Dolphins (

18.75) at
Raiders (

21.75)

GAME OVERVIEW ::

• Miami enters 2026 headed in an entirely new direction with a new coaching staff, new starting quarterback, and arguably the least proven skill group in the league.
• Dolphins QB Malik Willis had his career revitalized in Green Bay the last couple of seasons and looks to prove himself worthy of the $67.5 million contract he signed with Miami in March.
• Klint Kubiak makes his debut as an NFL head coach for the Raiders after leading the offense for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks last season.
• Raiders star RB Ashton Jeanty returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to be available for the season opener.
• Las Vegas was the least explosive offense in the league in 2025 and Kubiak brings one of the most explosive schemes in the league to town – they kick off Week 1 against a Miami defense that projects to be one of the league’s worst.

HOW MIAMI WILL TRY TO WIN::

The Dolphins will have a new look and identity in 2026 as they parted ways with Mike McDaniel and brought in a new head coach (Jeff Hafley) and offensive coordinator (Bobby Slowik). Hafley has a defensive background, which leaves Slowik calling the shots as he did during his time in Houston as the offensive coordinator for Demeco Ryans. Prior to that time in Houston, Slowik’s background was with the 49ers where he worked under Kyle Shanahan and Slowik was on staff last season with Mike McDaniel. This creates a situation where Slowik’s concepts and terminology may be an easier adjustment for returning players thanks to the fact that him and McDaniel are both products of the Shanahan coaching tree. Also a part of that coaching tree is Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who turned around the career of quarterback Malik Willis during his two seasons in Green Bay. Willis signed a three-year contract with Miami this March worth $67.5 million and enters Week 1 as a starting quarterback for the first time in his career. The Dolphins are hopeful that the similarity of systems will make for a seamless transition for Willis, who was terrific in his appearances for the Packers the last two seasons. Willis had a passer rating of 134.6 during those two seasons, when he averaged 10.9 yards per pass attempt and threw six touchdowns with no interceptions. Those stats are in addition to solid contributions with his legs, making Willis a legitimate dual threat QB.

The biggest problem for Willis will be the big change in offensive environment. He is no longer within the structure of the Packers offense with one of the more respected offensive minds in the league calling the shots. Instead he has Slowik, whose time in Houston was very underwhelming, and a Dolphins skill group that is very underwhelming. Star RB De’Von Achane is the obvious engine of the offense, but it drops off significantly after that. Expect Achane to be fed touches in all areas of the field and his skill set to be featured. The wide receiver group is likely to feature third year WR Malik Washington as the slot receiver and likely leader in targets behind Achane, with rookie Caleb Douglas occupying the “X” receiver role on the perimeter and veteran Jalen Tolbert and rookie Chris Bell rotating at the “Z” position. Bell was a first round talent who tore his ACL last November, which caused his draft stock to fall. He was recently cleared, but the team is going to ease him into things. At tight end, Greg Dulcich is expected to be the team’s top option but he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career.

Assuming the Dolphins build their offense around their best player (Achane) and QB (Willis), we can make some assertions about what this will look like. Obviously Achane is a versatile player and can be used in a variety of ways, with his speed being his greatest asset which means creating space and/or getting him on the perimeter are the priorities. Willis presents a running threat himself, so look for the Dolphins to leverage those two off of each other to create running lanes. When Miami does throw the ball, Willis has historically been very aggressive. Last season his checkdown rate of 8.3% (per statrankings.com) was among the lowest in the league, while his deep throw rate of 22.9% was by far the highest in the league. For comparison’s sake, Matthew Stafford led the NFL at only 15.2%. Of course, Willis had a small sample size, but the fact of the matter is that Willis has shown himself to be a very aggressive and capable downfield passer. Las Vegas has a retooled defense and a new scheme, which will be on display for the first time in Week 1. They are built to be a fast unit and are moving to a 3-4 scheme which will be tested immediately by the speed of Achane and Willis.