The schedule makers for the NFL giveth and taketh away. If you were to hear before the release of the 2019 regular season schedule that the Miami Dolphins would host three 1 PM EST home games in September, you’d probably be ecstatic. And why wouldn’t you be? Miami’s sweltering late summer/early fall heat is one of the greater equalizers in all of football.
But then again, the optimism would be misplaced. Because while the schedule makers gave the Dolphins three early September home games in the first four weeks, they also gave the Dolphins four opponents who made the playoffs in 2018.
Baltimore, New England, Dallas and Los Angeles (Chargers) is one heck of a way to get your season started. 2019 is a new year, but these four teams combined to go 43-21 last year and each has cause for optimism that they’ll be able to generate repeat performances.
And as a cherry on top, the Dolphins get a Week 5 bye in 2019, the earliest week available before having to play 12 weeks in a row to finish the season.
How Miami handles these first four weeks will be serve as a great measuring stick for their progress. The Baltimore Ravens have owned the Dolphins, winning seven of eight contests played in the last ten years. Why? Because the Ravens are a team whose blueprint is built on the trenches. Miami has been soft up front for forever.
The Cowboys are a team cut from the same cloth — they love to run the football and play physical. In the last ten years, Dallas is 3-0 against the Dolphins. Add in this being Brian Flores’ first road test? There should be plenty of impressions provided in this contest.
The dynamics of the team’s match-up against the Patriots in Week 2 makes it something of a wildcard. The Dolphins’ miraculous win late last season at Hard Rock Stadium is one thing, but considering the number of former Patriots now associated with Miami and the Patriots’ recent struggles on Miami’s home turf (the Dolphins are 5-1 vs. New England in Miami in their last 6 home games)? This one could be interesting.
So, too, could the final game before the bye against the Chargers. The Dolphins haven’t lost in Miami to the Chargers since 1982 (the 1981 Divisional Round playoff match-up, which featured the all-time classic hook and lateral). The Dolphins have had success historically against the Chargers, much of that on account of the home field advantage and time zone differential.
There’s potential for a few wins in this early schedule, but generally speaking it’s better to look to see if Brian Flores’ vision is being executed. Is this team beating itself? Is it getting creamed on the lines of scrimmage? If the answer to those questions is no, then Dolphins fans should feel good about the start, no matter what the win-loss record says.
