One team is still alive in the playoff race while the other is far from it when the Miami Dolphins visit the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The Dolphins have kept things close in the AFC East, but at 6-5, they still might be outperforming most expectations set prior to the beginning of the season. They're three games back of the New England Patriots in the division and while they're not out of it yet, it will be tough to unseat them. It's also competitive outside of the division and wild card spots are going to be at a premium.
‘Monday Night Football,’ Dolphins vs. Jets 2014: Miami trying to keep playoff hopes alive
The Miami Dolphins are still in the playoff race and need to get past the New York Jets on Monday.
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
That’s why it’s so important for Miami to get a win Monday night. The Dolphins -- whose only losses have come to teams that currently have winning records -- should be able to handle a Jets team that has only managed two wins so far this season.
The big question for the Dolphins is simple -- can they finish the game? Miami has given up a late lead multiple times this season, most recently against the Denver Broncos in Week 12. That game saw the Broncos score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead and the eventual win. They also gave up leads to the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers earlier in the season.
New York is coming off a Monday loss against the Buffalo Bills in a neutral-site game that had to be moved to Detroit due to a massive snowstorm in western New York. The Jets are once again shuffling their quarterback position, going back to Geno Smith after benching him for Michael Vick. Neither Smith nor Vick has been any good this year, and the Jets have followed suit. There's a lot of uncertainty with this team and where they'll be this offseason, with plenty of turnover expected on the coaching staff.
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Digits
The Jets have just two wins, but both of those came at home over the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers. The team has four losses at home, while the Dolphins have a 3-3 record in away games, so the homefield advantage isn't a factor that is hugely in favor of the Jets. The team has been better at homje than it has on the road where they suffered big losses to the San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Bills.
Miami has the advantage in Monday Night Football showings. The Dolphins carry an all-time record of 40-38 record on Monday nights while the Jets have the sixth-worst record at 19-27 record, including a 27-19 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 3.
For the Jets, the goal will be to find some offense without turning the ball over, but both have been struggles in 2014. After replacing Geno Smith with Michael Vick in the starting lineup, the Jets did a much better job at avoiding turnovers, and recorded only one in the last three games. However, the team managed just 218 yards of total offense in its last showing and could face a challenge finding yardage against the Dolphins’ fifth-ranked defense. With Smith back in the lineup, the Jets will need to get the offense restarted, but do so without Smith’s penchant for turning the ball over.
The Dolphins have been better running the ball than passing -- their rushing offense is 10th in the NFL while the passing game is 23rd. Against a Jets defense that allows just 3.4 yards per carry, Ryan Tannehill will likely need to find success against their secondary, which has given up over 300 passing yards eight times and leads the NFL in touchdown passes allowed.
Who to Watch
Percy Harvin -- The October trade that sent the 2009 first-round pick to the Jets captured headlines, but hasn't captured much else since. Harvin still hasn't scored a touchdown since he caught an 18-yard pass from Christian Ponder in Oct. 2012, and he'll have a tough go against Miami's fourth-ranked pass defenses. However, he could find some wiggle room on special teams -- the Dolphins allow an average of 28.6 yards per kick return and are one of six teams to have allowed a kick return to be returned for a touchdown. Harvin is averaging only 23.7 yards per kick return in 2014, but if the Dolphins give him some room, he could make them pay.
Jarvis Landry -- Miami's second-round pick, Landry has been great this season. He hasn't had that huge breakout game just yet, but he's been a consistent target for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. More importantly, he's been outperforming Mike Wallace for the past few weeks. He had five receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown against the Bills in Week 11, and then caught seven passes for 50 yards with two touchdowns against the Broncos, his first multi-touchdown game in the NFL. He could be in line for another one on Monday, since the Dolphins will be looking to throw the ball early and often.
The Venue
MetLife Stadium became the home of the Jets and the New York Giants in 2010 after both teams relocated from the adjacent Giants Stadium. The $1.6 billion stadium has a capacity of 82,566 and the Jets rank fourth in the NFL in average attendance with 78,160 fans per game. MetLife Stadium played host to the Super Bowl in February, making it the first time a cold-weather city hosted the game in a non-domed stadium.
How to Watch
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden
Online streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile | WatchESPN
Odds
Miami is favored on the road by 7 points over New York, with an over/under of 41.5, per OddsShark.
Preliminary Judgment
Miami may be on the road, but that didn’t stop most NFL experts from picking the Dolphins. That includes at SB Nation where six of the seven experts sided with Miami. The Dolphins were a unanimous pick by the CBS Sports experts while 12 of the 13 ESPN experts picked Miami.
Further Reading
For more on the Dolphins, head over to The Phinsider.
To keep up on the Jets, check out Gang Green Nation.
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