NFC East foe at home when NFL adds a 17th game

With the NFL moving closer to adding a 17th game, it appears there’s now some clarity on the scheduling formula that will determine what the added games will look like this season.

For the Miami Dolphins, it’s looking like that will equate to a home game against the New York Giants at Hard Rock Stadium.

NBC Sports’ Peter King laid out the scenarios for the 17-game season in his weekly Football Morning in America column. According to King, the AFC East will play the NFC East in 2021, with teams playing the corresponding team in the other division based on which place the teams finished in 2020.

With the Dolphins finishing in second place in the AFC East (10-6) and the Giants (6-10) finishing in second place in the NFC East, they will face each other when the NFL officially schedules the extra game in conjunction with the latest collective bargaining agreement.

The league, which has played a 16-game schedule since 1978, likely will reduce the preseason from four games to two to accommodate the extra-regular season game.

The Dolphins, who were scheduled to play in London last year, still may play one game overseas this season.

The Dolphins, for the first time, will be scheduled to play 11 games in the state of Florida, including a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are expected to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick.

The Dolphins also will play the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and five-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who will be 44 during the 2021 season, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The Dolphins’ 2021 opponents were determined in January, but the dates and times of those games won’t be released until April.