NFL unveils 2025 schedule as Colts host Dolphins in season opener

It will be the second straight season the Dolphins will visit Indianapolis. The Colts defeated the Dolphins in a low-scoring, 16-10 affair in Week 7 last season as Richardson was limited to completing just 10-of-24 passes for 129 passing yards and zero touchdowns. The last time the Dolphins faced the Colts in the season opener was in 1998 when Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning made his NFL debut.

The NFL revealed the schedules for all 32 teams Wednesday evening, and the Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to kickoff the 2025 NFL season inside Lucas Oil Stadium against the Miami Dolphins.

Perhaps the first takeaway of this Week 1 matchup is the homecoming for Dolphins’ rookie Kenneth Grant. Miami selected Grant, a massive defensive tackle out of Michigan, with the 13th overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. The Indiana-native and Merrillville product became the fourth alum to hear his name called in the NFL Draft, and the first prospect to be selected in the first round.

“They prepared me pretty good,” Grant said of the Merrillville high school coaches. “Put me in a lot of different schemes and a lot of different play stunts, so they always kept me open-minded. Credit to them.”

The dominant run-stopper will be put to the test in his NFL debut as he’s assigned to limit the eighth-best rushing offense that features star running back Jonathan Taylor and just added another gem in rookie D.J. Giddens in the fifth round. Standing across the line of scrimmage will be none other than Colts guard Quenton Nelson. The former sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft blossomed into a Canton-bound, all-timer after seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro selections, all with the Colts.

Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will be faced with the challenge of scheming a game plan to stop the Dolphins’ electric offense from having a field day inside of a dome. The Colts signed two defensive backs, Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward, to long-term deals during free agency. The pair will be tasked to track the tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who are among the five-best receiver duos in the league.

Despite both receivers coming off a down year, Hill is just two years removed from leading the league with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle caught just two receiving TDs last season, but posted 1,000-plus-yard campaigns in each of his first three seasons and led the league with 18.1 yards per reception in 2022.

As Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones compete to claim the open starting quarterback job, the road to ending a four-year playoff drought begins with another chance to end a mediocre tendency. The Colts have not won the season opener since 2013, whereas the Dolphins have emerged victorious in each of the last four openers.

Miami returns a top 10 defense that allowed the fourth-fewest total yards (314.3), ninth-fewest passing yards (210.6) and tenth-fewest points per game (21.4) last season. It will be the second straight season the Dolphins will visit Indianapolis. The Colts defeated the Dolphins in a low-scoring, 16-10 affair in Week 7 last season as Richardson was limited to completing just 10-of-24 passes for 129 passing yards and zero touchdowns.

The last time the Dolphins faced the Colts in the season opener was in 1998 when Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning made his NFL debut.