Each NFL team’s most important game in 2019

Miami Dolphins: Week 7 at Buffalo Bills

It’s been tough times for a franchise that too many years ago, was one of the most consistent in the league. But since the league realigned in 2002, the Miami Dolphins had made just two postseason appearances. The first came in 2008 after the team bounced back from a 1-15 showing and finished 11-5 on the way to winning the AFC East. In 2016, then-head coach Adam Gase rallied the team from a 1-4 start to win 10 games and claim a wild card berth.

The ‘Fins new sideline boss in Brian Flores, late of the New England Patriots. And he and the team have an opportunity to give a good start if they can hold their own at home early in the season. The club hosts the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots before traveling to Dallas in Week 3. The team then doesn’t travel until Week 7 as the Bills welcomes the Chargers and Redskins to South Florida in the span of three weeks (the ‘Fins are off in Week 5).

And that’s when things get really interesting for Flores and company. Simple math tells you that the club will play seven of its final 11 contests on the road. And the stretch begins in Orchard Park against a Bills’ club that has prevailed in eight of the past 12 meetings between the longtime AFC East rivals dating back to 2013. Can the Dolphins get off to a good start in what figures to be a very difficult two-plus months?

Next: Minnesota Vikings