The 2026 season continues a growing trend of the Miami Dolphins missing out on one of their greatest advantages
The Miami Dolphins will, once again, not get the most out of one of their greatest advantages in 2026.
The 2026 schedule is a tough, tough draw for the Miami Dolphins. The opponents, based off of the 2025 results, are tough. The lack of early home games tough. The final six week gauntlet of opponents is also tough.
This young team is going to need to grow up fast. But one particular wrinkle about this year’s schedule is hard to miss. It’s a continuation of a recent trend that mitigates Miami’s most valuable advantage.
The Miami Dolphins continue to miss out on maximizing their homefield advantage
The Miami Dolphins will get one Sunday kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium in the first four weeks of the season in 2026. They’ll host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 — the team’s home-opener under Jeff Hafley. It’s scheduled for a 1:00 PM kickoff, which will give them one marked advantage as the home team playing in the sweltering South Florida heat.
But games like this are proving harder and hard to come by. Miami got one 1PM home kickoff in the first four weeks of 2025. One in 2024 — which came against another Florida team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also got one in 2023, against the Denver Broncos.
But it didn’t always used to be like this.
Miami received two 1:00PM home kickoffs in 2022; both wins against the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. They received two in 2021 and 2020 as well. Heck, the Dolphins got three of them in 2019. Prior to 2023, Miami needed a literal hurricane to be given just one 1PM home game in the first four weeks of the season.
Hurricane Irma, in 2017, postponed Miami’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dolphins were forced to take their bye week in Week 1.
Home field advantages are great, especially when you’re given a chance to use them. Miami will never be better equipped to take advantage of their training camp work in South Florida than the early regular season games. But that advantage only matters if the schedule gives the Dolphins a chance to use it. The schedule hasn’t obliged all that much in recent years — and that will continue in 2026.
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