Miami Dolphins' 2024 NFL schedule: Look at all these top QB's Miami won't have to play
There are many reasons for optimism when evaluating opponents on the Miami Dolphins' soon-to-be-released NFL schedule.
And so here's another: Miami is going to avoid facing many of the best NFL quarterbacks.
The Dolphins will host San Francisco and Brock Purdy, who led the NFL with a passer rating of 113.0.
Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished fifth at 101.1.
Miami is scheduled to face only three of of top 14 quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL regular season, as sorted by passer rating in 2023.
The Dolphins will avoid these top quarterbacks on NFL schedule
Excluding Tagovailoa of course, the other 10 quarterbacks they'll miss are: Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Lamar Jackson, Jake Browning, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes.
Of course, Miami may have to go through Jackson (Baltimore), Wilson (Pittsburgh), Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers) and/or Mahomes (Kansas City) in the AFC Playoffs.
The best quarterbacks the Dolphins will face on 2024 NFL schedule
The quarterbacks with the highest passer ratings in 2023 that Miami will face this season are: Purdy (1st), C.J. Stroud and Houston (6th), Jordan Love and Green Bay (11th) and Matthew Stafford and Los Angeles Rams (15th).
Miami is scheduled to face only four quarterbacks who ranked in the top 15 in the NFL in passer rating in 2023.
Now, there are a few caveats here.
But what about Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen?
Yes, the Dolphins are scheduled to face aging legend Aaron Rodgers and nemesis Josh Allen of the Jets and Bills twice apiece.
Yes, they are both very good quarterbacks.
Rodgers, of course, is returning from an Achilles injury.
Allen, perhaps a bit surprisingly, ranked only 16th in the NFL in passer rating last season.
Some other other quarterbacks Miami will face who are capable of posting better statistics in 2024 include: Kyler Murray (19th, Cardinals), Trevor Lawrence (21st, Jaguars), Anthony Richardson (22nd for Colts, if he had qualified), DeShaun Watson (24th for Browns if he had qualified).
Miami also faces Geno Smith (17th, Seahawks) and Will Levis (24th, Titans).
It's unknown how New England rookie Drake Maye will perform against Miami, but surely the Dolphins will be favored in each game. The Patriots' other top quarterback is Jacoby Brissett, a native of West Palm Beach.
How does Tua Tagovailoa compare?
We all know that Tua led the NFL with more than 4,600 passing yards last season.
Josh Allen (4th), Brock Purdy (5th), Jordan Love (7th) and C.J. Stroud (8th) all also excelled in that category last season.
We also know Tua wants to perform better in late-season moments.
Tua is 32-19 in the regular season and 0-1 in the postseason.
But he's 10-11 in Miami games played in December and January.
The Dolphins are about to extend Tagovailoa because they believe he can turn that around and lead Miami to playoff wins over many of the aforementioned quarterbacks.
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 2024 NFL schedule Miami Dolphins have advantage of missing top QBs
