The Miami Dolphins will look to move their record at 6-7 when they face the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The Dolphins are coming off the disappointing 13-point loss against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night. The Jets are 3-9 after their loss against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday clinched their ninth consecutive losing season and they’re one loss away from extending their playoff drought (the longest active streak in the NFL) to 14 seasons.
The Dolphins and Jets are meeting for the first time this season. The Dolphins have won the past three meetings including a sweep last season with victories by scores of 34-13 and 30-0.
Here are the five biggest storylines for this year’s Week 14 matchup.
1) BOUNCE-BACK GAME
The Dolphins are back at home, where they’ve been much better in recent years, and also facing the kind of team they’ve dominated in recent years. This is a game the Dolphins obviously need to have to keep their playoff hopes alive and they also need to build some confidence heading into the Week 15 game at Houston, and that means being able to dominate a team basically playing out the string.
2) COMING THROUGH IN SHORT-YARDAGE SPOTS
It might not matter that much in the final outcome, but the Dolphins need to find a fix for their short-yardage problems if they are to mount a run for the playoffs. However they choose to go about it isn’t nearly as significant as having some success, and a repeat of the troubles at Green Bay with the failed third-and-goal and fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line is totally unacceptable.
3) REELING IN RODGERS
Aaron Rodgers is headed to the Hall of Fame five years after his career ends, but he’s clearly not the same quarterback anymore, except for some flashes where his legendary accuracy shows up. Those spots have been few and far between for the Jets this season, though, and it’s on the Dolphins defense to make sure — with pressure and coverage — he’s not able to produce his first 300-yard outing of the season in this game.
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4) TIME FOR THE DEEP BALL
The Dolphins have talked all season about taking what the defense is giving them, but at some point we’re going to say the Dolphins need to take what they want to get. We all remember Tua Tagovailoa’s bomb to Jaylen Waddle in the 30-0 victory against the Jets last season when Waddle easily beat D.J. Reed in single coverage, and we just flat-out want to see one of those plays in this game.
5) NO SPECIAL TEAMS BREAKDOWNS
Yes, we’re going to keep mentioning the special teams, and it’s going to happen until there no longer are any issues. The Dolphins have a big edge in this game in every area, so they just can’t give the Jets any breaks in the kicking game like they did at Green Bay with the muffed punt, which came shortly after allowing a 43-yard kickoff return to open the game. The Dolphins have to tighten up that area of the game, plain and simple.