The 2012 regular season has ended, with the playoff starting this upcoming weekend. However, the end of the regular season does several other things as well. It sets the 2013 Draft order, at least for non-playoff teams. It also establishes the final match ups for next season's schedule. While the official schedule will not come out until April time-frame, we can at least take a look at whom the Miami Dolphins will be playing next year.
The NFL schedule is set up according to a set formula. Each team will play the other three teams from their division twice, in a home-and-home series. Then, the team will play every team from one intra-conference division, and every team from one inter-conference division. The final two games match the team against the remaining two division from within the conference, facing off against the teams that finished in the same position in their respective divisions.
For the AFC East this year, the full match-up divisions are the AFC North and the NFC South. That means that the Dolphins, who were second in the AFC East this year, will play the second place teams from the AFC South (Indianapolis Colts) and the AFC West (San Diego Chargers).
The Dolphins home games next season will be:
Division | Team |
AFC East | Buffalo Bills |
New England Patriots | |
New York Jets | |
AFC North | Baltimore Ravens |
Cincinnati Bengals | |
NFC South | Atlanta Falcons |
Carolina Panthers | |
AFC West (2nd Place Team) | San Diego Chargers |
And their away games will be:
Division | Team |
AFC East | Buffalo Bills |
New England Patriots | |
New York Jets | |
AFC North | Cleveland Browns |
Pittsburgh Steelers | |
NFC South | New Orleans Saints |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
AFC West (2nd Place Team) | Indianapolis Colts |