It’s been rumored for some time that the Miami Dolphins would face the Washington Commanders in Spain. On Tuesday, it became official.
The game will take place in Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid FC, on Week 11 (Nov. 16 at 9:30 a.m.). It’s the first-ever regular-season game in Spain.
Both the Commanders and the Dolphins will be among the most interesting teams to watch this upcoming season though for vastly different reasons.
The Commanders have one of the best young quarterbacks in football in Jayden Daniels. He was the key (as a rookie) to an unexpected deep playoff run last season. Overall, the Washington team will be one of the most followed and examined in the league.
The Dolphins are fascinating as well but that’s because the franchise, if the team doesn’t make the postseason, could face significant change. This is a critical year for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa, in five years, has played just one full season, and he’s missed 20 career games. That’s mainly (though not solely) because he’s suffered a number of devastating head injuries. Tagovailoa is an excellent quarterback but there has to be legitimate concern with the Dolphins about his longevity.If the Dolphins fail to make a playoff run this year, we could see the end of McDaniel’s head coaching career in Miami. Owner Stephen Ross, after the Jets loss in Week 18, warned in a statement that the “status quo” wasn’t good enough.
‘I’m not entitled to my position as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins,’ McDaniel said recently. ‘As we work together, (Ross) knows my expectation is to be the best person for the job and that can get convoluted. Was I the best person for the job last year? We lost more than we won; we were 8-9. There (are) a bunch of variables in that.’
Fifty-five regular-season NFL games have been played around the world throughout the league’s history, the NFL says, with London, Munich, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto all hosting games.
Playing internationally is nothing new for Miami. The franchise has played in seven regular-season games internationally, including London (five), Frankfurt (one) and Toronto (one).