NFL Going to Australia in 2026 and the Dolphins Angle

The Miami Dolphins potentially could face the Los Angeles Rams as the road team during the '26 season

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler (92) celebrates in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium during the 2024 season. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Weeks after the Miami Dolphins were announced as the host team for the first-ever regular season game in Spain next season, the NFL announced this week that the Los Angeles Rams would do the same for the first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia, in 2026.

So, naturally, the first instinct is to look at the list of Rams opponents for that 2026 season, and it currently does not include the Dolphins — though it could, and for a game where the Rams would be the home team.

Allow us to explain.

Based on the NFL's scheduling formula, the NFC teams will get the ninth home game that season and the divisional pairings for that extra interconference matchup has the AFC East facing the NFC West. That means the Dolphins will face the L.A. Rams as the road team in 2026 if the teams finish in the same position in their division — they did that in 2023 when Miami was second in the AFC East behind the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles was second in the NFC West behind the San Francisco 49ers.

But even if the Dolphins do wind up being on the Rams' schedule in 2026, it's difficult to envision the NFL making them the opponents for the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

For starters, the NFL doesn't generally make it a habit of having teams — other than the Jacksonville Jaguars — play international games in back-to-back seasons, though it has happened in the past. Most recently, it was the New England Patriots playing in Germany in 2023 and England in 2024.

Then there's the issue of distance. It's a 16-hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, and tack on four additional hours for a flight from Miami. It seems like an awfully big ask for a team to fly that extra time, particularly when there are obvious alternatives.

We can start with the Rams' NFC West opponents, the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. And in 2026, the Rams are scheduled for a home game against the Los Angeles Chargers, which certainly seems like a logical candidate for the game.

THE DOLPHINS' POTENTIAL SPAIN OPPONENTS

Long before we find out the Rams' opponent for that Australia game in 2026, we'll learn who the Dolphins will face in Spain next season.

As a reminder, the Dolphins' home opponents for 2025 are, besides the other AFC East teams, Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, the L.A. Chargers and the Washington Commanders.

Two of those matchups would feature a battle between quarterbacks from the 2020 draft class, Tua Tagovailoa against either Joe Burrow and the Bengals or Tagovailoa against Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

DOLPHINS INTERNATIONAL HISTORY

The Dolphins, of course, are no strangers to overseas games, having played six of those already.

The last one was the 2023 game in Germany against the Kansas City Chiefs when the Dolphins lost 21-14 as the road team.

The Dolphins have also played five games in England, starting with the first-ever regular-season international game in 2007, a 17-7 loss against the New York Giants.

The Dolphins also defeated the Oakland Raiders (38-14) in London in 2014, lost against the New York Jets (27-14) in London in 2015, lost against the New Orleans Saints (20-0) in 2017, and lost against the Jacksonville Jaguars (23-20) in 2021.

Additionally, during the 2008 regular season, the Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills, 16-3, in Toronto, Canada.