The NFL returns to Saturday night with a matchup that might turn out to be less than desirable. The New York Jets are playing out the string of a lost season, while the Miami Dolphins are in the heat of a playoff race without their starting quarterback. It’ll be Matt Moore vs. Bryce Petty in primetime television.
Dolphins vs. Jets live stream: How to watch Saturday night football online
The first Saturday game of the season features an AFC East matchup.
The game is being televised exclusively on NFL Network, which does not stream its games online. The only legal streaming options are through DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket service (for qualified subscribers) and the NFL’s mobile app for Verizon customers.
The Dolphins improved to 8-5 after holding off a furious comeback by the Arizona Cardinals. They’re neck-and-neck with the Denver Broncos for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs. However, Miami’s season took an unfortunate turn when starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s game. The initial fear is that he tore his ACL, but it was later revealed that he had a sprained ACL and MCL. Regardless, Tannehill is done for the regular season and would be a long shot to return even if the Dolphins make the playoffs.
Taking Tannehill’s place is the 32-year-old Moore, who hasn’t seen regular playing time since 2011. For his part, Moore came off the bench in heavy rains last week and was efficient, completing 3 of 5 passes for 47 yards and moving the offense to set up the game-winning field goal. How he performs down the stretch is anyone’s guess, but Moore has been a competent game manager in the past and that typically describes Tannehill’s play, so it might not be as big a downgrade as people expect.
It helps that Moore is going up against a Jets defense ranked 22nd in passing yards allowed per game. The Jets’ season went off the rails in a hurry and head coach Todd Bowles could be on the hot seat in just his second year on the job.
New York seemingly packed it in after an embarrassing Monday night loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, and Bowles officially benched Ryan Fitzpatrick for Petty for the rest of the season. At least Jets fans finally had something to smile about this week after a comeback overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers (yeah, it’s just the 49ers, but they’ll take what they can get), snapping a four-game losing streak.
Petty still doesn’t look like the long-term answer at quarterback, but Bilal Powell stepped up when it mattered. Filling in for Matt Forte (who injured his knee early in the game), Powell gashed the 49ers defense for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime. If Forte misses time, Powell has proven that he can hold down the backfield as a full-time starter.
Who’s in and who’s out in the playoff picture?
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Which teams will join the Cowboys in the postseason? Check out the complete standings.
Despite those positive notes, it’s another lost season and the Jets will enter the offseason with serious questions after going 10-6 last year. An aging roster built to win now is not winning now, which is a big problem for Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan. We’ll see if they get another chance to right the ship.
How to watch
Time: 8:25 p.m. ET
Place: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: NFL Network
Announcers: Mike Tirico, Doug Flutie, Heather Cox
Online: Sunday Ticket, Verizon NFL Mobile
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