Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-49ers Week 2 Matchup

The Miami Dolphins will be looking for their first victory of the Jon-Eric Sullivan/Jeff Hafley era when they face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 2 Dolphins-49ers matchup:

MIAMI DOLPHINS (0-1) vs. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (1-0)

DATE: Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026

TIME: 4:25 p.m. ET

SITE: Levi's Stadium; Santa Clara, California

TV: FOX

Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Daryl Johnston (color analyst), Allison Williams (sideline)

FanDuel line: 49ers by 13.5 (over/under 45.5)

FINAL INJURY REPORT

Dolphins — LB Ronnie Harrison Jr. (hamstring) and EDGE Chop Robinson (concussion) are OUT; LS Tucker Addington (shoulder) is QUESTIONABLE

49ers — WR De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) is OUT; RB Kaelon Black (groin) and K Eddy Pineiro (illness) are QUESTIONABLE)

SERIES HISTORY

Regular season series history: Dolphins lead 9-6

Last five meetings:

Dec. 22, 2024 at Miami — Dolphins 29, 49ers 17

Dec. 4, 2022 at San Francisco — 49ers 33, Dolphins 17

Oct. 11, 2020 at San Francisco — Dolphins 43, 49ers 17

Nov. 27, 2016 at Miami — Dolphins 31, 49ers 24

Dec. 9, 2012 at San Francisco — 49ers 27, Dolphins 13

Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 26 (2020 at San Francisco; Dolphins 43, 49ers 17

Dolphins' largest margin of defeat: 24 (1992 at San Francisco; 49ers 27, Dolphins 3 ... 1995 at Miami; 49ers 44, Dolphins 20

Highest-scoring matchup: 64 points (1995 at Miami; 49ers 44, Dolphins 20)

Lowest-scoring matchup: 21 points (2001 at San Francisco; 49ers 21, Dolphins 0)

Former 49ers players with the Dolphins:

EDGE Robert Beal Jr. (with the 49ers from 2023-25), EDGE Clelin Ferrell (2023, 2025), P Bradley Pinion (2015-18)

Former 49ers coaches with the Dolphins:

Head coach Jeff Hafley, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, run game coordinator/senior defensive assistant Joe Barry, offensive line coach Zach Yenser

Former Dolphins players with the 49ers:

C Jake Brendel, CB Jack Jones, S Ashtyn Davis, S Siran Neal

Former Dolphins coaches with the 49ers:

Assistant head coach/offensive line Chris Foerster, special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, assistant offensive line coach Roman Sapolu

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

49ERS SCOUTING REPORT

It's another season with basically the same old story for the 49ers, a team that more than likely will compete but where injuries are a concern above and beyond those of most organizations. The 49ers began their season with the massively impressive 20-point victory against the L.A. Rams, though how much of it was due to a clearly better travel plan for the Australia game could be debated. The same front-line players are leading the way for San Francisco, meaning Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Trent Williams on offense, and Nick Bosa and Fred Warner on defense. But the 49ers already have lost two significant players for the season with DT Alfred Collins and WR Ricky Pearsall, they have two others on IR, and now rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is headed there as well after having ankle surgery this week.

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WHY THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...

They play the games on the field and not on paper, right? That's the best way to look at it for Miami because the more time spent each team's personnel, the uglier it looks for the Dolphins. But there are intangibles at play here, and those often can provide the springboard to an upset. In this case, what stands out is the possibility, however slight, of the 49ers players still dealing with jet lag after the first-ever regular season game in Australia but more realistically the idea of a letdown after the build-up to that NFC West showdown against the Rams. It should surprise no one if the 49ers came out flat in that game. For a more tangible reason for a possible upset, we'd have to look at De'Von Achane and the success he had against the 49ers in the teams' last meeting in December 2024 when he rushed for 120 yards and punctuated his performance with a game-clinching 50-yard touchdown run. Any analysis of this game should project a much bigger role for Achane than he had against the Raiders.

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WHY THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...

The Dolphins had their issues with the Las Vegas Raiders running game in Week 1, and they're now moving up in weight class against the vaunted 49ers ground game. It might help if rookie Kaelon Black, fresh off an impressive NFL debut, wound up being held out because of the groin injury he sustained in practice, but they'll still have to deal with Christian McCaffrey. The Dolphins front was handled by the Raiders, and it says here that (again) San Francisco has the better group. And even without Stribling and Pearsall, Brock Purdy will have a big day throwing the ball if the Dolphins can't do better with their pass rush, which now will be without Chop Robinson. The 49ers defense gave up rushing yards against the Rams, but they still held Matthew Stafford and company to seven points, which is quite a feat against the 2025 league MVP.

FINAL DOLPHINS-49ERS PREDICTION

The reflex when looking at this game is to suggest an absolute mismatch, particularly after the results of Week 1, but things change drastically every year for team between that first and second game. And maybe the 49ers aren't quite as dominant as they were against the Rams and maybe the Dolphins won't be quite as lackluster as they were against Las Vegas. This is also were we'd remind everybody that the biggest underdog in Week 1 was the Arizona Cardinals, and they not only upset the L.A. Chargers, they dominated them. Now, we're going to go so far as predicting the same outcome here, but we get a feeling this game will be closer than anticipated. Unfortunately for Miami fans, the talent disparity will show up in the end. Final Prediction: 49ers, 27, Dolphins 17

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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