The Dolphins beat the Tennessee Titans 16-10 in last season's home opener. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins will open the 2018 season by hosting Tennessee for a second consecutive year.
Miami will play two of its first three games at Hard Rock Stadium, hosting the Titans on Sept. 9 and the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 23, the team announced Thursday night as the NFL released its schedule.
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The Dolphins were supposed to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last season's opener, but the game was postponed because of Hurricane Irma. Miami defeated the Titans 16-10 in their first true home game of 2017.
Sandwiched between home games against the Titans and the Jon Gruden-coached Raiders is a Sept. 16 road trip to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to face the New York Jets.
Miami will close out the opening month of the season by traveling to the New England Patriots on Sept. 30. The Patriots thumped Miami 35-17 in last year's game in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
After traveling to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on the first weekend in October, the Dolphins will stay home for consecutive games against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 14 and the Detroit Lions on Oct. 21.
Miami's lone prime-time game is Oct. 25 at Houston, where the Dolphins haven't won since the Oilers were in existence. The Dolphins will visit the Texans for "Thursday Night Football."
The Jets visit Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 4, and then the Dolphins head north to face the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 11 before their bye in week 11. Miami played 16 consecutive games without a week off last season.
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Now that the complete 2018 NFL schedule has been released, here's a game-by-game look at all of the opponents the Miami Dolphins will face this season.Sept. 9 vs. Tennessee Titans: Miami beat the Titans 16-10 at Hard Rock Stadium in 2017, but that was without Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Dolphins led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter and 10-3 at halftime, but the Titans rallied to tie the game late in the third quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Jarvis Landry caught the game-winning touchdown pass for the Dolphins, but the fifth-year wide receiver was dealt to Cleveland in the offseason.Sept. 16 at New York Jets: The Dolphins were shut out for three quarters and trailing 20-0 when they finally reached the end zone on a 3-yard pass from quarterback Jay Cutler to wide receiver DeVante Parker with 2:15 to play. Parker caught the football eight times for 76 yards.Sept. 23 vs. Oakland Raiders: The Raiders beat Miami 27-24 in Oakland last season, largely on the legs of Marshawn Lynch. The veteran running back only scored seven touchdowns last season, but two were against the Dolphins. He scored on a 22-yard run in the third quarter and a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter.Sept. 30 at New England Patriots: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 227 yards and four touchdown passes as New England pounded Miami 35-17 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, last season.Oct. 7 at Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis is back for his 16th year as head coach of the Bengals, who have missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons. Cincinnati went to the playoffs for five consecutive seasons from 2011-15, but the Bengals are 0-7 in playoff appearances under Lewis.Oct. 14 vs. Chicago Bears: Dolphins head coach Adam Gase will face his former team when the Bears come to Hard Rock Stadium. Gase was still offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos when Miami beat the Bears 27-14 in 2014. He spent the next year in the same role under John Fox in Chicago, working with future Dolphins fill-in quarterback Jay Cutler, before taking the Miami job in 2016. The Bears are led by 2017 first-round quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who started 12 games last season.Oct. 21 vs. Detroit Lions: It's been more than a decade since the Dolphins beat the Lions. The last time it happened was a 27-10 win in Detroit in 2006. Of course, that was before the Lions made Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, their franchise quarterback. The Florida native finished last season with 4,446 passing yards (his seventh consecutive season with at least 4,000 yards through the air), 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.Oct. 25 at Houston Texans: The Dolphins haven't won in Houston since 1996, back when the Titans were known as the Oilers and still playing in the antiquated Astrodome. Miami was 0-7 all-time against the Texans before ending the losing streak with a 44-26 victory at home in 2015.Nov. 4 vs. New York Jets: Backup quarterback Matt Moore replaced an injured Jay Cutler and led the Dolphins to a 31-28 win against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium last season. Moore threw for 188 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to Kenny Stills to tie the game. Cody Parkey booted a 39-yard field goal with 17 seconds left to seal the victory.Nov. 11 at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay missed the playoffs last year for the first time in three seasons, but Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is expected to return after undergoing surgery for a broken collarbone he suffered in a game last October.Nov. 25 at Indianapolis Colts: Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck missed all of last season with a lingering shoulder injury that required surgery, leaving South Florida native Jacoby Brissett to navigate the team through its first losing season since 2011. The Colts are counting on Luck to return to the huddle in 2018.Dec. 2 vs. Buffalo Bills: Buffalo tight end Nick O'Leary scored a 26-yard touchdown in his return to South Florida as the Bills beat the Dolphins 22-16 last season at Hard Rock Stadium. O'Leary grew up in Palm Beach County and went on to star at Florida State, where he won the John Mackey Award in 2014 as the country's top tight end.Dec. 9 vs. New England Patriots: The Dolphins avenged an earlier loss to New England with a surprising 27-20 victory at home on "Monday Night Football." Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was intercepted twice, sacked twice and hit five times. New England also failed to produce a third-down conversion, going 0-for-11 on the evening.Dec. 16 vs. Minnesota Vikings: The Dolphins have been victorious in their last three meetings against Minnesota, most recently winning 37-35 in 2014. The Vikings had the NFL's top-ranked overall defense last season, but they fell apart in the NFC title game against Philadelphia, allowing the Eagles to score 31 unanswered points in a 38-7 rout.Dec. 22/23 vs. Jacksonville: The Jaguars were on the cusp of playing in the Super Bowl a season ago. Jacksonville's stout defense ranked among the NFL's best statistically, fielding the No. 1 passing defense and second-best total defense. The Jaguars led the NFL with 17 forced fumbles and seven defensive touchdowns. Jacksonville tied for the second-most Pro Bowl players, all on defense, led by former Florida State standout cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive tackle Malik Jackson.Dec. 30 at Buffalo Bills: Cody Parkey kicked three field goals and accounted for 10 of Miami's 16 points in a 24-16 loss at Buffalo last season. He signed a four-year contract with the Chicago Bears in March.
Now that the complete 2018 NFL schedule has been released, here's a game-by-game look at all of the opponents the Miami Dolphins will face this season.
After the bye week, the Dolphins are back on the road for a Nov. 25 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Tom Brady and the Patriots come to Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 9. The Dolphins upset New England at home on "Monday Night Football" last season.
Miami will face two of the NFL's best defenses from a season ago in consecutive weekends, visiting the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 16 and concluding its home schedule the weekend before Christmas against the resurgent Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dolphins will face the Bills twice in December, hosting Buffalo on Dec. 2 and closing out the season in Orchard Park, New York, for the final game of the year.
Miami will play seven games against opponents that made the playoffs last season -- the Bills and Patriots twice, Jaguars, Titans and Vikings.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Sept. 9 vs. Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Sept. 16 at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 23 vs. Oakland Raiders, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 30 at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 7 at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Oct. 14 vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Oct. 21 vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Oct. 25 at Houston Texans, 8:20 p.m. (FOX/NFL Network)
Nov. 4 vs. New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Nov. 11 at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Nov. 18 bye
Nov. 25 at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 2 vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 9 vs. New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 16 at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 22 or 23 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, TBD (TBD)
Dec. 30 at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. (CBS)
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