“Must-have wins” in Week 1 borders on ludicrous commentary.

Despite that, the Miami Dolphins are likely in the closest position a team can come to claim such a thing. The 2025 season opener versus the Indianapolis Colts kicks off a stretch where the team goes from playing Indianapolis (where Miami is currently a slight favorite on the road) before divisional games against New England and Buffalo — all the span of 11 days.

Interestingly, in reading reports out of Indianapolis, their media contingency sees this game the same way for the Colts – get this easier win in Miami before having to face the Denver Broncos at home and LA Rams on the road in 2-of-3 weeks that follows.

WEEK 1 — THE DETAILS

– The Dolphins travel to Indianapolis to begin the 2025 season as they face the Colts on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1:00 p.m. ET from Lucas Oil Stadium. Sunday’s game marks the second consecutive season Miami has traveled to Indianapolis after losing 16-10 in 2024.

– Miami holds a 46-29 record all-time against the Colts (Baltimore and Indianapolis). A win this Sunday would mark a fifth-straight season-opening win for the Dolphins and a 4-0 record in openers for head coach Mike McDaniel.

Dolphins Radio for Colts game can also be found on SiriusXM channel 382

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SCOUTING COLTS-DOLPHINS MATCHUPS

– With seventh-year pro Daniel Jones starting at quarterback, scouting and preparing for Indianapolis is a little easier than with the wild-card Anthony Richardson, despite his flaws. Jones is a good runner and more reliable passer, but nowhere near the danger Richardson would be and nowhere near the unknown in terms of what would show up for Miami to contend with on gameday.

– The Colts have some nice offensive weapons, especially young ones. Star RB Jonathan Taylor is a player the Dolphins want to contain but Taylor has also dealt with injuries the last three years. Regardless, rookie DJ Giddens (Kansas State) is one of the best backs from this past year’s draft class. The Dolphins will not be able to take a break when Taylor gets a breather. Giddens is similar to fellow Big 12 rookie Ollie Gordon II, but Giddens is quicker and faster, while Gordon a little more of a banger. At 6-0, 212, Giddens is still a handful but has ankle-breaking shake not common for a player his size.

– As far as tests go for the Miami defensive backs, this Sunday will provide a nice ramp-up to the rest of the season. That’s not to say an easy outing exists at this point for Miami, but the Colts have three returning receivers who went for right around 800 yards last year. Of them, Alec Pierce (6-3, 211) is probably the biggest threat as he led the team in yards in 2024 (824) on only 37 receptions. That’s a whopping 22.3 yards per catch and he had seven TDs. Veteran Michael Pittman Jr. offers the possession receiver to Pierce’s homerun threat.

– Another threat the Colts will surely make an effort to feature is first round selection TE Tyler Warren. Unless something has changed dramatically in terms of Warren’s blocking this offseason, his role will be that of an F tight end. At Penn State, he was featured as receiver and runner, taking snaps as a Wildcat. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry on 26 attempts to go along with 104 receptions his senior year, so he is a weapon who will have multiple uses, especially in red zone/goal line situations.

– The Colts look like they are rolling out former Chiefs/49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward on one side after acquiring him in free agency this offseason. On the other side is the former Dolphins player Xavien Howard, he of the 27 career interceptions in Miami (3^rd on team career list). And just like the Colts must feel when looking at a new cast of Real World Miami in the Dolphins secondary, McDaniel must be scheming up ways to attack Howard. A year removed from football, there’s no chance he got faster since 2023 and that was his primary problem then – slowed by age. Though he’s atop the depth chart, don’t think Indy won’t move in if things start to get squirrely.

“(Xavien Howard is) a veteran guy who gave his legs a year off and then got back into it now. And has been through basically three weeks of training camp and a week of game prep coming up. So, we’ll see how it goes. We’ve got a bunch of able bodies there at that position, so we’ll play it by ear.” – Colts’ first-year defensive coordinator Lou Amaruno

– Indianapolis does present a challenge in its front four with veteran DeForest Buckner still hammering out 6-8 sacks every year from his tackle position, and a pair of good pass rushing ends in Kwity Paye and second-year player Laiatu Latu. Watching the Dolphins preseason, the spot they are likely going to want to attack is left guard, where I imagine the Dolphins likewise will have rookie Jonah Savaiinaea linked up with some help.

– Similar to Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Colts DC Lou Amaruno’s goal is to disguise pressure and force opponents into tough late-down situations. The cohesiveness of Miami’s new front five (or possible lack thereof) will be on display early. It’s not the toughest challenge the Dolphins will face this year, but it is a good one to start the season, as the Colts front is far from a pushover.

– Second-year receiver Anthony Gould handles all the returns for the Colts. On the 53-man roster primarily as a specialist, he averaged 29.4 yards per kick return and 9.5 yards on 10 punt returns in his rookie year. Keeping him from hitting his top speed will be the goal for Craig Aukerman’s coverage teams, as Gould ran a 4.39 at the 2024 NFL Combine.

MORE NOTES ON DOLPHINS 2025 SEASON OPENER

– If forced to pick the single most important statistic when it comes to the Dolphins this year, it has to be turnover margin. The more chances for Miami’s offense and less for opposing receivers against the team’s unproven corners, the more likely a positive overall outcome. 

– On the defensive side, protection for those unproven cornerbacks has to come in the form of creating chaos up front with different looks, blitz packages/locations. Opposing quarterbacks not knowing where the heat is coming from could make for some indecisive throws and possible miscues. 

– If there is an area to expect the defense to attack, it’s the middle-right side of the Colts’ offensive line. Indy is trotting out a second-year center who started five games last year in Tanor Bortolini and a right guard in Matt Goncalves who is not only inexperienced, but is switching from tackle to guard for the first time in his career. Expect not only some problems for the Colts in the form of Zach Sieler, but also Weaver finding ways to attack that spot with disguised heat coming as well.

– In the preseason, Weaver hinted at using heavy fronts (or at least the threat of them pre-snap) on early downs with the goal being lengthy third downs for the offense, which would benefit Miami setting its array of pass-rushers loose.

– It’s undeniable that Devon Achane is the most explosive back on Miami’s roster and one of the team’s most important players. But NFL teams — and more importantly, the Dolphins — are in a state of transition somewhat on defense to stop the likes of what Miami was able to do in 2023. The two-high safeties, double teams and light boxes that dogged Dolphins’ receivers is the recipe for an offense to start using a big back and running the ball more. Splitting time with Gordon might not only be good for Miami scheme-wise, it would likely help extend Achane’s career while offering the team one of the truest speed-power running back duos in the league. 

– Miami’s offensive transition under McDaniel shouldn’t be too much of a challenge as the scheme will remain the same but probably look more like Mike Shanahan’s offense than McDaniel’s protégé, his son Kyle Shanahan. Mike Shanahan used a run-first approach to open the pass game, whereas his son Kyle (and McDaniel) use have traditionally used run “looks” more than actual run game to set up what was(?) basically an old-school West coast passing offense. The lone difference look-wise is that McDaniel and Kyle run their primarily zone schemes out of shotgun or pistol, where Mike had his QBs under center. The Dolphins addition of guards James Daniels and second-round pick Savaiinaea are on the roster with this approach in mind, so expect to see an effort to feature the run game first against the Colts. If it succeeds in getting double teams off receivers and Miami can start stretching the field again, mission accomplished.

– Aukerman has used double teams on punt coverages and looks to funnel the return man to the middle of the field, which was effective in the preseason. That would be a good idea with Anthony Gould’s speed. On kickoffs, Miami used directional kicks with Jason Sanders in the preseason, and the assumption is they will do the same with temporary replacement Riley Patterson.