ESPN analyst says his opinion of Miami Dolphins changed following their 2024 schedule release

The Miami Dolphins will enter the 2024 NFL season with big aspirations. Though they managed to advance to the playoffs last season, they met the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, 26-7.

While the team’s goals for the upcoming season are certainly set higher than losing in the first round of the playoffs, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky seems to have some doubts about Miami’s chances now that that the league has revealed the schedules for all 32 teams.

Orlovsky certainly has a point about the final six games of the season for Miami. In Week 12, the Dolphins will face off against a rebuilding New England Patriots at home. Fans should feel very confident about that matchup. After that, however, the onslaught begins, with the six-game stretch in question getting underway.

The Dolphins will travel to the always-hostile Lambeau Field to take on a talented Green Bay Packers team on Thanksgiving.

They’ll then return home to face off against a division rival in the New York Jets, who are expected to be much improved with a healthy Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

They’ll then travel to Texas to take on a Houston Texans team that some see as a dark horse Super Bowl contender thanks to phenom quarterback C.J. Stroud and a star-studded supporting cast.

In Week 16, they’ll host the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

Up next, they’ll travel to Ohio to face off against a Cleveland Browns team that went 11-6 last season despite losing starting quarterback Deshaun Watson for a large portion of the year.

The final game of Miami’s regular season, which could easily play a role in deciding the eventual AFC East champion, will be at MetLife Stadium against Rodgers and the Jets.

The bad news is that this string of games will be a real gauntlet for the Dolphins. However, the good news is that if the Dolphins are indeed ready to take that next step, this string of games will likely force them to play fantastic football to secure wins leading up to the playoffs.

Teams that win the Super Bowl are often blessed with a combination of talent and getting hot at the right time of the season. If the Dolphins come out of the final portion of the season with some momentum, they’ll likely be in good shape for the playoffs. That could be a very dangerous combination for other teams in the AFC playoff bracket.