Miami (3-7) (2-7) at the New York Jets
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
Betting Line: Dolphins from 3 1/2 according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Against spread: dolphins 4-6; Jets 2-7.
Series Record: The series is tied at 55-55-1.
Final Meeting: The Dolphins beat the Jets 20-3 on October 29, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Last week: Dolphins beat Ravens 22-10; The Jets lost to the Bills 45-17.
Dolphins Offenses: Overall (29), Rush (32), Pass (21), Scoring (28)
Dolphins Defense: Overall (29), Rush (15), Pass (28), Scoring (23)
Jets Offenses: Overall (22), Rush (30), Pass (11), Scoring (27)
Jet Defence: Overall (32), Rush (29), Pass (31), Scoring (32)
Turnover differential: dolphin minus -3; Jet Minus-15.
Dolphins player to watch: WR Jaylen Waddle. With 60 catches, he is well ahead of all other rookies in that department, and the Miami rookie mark of 84 set by Jarvis Landry in 2014 is within his reach.
Jets player to watch: WR Eliza Moore. The second-round pick-out from Mississippi begins after a slow start. He has taken 16 catches and three touchdowns for 195 yards in his last three matches.
Main match: New York offensive line vs Miami front seven. Miami made things miserable for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in their last game by dialing up a lot of cover zeroes with a blitz and a heavy pass rush. That’s one reason New York decided to start veteran Joe Flacco on inexperienced Mike White this week, hoping he’ll be able to take advantage of the weakness in the secondary if the Dolphins play up that plan.
Major Injuries: Dolphins WR Will Fuller remains on IR with a finger injury and was unlikely to return this week. … Jets QB Zach Wilson is recovering from a sprained knee ligament that will tear him through the fourth straight game. … rookie starts CB Brandin Echols and was placed on the IR with a quadriceps injury.
Series Note: AFC East Rivals have played 111 times, including one post-season game won by Miami, and the series is tied 55–55–1. … The Dolphins have won six of the last seven meetings and could only take a series lead for the first time in 21 years. The Jets drew 35–35–1 with a 20–3 victory on November 19, 2000, and have not been back in a one-on-one situation since. …average score for the first 111 games of the series: Dolphins 22, Jets 21. … they faced only in the playoffs on January 23, 1983, when Miami won the AFC Championship game before losing 14–0. Washington at the Super Bowl. On a muddy ground at the Orange Bowl, AJ Duhey stopped Richard Todd three times and returned one to score. Todd finished with five INTs. … In 1986, the Jets won 51-45 in overtime over Ken O’Brien’s 43-yard TD pass to Wesley Walker. O’Brien threw 479 yards and three TDs with one INT, while Miami’s Dan Marino had 448 yards, six TDs and two INTs. … In 1994, Marino led the Dolphins to 22 unanswered points with a fake spike with 22 seconds when he threw a 5-yard TD pass to Mark Ingram for the winning score in a 28-24 victory. … The Jets made their own big comeback in 2000 with “Monday Night Miracle”. New York erased a 30–7 deficit in the fourth quarter as Vinny Testavarde threw four TD passes in the period, including a catch by offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott for the tying score. John Hall’s 40-yard field goal in the OT gave the Jets an unexpected 40-37 victory.
Stats and Stuff: The Dolphins are looking for their first three-game winning streak since winning five in a row in the middle of last season. …After this week, Miami won’t be on the road again until after Christmas. The Dolphins have their next three games at home, and they also have a bye week. Miami’s next road game after Sunday is in New Orleans on December 27. … The Dolphins are 7-6 at MetLife Stadium, 7-4 against the Jets and 0-2 against the Giants. … QB Tua Tagovailoa will start after failing to do so in a win over the Ravens due to a finger injury. He came in to replace the injured Jacobi Brissette and threw for 158 yards and ran for a late touchdown. … In his last three starts, from Weeks 6–8, Tagovailoa’s 86 completions was the most in the NFL. … Dolphins CB Xivian Howard, the current AFC Defensive Player of the Week, has more interceptions over the past five seasons (24) than anyone in the NFL. He forced a fumble and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown against Baltimore. …’s Jason Sanders has scored 63 consecutive extra points, the longest active streak in the NFL. … the Jets are starting the 36-year-old Flacco in place of the injured Wilson after White started the last three games. If Flaco could throw for a distance of 250 or more yards, the Jets would be the second team in NFL history to have four players do so in a game in the same season. Wilson, White and Josh Johnson have done it all. The Ravens did it in 2015 with Flacco, Matt Schaub, Ryan Mallett and Jimmy Clausen. … The Jets are the first team since the Giants in 1966 to score at least 45 points three times in a four-game period. … After allowing 489 yards against Buffalo, teams have conceded 1,890 yards in the last four games—the most given by New York in the span of four games in team history. … 175 points allowed by the Jets in their last four matches is the second highest total by any team since the 1970 merger. In 2004 only Tennessee was worse with 177 points.
Fantasy Tip: Dolphins RB Miles Gaskins has been frustratingly inconsistent to the fantasy managers who have him plugged in every week. This may be the week to have him in their lineup. The Jets’ run defense has been terrific and Gaskins may find room to play outside the backfield.
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