Schedule The Dolphins'
2020 schedule was announced on May 7.
Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills Before play began, both teams stayed in their respective locker rooms for the playing of the national anthem. Miami, hoping to recover from their Week 1 loss, kept it close, but no cigar. Josh Allen, improving his offensive gamesmanship for a third NFL season, threw for a career-best 417 yards and four TDs extending the Bills’ winning streak to four-straight against the Fins. With 5:55 remaining in the 4th quarter and trailing 20-17, Allen threw a strike to the endzone for the score, after which, Buffalo never looked back. Buffalo's offense rolled over Miami for 524 total yards; 342 in the first half. At one point the Dolphins were poised to score from the Buffalo one-yard-line in the third quarter, but failed to connect on a 4th-down toss to the endzone. After the game, Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores said. “You've got to finish in this league if you want to win." Nevertheless, Miami stayed in the game to the finish. Ryan Fitzapatrick completed 31 of 47 pass attempts, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Buffalo offense that had a banner day in South Florida. The Bills-Dolphins rivalry has undeniably been reignited. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 0–2.
Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars In this nationally-televised Thursday night match-up, a dominant
Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, pummeling a
Jacksonville Jaguars squad that had been a three point favorite at home. On the opposite side of the ball,
Gardner Minshew threw two picks and zero TDs, settling the pre-game argument over whose facial hair made them a better QB. Minshew, who came into the game confident after two strong performances to start the 2020 season, looked uncomfortable all night as Miami's defense garnered two sacks and limited the Jaguars to only 13 total points. This was the Dolphins' first win over the Jaguars since
2014 and their first win by 10+ points since a 2017 win over the
Denver Broncos. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 1–2.
Week 4: vs. Seattle Seahawks On a hot day in south Florida, the Seahawks came in to Hard Rock Stadium unbeaten and left with an unblemished record of 4-0. The Fins were unable to stop
Russell Wilson's air offensive allowing him 360 yards passing and two completions to the endzone. Miami's defense had no answers as the ‘Hawks continued their streak of scoring 30 points or more in every game this season. The Dolphins were able to score on their first five possessions, but all five trips into Seattle territory ended disappointingly with a field goal.
Ryan Fitzpatrick might have had a solid performance (29 of 45 passing), but two interceptions ultimately resulted in a dispiriting home-field loss for his squad. This was the Seahawks' first road win over the Dolphins since
1996, when the Seahawks were part of the
AFC West. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 1–3.
Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers The Miami Dolphins engineered a good old-fashioned beatdown as they imposed their will on the reigning NFC Champions in Levi's Stadium, California. Ryan Fitzpatrick was magic as he threw 22 of 28 for 350 yards including three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jimmy Garoppolo was hideous and was benched halfway through the game after putting up 7 of 17 passing for a measly 77 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Fins’ defense carved up the Niners’ offense all day, recovering a fumble, stealing two interceptions, forcing five sacks and allowing a third-down efficiency of only 20%. In this rematch of
Super Bowl XIX, this was the Dolphins' first road win over the 49ers since
2004, also their first time since October 25,
2015 scoring over 40 points in a game, and their largest blowout win since December 3,
2017. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 2–3.
Week 6: vs. New York Jets This was the Dolphins' first shutout win since November 2,
2014, when they defeated the
San Diego Chargers 37–0. Jets quarterback
Joe Flacco also lost to the Dolphins for the first time in his 12-year career. Rookie
Tua Tagovailoa, the 5th overall pick in the
2020 draft made his NFL debut during the final seconds of the game, where he relieved Ryan Fitzpatrick and completed 2 passes for 9 passing yards, also Tua's first game since November 16, 2019 when he suffered a season-ending hip injury as a member of the
Alabama Crimson Tide. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 3–3.
Week 8: vs. Los Angeles Rams This was rookie quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa's first NFL start, with
Ryan Fitzpatrick returning to his backup role for the first time since October 13, 2019. The Dolphins also defeated the Rams for the 5th time since
2001. The game was dominated by the Dolphins' defense, which forced the Rams into four first-half turnovers, and allowed the Dolphins to win with only 145 yards of total offense, the lowest yardage compiled by a winning team all season. During the 2nd quarter, linebacker
Andrew Van Ginkel scored his first NFL touchdown on a 78-yard fumble recovery, the second-longest fumbled return in franchise history since Dolphins
Hall of Famer Jason Taylor ran on an 85-yard fumble return in
2005. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 4–3.
Week 9: at Arizona Cardinals In a back-and-forth game, Miami pulled ahead late in the game with 10 points in the fourth quarter, taking the lead with a 50-yard field goal from
Jason Sanders after the two-minute warning.
Kyler Murray drove the Cardinals into field goal range in the final seconds, but kicker
Zane Gonzalez missed the potential game-tying field goal short, sealing a 34–31 Miami victory. With the win, the Dolphins not only improved to 5–3 for the first time since
2014, but also earned their first 4-game winning streak since
2016 and a win in Phoenix for the first time since
1996.
Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Chargers In a compelling battle between rookie quarterbacks, Miami's
Tua Tagovailoa (2020 draft #5 overall) was the victor over
Justin Herbert (2020 draft #6 overall). Miami quickly leapt to a 14-0 advantage forcing Herbert & company into struggling after the Dolphins for the entire game. Despite throwing two touchdowns, Herbert also tossed an interception forced by a Miami defense that hounded him all day. Tagovailoa threw for two scores and zero interceptions which culminated in his third-straight victory as a rookie QB. By defeating the Chargers, the Fins have won five straight games. The Dolphins began the season 6–3 for the first time since
2001. Tua Tagovailoa also became the 5th rookie quarterback since the 1970
AFL-NFL merger to begin 3–0, after
Ben Roethlisberger,
Mark Sanchez,
Carson Wentz, and
Lamar Jackson.
Week 11: at Denver Broncos The Dolphins played without running back
Jordan Howard as he got cut on November 16, 2020, after just nine games with the Dolphins. In the fourth quarter, Tua was replaced by Fitzpatrick after Tua got hurt. Fitzpatrick attempted a comeback but threw an interception in the red-zone ending any chances of a comeback and dropping the Dolphins 6–4. Not only did the Dolphins fail to win in Denver for the first time since
2008, but Tua failed to join
Ben Roethlisberger as the only rookie quarterbacks to begin 4–0.
Week 12: at New York Jets Veteran quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick made his first start since Week 6, as rookie Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out after suffering a minor injury during practices. Wide receiver
DeVante Parker became the 9th player in franchise history to reach 4,000 career receiving yards, and the Dolphins swept the Jets for the first time in two seasons. This was also Fitzpatrick's final full game of his career, as he retired from the NFL 2 years later on June 2, 2022. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 7–4.
Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals For the first time since suffering a minor thumb injury,
Tua Tagovailoa returned as the Dolphins' starting quarterback. The Bengals jumped out to an early lead of 7-0, but were unable to add to that score for the rest of the contest. Officials were kept busy maintaining order in this game that came to blows between players and culminated in entire teams storming the field to face off with one another. After players were finished trading blows and referees were finished ejecting five of them from the contest, Brian Flores’ Miami Dolphins emerged victorious in arguably the best performance, thus far, of Tua Tagovailoa's nascent career by going 26 of 39 for 296 passing yards, one TD and no interceptions. The Fins continued their domination of other teams by allowing only seven points maintaining a hold on second overall in the NFL in scoring defense. The Dolphins began 8–4 for the first time since
2003 and also clinched a non-losing season for the first time since 2016.
Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs Despite holding a 10–0 lead during the first quarter and attempting a comeback down 30–10 in the 4th quarter, the Dolphins not only failed to beat the Chiefs for the first time since
2011, but they also failed to beat them at home for the first time since
2006, and to beat an
Andy Reid-coached team for the first time since
1999, which was Reid's first year coaching the
Philadelphia Eagles. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to 8–5.
Week 15: vs. New England Patriots Not only did the Dolphins clinch their first winning season since 2016, but they defeated the Patriots at home for the first time since the
Miracle in Miami, and defeated a
Cam Newton-led team for the first time in franchise history. The Dolphins also eliminated the Patriots from postseason contention for the first time since 2008, and ensured their first non-winning season since 2000. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa became the 6th rookie quarterback to defeat
Bill Belichick's Patriots, after
Ben Roethlisberger,
Mark Sanchez,
Colt McCoy,
Russell Wilson, and
Geno Smith. Backup quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick also finished with a winning record in his career for the first time since
2015, when he played for the
New York Jets, and for only the second time in his 15-year career. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 9–5.
Week 16: at Las Vegas Raiders Despite not holding a lead for much of the game and not scoring a touchdown in the first half, the Dolphins defeated the Raiders in a last-minute field goal made by
Jason Sanders. Backup quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick relieved a struggling Tua Tagovailoa in the 4th quarter and threw to
Myles Gaskin for a touchdown to hand the Dolphins their first lead of the game, 23–22. After the Raiders retook the lead with only 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick threw a no-look pass to
Mack Hollins while his facemask was being tugged by a defender, a pass which
Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback
Patrick Mahomes dubbed "the greatest no-look pass of all time", to set up Sanders' game-winning field goal. This would also be Fitzpatrick's last appearance as a Dolphin, as he tested positive for
COVID-19 5 days later, which caused him to miss the season finale versus the Buffalo Bills, and would sign with the Washington Football Team as a free agent on March 15, 2021, the 9th team he has played for in 16 years. With the win, the Dolphins improved to 10–5.
Week 17: at Buffalo Bills After the blowout loss, the Dolphins failed to win 11 games in a season for the 12th consecutive year, when the
2008 Miami Dolphins won 11 games. The Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention with wins by the
Indianapolis Colts,
Cleveland Browns, and
Baltimore Ravens the same day. The Dolphins had also failed to become the first team since the
1999 Washington Redskins to clinch both a playoff berth and a top-3 pick in the
upcoming draft, which is the first-round pick they acquired from trading
Laremy Tunsil and
Kenny Stills to the
Houston Texans the season prior. With the loss, the Dolphins finished the 2020 season at 10–6.
Standings Division Conference ==References==