USA Today rips Dolphins, says they shouldn't 'sniff' same number of primetime games as last season

The Miami Dolphins are coming off a season that fell short of expectations. Despite high hopes, Miami missed the playoffs, and now drama is brewing between the franchise and wide receiver Tyreek Hill—who notably did not mention his quarterback when listing the best in the NFL.

Adding to the noise, the Dolphins were thrown some early offseason shade when Packers running back Josh Jacobs took a jab at them. During a livestream, Jacobs was asked if he would consider joining Miami. His response was blunt:

“No I’m not, I’m trying to win gang, I ain’t trying to lose,” Jacobs said.

Looking ahead, the Dolphins are expected to have one of the easiest overall schedules in the league once the full slate is released. However, it still shapes up to be one of the toughest within the AFC East.

“The Dolphins will get the Los Angeles Chargers at home and get the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals at home as well. Their road games are not horrible with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons on the schedule. Miami gets a good home game schedule, but will travel to Spain to play one of their home games. Overall, the Dolphins ranked 21st in strength of schedule. Their opposing team's win percentage is .474,” Brian Miller wrote.

Last season, the Dolphins were awarded five primetime games. This year, USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz is urging the NFL to reconsider giving them that many high-profile slots.

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“An uneven roster could take additional hit with the expected trade of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and Tyreek Hill's discontent doesn't augur well for a group that continues to put more on Tua Tagovailoa's shoulders. Maybe a few early-season spotlight games would be reasonable for Miami, but an outfit with this little staying power shouldn't sniff the five prime-time matchups it was granted last spring,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote.

On paper, the Dolphins don’t look as strong heading into this season. This could cost the Dolphins to have one primetime game, if that.