Dolphins vs Jets Game Preview

The Dolphins face off against their long-time division rival New York Jets this week up in North Jersey. The Jets are having a horrendous season, which has actually gotten slightly less dysfunctional over the year. They weren’t able to get their first win until week 8, but then they magically won a second time in a row after that. Justin Fields was an epic disaster for them from the start as he never showed that he was able to get the offense rolling during his entire tenure as the starter. The Jets offense kept on stalling and getting absolutely nowhere, and after 11 weeks the Jets finally decided to pull the plug on the Justin Fields experiment and replace him with long-time backup Tyrod Taylor. Taylor has looked better than Fields, if nothing else. The offense has picked up slightly, but more importantly the Jets are playing with more heart and passion than earlier in the season, and you can see it bleed out onto the field- if not in the win-column. This team really does play with heart. That’s not for a lack of dysfunction, but I do see a lot of fire in their game. Coach Aaron Glenn is being given lots of time and leeway to finally right this ship called the New York Jets from their terrible past decade+.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins come in winners of three-in-a-row, and are still giving us fans something to hope for this season. Although the chances barely ticked up despite the Dolphins’ recent victories (due to a lot of teams ahead of them playing well), they’re still not out of it just yet. And even though there are a million-and-a-half things which need to go right even if the Dolphins win out, there’s still a chance…

The Jets beat the Falcons on a last-second 56 yard field goal from Nick Folk, who has proven that age is but a number, and the Jets have now won 3of their last 5, which is saying something for a team that started off 0 and 7. Jets playoffs, anyone? Just kidding. They're 1 loss from being clinched out. Let’s hope the Dolphins can seal that nightmare…

For all of the Jet-haters out there, of which I’m sure there are many, I don’t share the same hatred as you because my feelings with them are simply pity. This franchise is so bad and so horribly pathetic the past decade and a half that I can’t help but just feel bad for them for how bad they are. Not that I would blame you for hating them (because who needs an excuse to hate a New Jersey York team?), but I just don’t share those feelings at the present time. Maybe once they start having success again (if they ever do), I'll gladly hop onto that bandwagon.

Either way, the Dolphins look to win their fourth in a row and with that to climb slightly higher in the WC standings as they head up to East Rutherford, where they should be met with some cold weather. Tua and the Dolphins have especially struggled in cold weather in recent years, and they don’t want to keep that trend going. Just look at their recent record in games played under 40°; They've lost 13 straight! As of this writing, game time temperature is going to be 42° and cloudy, although that’s certainly subject to change. let's hope it stays above 40°...

Tua will continue to look for answers to his uninspiring season thus far, and I wonder what Mike McDaniel will call for this game. Last game he wisely played it very conservative (although Tua still managed to throw an interception), but the game plan was a part of how the Dolphins ended up in the win column. Achane is unstoppable and the offense runs through him, and hopefully McDaniel sees that for what it is and keeps running the ball.

Here's another reason to run the ball: as bad as the Jets’ offense is, similar to last week’s Saints, they aren’t all that bad on defense- despite losing their 2 best players in the fire-sale at the trade deadline. And similar once more to the Saints’ defense, they are solid against the pass and bad against the rush. You know what that means? Run the same gameplan as last time! It worked against the Saints, so why wouldn’t you run it back again (pun intended)? In fact, I would run it even more than last time. Achane is already one of the best backs in the league and Ollie Gordon is establishing himself as a can't-get-me-down big man (who is still learning but has a very promising future). The chances of something bad happening are much lower the more the Dolphins run the ball and keep it out of Tua’s hands. And the chances of something good happening are just as good if not better with Achane and Gordon than with Tua. So, once again, Mike McDaniel, run the ball. Run. The. Ball.

The only thing the Dolphins have to be wary of is the Jets' special teams. They lead the league in kickoff return yards and already have 1 return for a touchdown. I'm not saying to kick it in the endzone every time and give them them ball at the 35, but they've got to be extra vigilant on kickoffs. 

My Prediction: Dolphins 21 Jets 20