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10 Things That Stand Out in the 2020 Miami Dolphins Schedule

The Miami Dolphins announced their 2020 regular season schedule, and it's got some interesting twists

Alain Poupart

Bob DeChiara-USA Today Sports

The Dolphins announced their 2020 regular season schedule Thursday on their Facebook page, and here are 10 things that stand out about that schedule.

1. The back-to-back games against the New York Jets: We have to admit, this is a little bit weird. The Dolphins will be facing the Jets on Nov. 15 and Nov. 29 with only their bye week in between. The Dolphins have played the same opponent twice in a three-game span before, but never before have they played the same team in consecutive games. It should be noted that the Jets also have their bye on Nov. 22, which means they also will be playing the same team in back-to-back games. There really is no advantage for either team going in until injuries become a factor, though. Like we said, it's just weird.

2. Three straight home games in December: It's not often that teams get three consecutive home games. It last happened for the Dolphins in 2016 when they actually had four consecutive home games sandwiched around their bye. That year, they lost against Tennessee and then defeated Pittsburgh and Buffalo before the bye before coming back and defeating the Jets on their way to a playoff berth. This time, the Dolphins will face Cincinnati, Kansas City and New England at Hard Rock Stadium on three consecutive Sundays in December. The game against New England will be the home finale.

3. The potential Burrow-Tua matchup: While there's no guarantee, the Dec. 6 game at Hard Rock Stadium very well could signify the first NFL battle between the top two quarterbacks taken in the 2020 draft — Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. That battle alone would make this game worth watching, but it will be even more significant if either team or both are in a playoff race.

4. Closing with two on the road: Closing with back-to-back games on the road is no easy task, and the last time the Dolphins had to do it was in 2008 when they won at Kansas City and at the Jets to win the AFC East title. So maybe that's a good omen. This year the last two games are at Las Vegas and at Buffalo. The Raiders game is a flex game and will be played either Dec. 26 or Dec. 27.

5. Starting the Stidham era: With Tom Brady now with the Bucs, it appears former Auburn star Jarrett Stidham will be the new quarterback for the New England Patriots and the Dolphins will represent his first opponent. Of course, this is also how the Dolphins closed out their 2019 season with that remarkable come-from-behind victory.

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6. On the road again in prime time: For the second consecutive year, the Dolphins are scheduled for only one prime-time game and again it will be on the road. It also will be the fifth consecutive time a Dolphins Thursday night game is played on the road. Though it's not a long flight to Jacksonville, the home team has a big advantage in Thursday night games and it would be nice if the NFL gave the Dolphins a home game in one of those one of these years.

7. Back-to-back weeks out west: The Dolphins have consecutive road games against San Francisco and Denver on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 and the possibility certainly exists they could stay out west to minimize travel. In either case, it's a tough two-game stretch because the 49ers won the NFC last season and the Broncos look like an up-and-coming team.

8. Western streak: The games against the 49ers and Broncos are part of a six-game stretch where the Dolphins don't play a team east of the Mississippi. The stretch begins Oct. 4 at home against Seattle and ends with home games against the Chargers and Rams on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, respectively, and a road game at Arizona on Oct. 8.

9. Early birds: Because of their geographical situation and their lack of prime-time games, the Dolphins again will have a lot of 1 p.m. games. The Dolphins are scheduled to play 10 Sunday games at 1 p.m., starting with the first two against New England and Buffalo, and ending with five of their last six games.

10. Seeing old friends: The Nov. 8 game at Arizona will reunite the Dolphins with two talented players who showed flashes in Miami before going on to have more success for other teams. One is running back Kenyan Drake, who the Dolphins traded to Arizona last October before the Cardinals put the transition tag on him before the start of free agency this offseason. The other is defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who had a career-high 9.5 sacks for Buffalo last season before signing with Arizona as a free agent.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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