff spot with a 10-6 record.

Las Vegas is one of the Dolphins' two games in the Pacific Time Zone in 2026, the other being against the San Francisco 49ers, so the possibility does exist that the Week 2 game could be the one at Levi's Stadium, which would give Miami the option of simply staying out west between both games.

The Dolphins last opened with two road games in 2023 when they defeated the L.A. Chargers and New England, kicking off a season that would end with an 11-6 record.

JETS MATCHUP

The Dolphins-Las Vegas report was followed by another, from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, indicating the New York Jets would open their season against the Tennessee Titans and their former head coach, Robert Saleh.

That would contradict another report from Wednesday suggested it was the Jets who the Dolphins would face in their opener.

Another report has the Dolphins facing the Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 7.

DOLPHINS 2026 OPPONENTS

As a reminder, the Dolphins' 2026 opponents will be:

Home
Buffalo
New England
N.Y. Jets
Cincinnati
Kansas City
L.A. Chargers
Chicago
Detroit

Away
Buffalo
New England
N.Y. Jets
Indianapolis
Denver
Las Vegas
Green Bay
Minnesota
San Francisco

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