The One Schedule Change to Expect

The Miami Dolphins have been very consistent in their prime-time results since Mike McDaniel became head coach in 2022, but unfortunately, that's not good news.

The Dolphins have gone 1-3 in night games in each of McDaniel's first three seasons as head coach, and they're 1-2 in 2025 with two prime-time games left — Monday, Dec. 15, against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium and Sunday, Dec. 21, against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium.

However, the reality is that there's a good chance they'll wind up with four prime-time games again this year and therefore might match that record.

That's because flex scheduling figures to get involved and move the Dolphins out of the prime-time slot in their Week 16 matchup against Cincinnati.

Barring a miracle that no one has any right to expect, the Dolphins won't be in playoff contention by the time that Week 16 game arrives, and the Bengals have a 3-5 record, so this doesn't have the makings of a matchup that will attract a lot of viewers.

There's also one matchup right now scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday on that date that looks very intriguing and is almost screaming to get flexed to prime time, and that's Baltimore at New England — and, yes, that's assuming the Ravens go on a little run after their victory against the Dolphins on Thursday night and with a favorable schedule coming up over the next month.

While Monday night games were eligible to be flexed starting last year, there is virtually no chance the Dec. 15 game at Pittsburgh would be moved, as the Steelers are one of the biggest national draws in the NFL and would draw viewers regardless of the opponent.

THE FLEX FORMULA AND THE DOLPHINS HISTORY

If the Dolphins indeed get moved out of their Sunday night slot in Week 16, it would mark the second consecutive season they've been flexed out.

It happened in Week 17 last year for their road game against the Cleveland Browns, which, in that case, was more about the Browns' poor record than what the Dolphins were doing, though they were only 7-8 heading into that game.

The last two years have been a change in the wrong direction for Miami in terms of being flexed because in 2022, the Dolphins had a game against the L.A. Chargers at SoFi Stadium flexed to Sunday night, followed by their road game at Buffalo being selected among five pre-determined matchups as the one to be played on Saturday night in Week 15. Then, in 2023, the Dolphins' Week 18 against the Buffalo Bills, which was to determine the AFC East title, was selected as the final game of the NFL regular season.

2026 SNEAK PEEK

Until further notice, the NFL schedule will remain at 17 regular season games, and the scheduling formula remains in place, which means we already know the opponent for 14 of the Dolphins' 2026 games.

The three unknown matchups will be determined by the final 2025 standings.

Here's where things stand right now:

Dolphins' 2026 home opponents

• Buffalo Bills
• New England Patriots
• New York Jets
• AFC North opponent
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions

Dolphins' 2026 road opponents

• Buffalo Bills
• New England Patriots
• New York Jets
• AFC South opponent
• Denver Broncos
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Green Bay Packers
• Minnesota Vikings
• NFC West opponent

THE NFL FLEX FORMULA

This is what NFL indicates as the flexing rules:

-- Flexible scheduling is in effect during the following windows (the "Flex Scheduling Windows"):

• Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1:00 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET.
• For Sunday Night Football, it may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10, and at the NFL's discretion during Weeks 11-17;
• For Monday Night Football, it may be used at the NFL's discretion in Weeks 12-17;
• For Thursday Night Football, it may be used up to twice between Weeks 14-16.

-- During the Flex Scheduling Windows, the games initially scheduled for Sunday Night Football (on NBC), Monday Night Football (ESPN or ABC), and Thursday Night Football (Amazon Prime Video) are tentatively scheduled and subject to change. Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday night, in which case the initially scheduled Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1:00 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET.

-- During the Flex Scheduling Windows, only Sunday afternoon or TBD games are subject to being moved into the Sunday night, Monday, or Thursday night window. The game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, or Thursday Night Football during the Flex Scheduling Windows will generally be listed at 8:20 p.m. ET, 8:15 p.m. ET, and 8:15 p.m. ET, respectively. The majority of games on Sundays will typically be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during the Flex Scheduling Windows except for games played in Pacific or Mountain time zones, which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:25 p.m. ET.

For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 5-13 and for Monday Night Football in Weeks 12-17, the NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN) and announce no later than 12 days in advance of the game, which game will be played on Sunday night and which game will be played on Monday night. For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 14-17, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than six days prior to the game. For Thursday Night Football in Weeks
14-16, the flexible scheduling decision will be made no later than 21 days prior to the game.

More Miami Dolphins Coverage