The season is over. Honestly, it’s a tough pill to swallow for anyone wearing teal and orange right now. If you're asking what time do the miami dolphins play today, the answer is a bit of a bummer: they don't.
Miami's 2025-2026 campaign officially hit the wall on January 4, 2026, with a lopsided 38-10 loss to the New England Patriots. While the rest of the AFC is currently slugging it out in the Divisional Round—with the Bills and Broncos playing at 4:30 p.m. ET today—the Dolphins are back in South Florida. They’re cleaning out lockers. Coaches are being fired. It’s the "Black Monday" fallout that nobody wanted but everyone sort of saw coming after that brutal 7-10 finish.
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When Is the Next Miami Dolphins Game?
Since the Dolphins missed the 2026 NFL Playoffs, there are no more scheduled kickoffs for the current season. You’ve got a long wait ahead. Typically, the NFL releases the new schedule in mid-May.
We do know who they will play in the 2026-2027 season, even if the exact dates and times are still a mystery. Because they finished third in the AFC East, their schedule will be paired against other third-place finishers.
Expect to see these matchups later this year:
- Home and away against the usual suspects: Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and New England Patriots.
- Home games at Hard Rock Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions.
- A cross-country trek to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
- Road games in Las Vegas and Denver.
The first chance to actually see them on the field will be the preseason in August 2026. Usually, those games kick off around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. ET, but let's be real—preseason isn't exactly the high-octane football we're craving.
Why the Schedule Was So Weird This Year
If you felt like you could never keep track of what time do the miami dolphins play this past season, you weren't alone. The NFL’s obsession with "international growth" meant the Dolphins spent a lot of time on planes.
Remember Week 11? That was the historic game at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Because of the time difference in Spain, fans in Miami had to wake up early for a 1:00 p.m. local kickoff (which was early evening in Madrid). They actually won that one, beating the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime. It was one of the few bright spots in a season that felt mostly like a roller coaster with no brakes.
Then there were the "primetime" blues. Miami had a Monday Night Football slot against the Steelers in December that kicked off at 8:15 p.m. ET. They lost. They had a Thursday Night game against the Ravens. They lost that one too, 28-6. For a team with so much speed—De'Von Achane was a Pro Bowler for a reason—they seemed to move in slow motion whenever the lights were brightest.
The Mid-Season Chaos
The reason people are still Googling game times is probably due to the total overhaul the team just went through. On October 31, 2025, the team parted ways with General Manager Chris Grier. The Dolphins were sitting at a miserable 2-7.
Interim GM Champ Kelly actually did a decent job, helping the team go 5-3 down the stretch. But that late-season surge wasn't enough to overcome the 1-6 start. Mike McDaniel, despite his brilliant offensive mind, couldn't find a way to get the defense to stop a nosebleed in the final two weeks of the year.
"We just didn't finish. You can't start 1-6 in this league and expect to be playing in late January," - Anonymous veteran player during locker room clean-out.
Watching the Rest of the Playoffs
If you're a football junkie and just want to watch someone play, here is the schedule for the Divisional Round happening right now (January 17-18, 2026):
- Saturday, Jan 17: Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos - 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
- Saturday, Jan 17: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks - 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
- Sunday, Jan 18: Houston Texans at New England Patriots - 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC.
- Sunday, Jan 18: Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears - 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
It hurts to see three AFC East teams (Bills, Patriots, and even the Texans who bounced the Steelers) still in the mix while Miami is on the couch.
What to Do While You Wait
The Dolphins are entering a massive transition period. With the GM position open and questions surrounding the coaching staff, the next "big" event isn't a game—it's the NFL Draft and Free Agency.
Keep an eye on late February. That’s when the NFL Scouting Combine starts in Indianapolis. By then, we’ll know who is leading the front office and what the plan is for the 2026 roster.
The search for a new identity starts now. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, start scouting interior offensive linemen and defensive tackles. The 2025 season showed that while Miami can track down a track star, they still struggle in the trenches when the weather gets cold.
Check back in May for the official 2026 schedule release. That's when we'll finally have concrete answers for what time do the miami dolphins play their season opener. Until then, keep the fins up, but maybe keep the expectations tempered for a few months.