It shouldn’t be too hard for the Jets to stymie a team that averages only 11 points per game, but New York’s defense hasn’t been able to stop any opposing offense since the Bills in Week 1.
Between injuries, underperforming players, trades and disgruntled stars, the Jets defense continues to regress under the direction of Gregg Williams. The Dolphins offense also hasn’t looked terrible since their bye. Miami averaged only 6.5 points before Week 5, but have averaged 17 points since then.
This game will determine once and for all how lost and broken the Jets truly are. A dominant defensive showing will serve as a much-needed morale boost for the 1-6 Jets, but a loss would drop the team further into despair.
Here are four keys to the Jets defense for Week 9.
Lockdown Devante Parker and Preston Williams
The Dolphins don’t have many offensive weapons, but the Jets will need to shut down their top two wide receivers in order to completely ruin any chance the Dolphins have of cultivating an offense. DeVante Parker and Preston Williams have actually been pretty effective despite playing for one of the worst teams in the league. Parker has at least 50 receiving yards or a touchdown in every game and Williams leads the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards.
Both are big-bodied wideouts who could pose problems for the Jets secondary. New York’s secondary hasn’t been great this season, allowing the ninth-most yards per game. Trumaine Johnson missed Thursday’s practice with an ankle injury and if he misses Sunday’s game the Jets would be woefully undermanned to cover Parker and Williams.
Pressure Ryan Fitzpatrick
Jets fans know the plight for Fitzpatrick all too well. Sometimes he’s magical but oftentimes he’s downright dreadful. Fitzpatrick had a fantastic start to the Dolphins’ Week 8 game against the Steelers with two first-quarter passing touchdowns and no turnovers, but he fell off a cliff once Pittsburgh applied pressured. Fitzpatrick finished with two interceptions, two fumbles (one lost) and four sacks in the final three quarters.
The Jets are thin at pass rush after trading away Leonard Williams, and Henry Anderson, Steve McLendon and Neville Hewitt are all battling injuries. This could be a breakout game for Quinnen Williams against a Miami team that has allowed 35 quarterback hits this season – second-most in the league.
Don’t allow second-half points
The Dolphins haven’t won a game, but that that doesn’t mean they haven’t at least been competitive in a few. Miami has actually led a few times in 2019, most notably during the past two games when they jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead over the Steelers in Week 8 and led the Bills 14-9 at halftime in Week 7. The second-half, though, is when teams have shut down the Dolphins and taken them out of games.
The Dolphins have the fewest total points in the NFL (77), but 74 percent of their points came in the first half of their games. The Dolphins average an abysmal 2.5 second-half points, and the Jets must continue that pattern if they want to avoid losing to a winless team.
Stop the run
The Dolphins are not good at a lot of things, but they’re especially bad at running the football. Mark Walton now leads the charge for the Dolphins, and he’ll be starting for only the fourth time in his two-year career. The Dolphins are 31st in rushing yards (460) and rank 28th in yards per rush attempt (3.3). However, the Dolphins play well when their run game succeeds. Miami averages 18.5 points when it for more than 72 yards and only eight points when they rush for less than 72 yards.
The Jets defense is decimated by injury, especially in the middle where running backs do their damage, but they still have a top-10 run defense. The defensive line must win at the point of attack and not allow too many positive rush attempts to cover up the weaknesses at linebacker.
