The Miami Dolphins have had a little asterisk by their week 16 game ever since the NFL released schedules this offseason.
But that pesky bugger was finally removed on Monday when the league announced it was officially flexing Miami’s week 16 matchup in Las Vegas to the 8:15 prime time slot on Saturday, Dec. 26.
Dolphins @ Raiders: Final Game of NFL’s Saturday Triple-Header
Originally scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 27, the potential AFC Playoff-implication game will now be the late game in a triple-header Christmas-week Saturday slate for the NFL.
The Dolphins and Raiders will also be joined by matchups between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers at the Arizona Cardinals that Saturday. The Buccaneers/Lions game will kick off at 1 p.m. eastern, followed by the 49ers/Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. eastern.
The first and third games will be available nationally on NFL Network while the NFL is trying something new and featuring its middle game exclusively on Amazon Prime and Twitch*. It will also be available locally in the San Francisco and Arizona markets.
Miami, Las Vegas Likely in Thick of Playoff Push
For Miami, the Dolphins and Raiders are separated by just one game in the AFC and in the thick of the conference’s playoff push.
Miami (7-4) currently holds the No. 6 seed in the new seven-team format while the Raiders (6-5) are currently on the outside looking in.
On Paper, Dolphins Have Tougher Road to Playoffs Than Raiders
Despite Miami holding a one-game lead over Las Vegas through 12 weeks, the Raiders, on paper, have an easier remaining schedule than the Dolphins.
The Dolphins will kick off a three-game homestand against the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots before heading to Las Vegas and finishing on the road against the Buffalo Bills in week 17.
While the Raiders on the other hand get the winless New York Jets in week 13, followed by a three-game homestand of their own. Before Miami in week 16, they’ll see the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers before the Dolphins and finish their season on the road in Denver.
“Any Given Sunday” Has Plagued Both Teams in 2020
However, we’ve already seen both of these teams fall victim to the “any given Sunday” motto this season with the teams dropping games most thought were sure-wins.
Two weeks ago Miami had its six-game win streak snapped by a three-win Broncos team where its offense looked to have evaporated, and just in week 12, Las Vegas was held to six points by the Atlanta Falcons who are bottom-feeders in the league when it comes to both pass and rush-defense.
Furthermore, there are six teams between 8-3 and 5-6 fighting for the three wild card spots in the NFL’s new playoff format, as well as two division leaders who also sit at 8-3 who could swap with any of these current wild card teams in the remaining weeks of the regular season.
* – denotes information originally found on nfl.com.
– Kayla Morton is the Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. She is also a co-host on the Full Press Fantasy Podcast. Like and follow on Follow @northdakayla74 Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.
