2020 NFL Schedule release: Rumors, updates leading to tonight’s release - SCHEDULE COMPLETE

The NFL will release the 2020 regular season schedule on Thursday during a made-for-TV event at 8pm ET on NFL Network. The three-hour show will breakdown all of the scheduled games, as well as likely have record predictions for all 32 teams. In a year already disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the league is expected to schedule a full 17-week slate of games, starting on time and without restrictions - yet build in some safeguards.

According to John Clayton, former ESPN Senior NFL writer and current ESPN Seattle radio host, the league is planning to push all of the inter-Conference games to the first four weeks of the season. That would mean the AFC East would play the NFC West for the first four weeks, while the AFC North would face the NFC East, the AFC South would match up with the NFC North, and the AFC West would play the NFC South. Scheduling the season like this could allow the league to cancel up to the first month of the season while still leaving the intra-division matchups still on the schedule as well as the intra-conference schedule. It would be a mitigation factor in the schedule to ensure the games that count the most for playoff berths would be as protected as possible.

As for the Miami Dolphins, the schedule for 2020 will feature their six AFC East division games, the four NFC West games, four games against the AFC West teams, and two games against the teams that finished last in their divisions in the AFC South and AFC North (matching Miami’s last place finish in the AFC East last season). That works out to home games against the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Cincinnati Bengals. Miami will visit the Bills, Patriots, Jets, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

There is a rumor that the Dolphins could open the 2020 season on Monday Night Football against the 49ers, but nothing has confirmed that possibility as of yet.

We will continue to update throughout the day if/when rumors leak. We will breakdown the full schedule tonight when it is released.

Update 1 (1:16pm): Bradley Gelber of the USA Today, has the Dolphins at Bills taking place on January 3 (Week 17). He adds that the Bills’ home opener would be against the Jets, which would conflict with the Clayton report of four straight inter-conference games to start the season.

Update 2 (1:26pm): Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, adds the league will not be doing the AFC vs. NFC four week opening schedule.

Update 3 (1:34pm): Rumors around web (can’t find original source but will add it if found) now support Dolphins and Patriots in Week 1, mirroring rumored Bills and Jets in Week 1. No location is linked to this rumor.

Update 4 (3pm): The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero has confirmed the Patriots as the Week 1 opponent, but still no location. He has also confirmed a Thursday Night Football rumor that has started two swirl, with Miami at the Jaguars in Week 3.

Update 5 (3:04pm): WEEI Radio (via Salguero) has confirmed the Week 1 is at New England.

Update 6 (3:35pm): According to Salguero, the Dolphins will host the Bills in Week 2. That will give them two Division games to open the season prior to a Thursday Night Football game in Week 3.

Update 7 (6:27pm): Salguero adds the second Patriots game will come in Week 15.

Update 8 (7:35pm): Adam Beasley has tweeted the expected full schedule.

Miami Dolphins 2020 Schedule

Week 1 (Sunday, Sep. 13) - @ Patriots

Week 2 (Sunday, Sep. 20) - vs. Bills

Week 3 (Thursday, Sep. 24) - @ Jaguars (TNF)

Week 4 (Sunday, Oct. 4) - vs. Seahawks

Week 5 (Sunday, Oct. 11) - @ 49ers

Week 6 (Sunday, Oct. 18) - @ Broncos

Week 7 (Sunday, Oct. 25) - vs. Chargers

Week 8 (Sunday, Nov. 1) - vs. Rams

Week 9 (Sunday, Nov. 8) - @ Cardinals

Week 10 (Sunday, Nov. 15) - vs. Jets

Week 11 (Sunday, Nov. 22) - BYE

Week 12 (Sunday, Nov. 29) - @ Jets

Week 13 (Sunday, Dec. 6) - vs. Bengals

Week 14 (Sunday, Dec. 13) - vs. Chiefs

Week 15 (Sunday, Dec. 20) - vs. Patriots

Week 16 (Sunday, Dec. 27) - @ Raiders

Week 17 (Sunday, Jan. 3) - @ Bills