The Miami Dolphins are in a clear rebuild mode. They made all the necessary moves to build for the future as they are under a new regime. After a handful of seasons of coming up short, the Dolphins are now starting from scratch with a new foundation to build off. 

The 2026 season will be vastly different from what Miami fans have become accustomed to. With the schedule release officially out, while the Dolphins don’t have lofty expectations, there is still a football season to look forward to. 

Here are the top five games for the Dolphins this season. 

Starting off this list is one of the top teams this decade, the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s unclear if superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be under center for the former champions; nonetheless, it will be a good early test for the young Dolphins. 

This contest will also be a good measuring stick for likely starting quarterback Malik Willis, the new offensive system, and their young, inexperienced defense. If the Dolphins are competitive here, people around the league will notice immediately.

This game between these interconference foes feels like a "future vs future" matchup. 

The Bears are building around youth and upside as well. While the Bears are two years ahead of the Dolphins, Miami will look to prove they can compete against one of the youngest but also elite teams in the NFL. 

This late-season matchup should see the Dolphins' young players more developed, with the offense and defense more settled in under head coach Jeff Hafley. 

This matchup made the list solely due to this being a division matchup (Miami’s second thus far in the season) and the fact that they will face the reigning AFC champions. 

Division games are always a great benchmark for a team, especially a young one like Miami’s. If the Dolphins want to eventually be a contender for the AFC East, then beating the Patriots consistently has to be part of that process. 

This game with the Bills is just as important for the Dolphins. It will be late enough in the season to see where the Dolphins are as a young football team in the NFL.

Even with the Dolphins rebuilding, this matchup will tell us how far away they are from becoming a contender. If they are trounced, it may be back to the drawing board, but a competitive battle or win could prove that South Florida is heading in the right direction. 

While this matchup is an interconference one, what takes the cake for the top spot is due to new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley. Both Sullivan and Hafley hail from Green Bay and learned all they know up to this point from the Packers organization. 

Outside of that, the Packers remain one of the NFL’s marquee franchises, and a late-season matchup against a playoff team in the NFC could carry some strong national attention. 

This is also the "revenge game" for Malik Willis and a true test on whether the team can handle cold-weather games in their new rebuild.