Dolphins Schedule Spotlight: Opening with Two Home Games

The Miami Dolphins are kicking off their 2024 schedule with back-to-back home games for the fourth time since they joined the NFL

Alain Poupart | May 20, 2024

Dolphins running back De'Von Achane in the 2023 home opener against the Denver Broncos / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

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Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins will kick off their 2024 schedule with two home games for only the fourth time since they joined the NFL in 1970 after that league's merger with the AFL.

By contrast, the Dolphins have opened with two road games 11 times, most recently last season when they started with victories against the L.A. Chargers and the New England Patriots.

The two home games to start things off is one of the clear highlights of this Dolphins 2024 schedule, so we break it down.

WHAT RECENT NFL HISTORY TELLS US ABOUT HAVING TWO HOME GAMES AT THE START

The Dolphins will be one of four teams with two home games to start the 2024 season, along with the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

In the past three seasons, 13 different teams started with consecutive home games, including five who were coming off playoff seasons — like the Dolphins will be in 2024.

Interestingly, teams have a 13-13 record in those games, with three teams starting 2-0, three starting 0-2, and the other five starting 1-1.

The three teams that started 2-0 with their two home games were the 2021 Carolina Panthers, 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2023 Atlanta Falcons. Of the three, only the 2021 Bucs (who were the defending Super Bowl champions) went on to make the playoffs.

The three teams that started 0-2 — the 2021 Colts, 2023 Patriots and 2023 Broncos — all failed to make the playoffs, with only the Colts managing to finish with a winning record.

THE DOLPHINS SEASONS THAT STARTED WITH TWO AT HOME

The Dolphins' previous seasons with two home games at the start were 1997, 2011 and most recently 2019.

And for the Dolphins, taking advantage of that start has correlated to making the playoffs.

In 1997, the Dolphins opened with home victories against the Colts and Titans, and ended up making the playoffs after finishing 9-7.

In 2011, the Dolphins opener with losses against the Patriots (in a wild Monday night shootout) and Texans, started 0-7 and finished 6-10.

The 2019 season was the "rebuilding" year or the "Tank for Tua" year — however you want to describe it — and it started with humbling losses against the Ravens and Patriots by a combined score of 102-10 (59-10 and 43-0). The Dolphins again started the season at 0-7, though like 2011 they were able to rebound a bit in the second half of the season, this time finishing at 5-11.

With the Dolphins' really challenging final six-game stretch and the high number of quality teams in the AFC, they certainly could give themselves an early and significant boost if they can manage to kick off their season by taking care of business at Hard Rock Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8 and the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, Sept. 12.

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and 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.

WHAT RECENT NFL HISTORY TELLS US ABOUT HAVING TWO HOME GAMES AT THE START

THE DOLPHINS SEASONS THAT STARTED WITH TWO AT HOME

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