It is now official. After months of teasing and posturing for a formal change to the NFL’s annual scheduling to be made, this afternoon formally introduced the first major shift to the NFL’s schedule since the late 1970s. There will be a 17th game played in the regular season starting effective immediately.
Beginning in 2021, the NFL is expanding to a 17-game regular season. pic.twitter.com/skNisJwPS2
— NFL (@NFL) March 30, 2021
The news, at this point, comes as no surprise. The details have long been anticipated as well — but this puts those plans officially into action. For the Miami Dolphins, it means a 9th home game in 2021; with the scheduled opponent set to be the New York Giants in South Florida.
The league’s approach to an additional game will feature a cross-conference plan that rotates by division, similar to how the league has handed the four non-conference opponents each given year prior to the addition of the 17th game. And for Miami, they’ll be paired against the second-place finisher amid the NFC East teams. That sets the stage for the Dolphins to butt heads with a number of former colleagues of Brian Flores: Giants head coach Joe Judge (mutual time with the Patriots) and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham (Flores’ defensive coordinator in 2019).
Further details for the 2021 NFL schedule can be expected in the coming month — but for now plan accordingly. There will be more meaningful games played in 2021 than ever before in the history of the league. And if the Dolphins continue to trend in the right direction, we stand a good chance of seeing them play more than 17 games this upcoming season, too.