The only thing more demoralizing than losing to a previously winless team is doing it twice in one season.
The Jets accomplished just that in their loss to the then-0-11 Bengals in Week 13, just four weeks after they deliver the Dolphins’ first win of the 2019 season. This time the Jets will get the chance for revenge at home against a team that’s riding an offensive hot streak.
New York is severely depleted with a bevy of injuries including safety Jamal Adams, who’s recovering from an ankle injury. New York will likely lean on its dominant run defense again, though the Dolphins average the fewest rushing attempts and rushing yards of any team in the league. Miami will utilize its passing game, so the Jets should expect to see a lot of Ryan Fitzpatrick, DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki.
With that being said,here are four keys to the Jets defense against the Dolphins.
Focus on DeVante Parker
The Dolphins’ recent uptick in offensive production is due in large part to DeVante Parker finally breaking out and realizing his potential.
The wideout already reached career-highs with 854 receiving yards and six touchdowns and he’s secured at least six receptions and more than 90 yards in three consecutive games. He and Preston Williams tortured the Jets secondary when the two teams met back in Week 9. Now he’s the focal point of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s targets with Williams on injured reserve.
The Jets could have a tough time against the physical Parker, especially after giving up nine receptions for 125 yards and touchdown to the Bengals wideouts Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate a week ago. This will another good test for rookie Bless Austin to see if he’s truly capable of being a starting cornerback.
Stop Mike Gesicki
Another Dolphins’ pass catcher who’s been tearing it up lately is tight end Mike Gesicki. He’s coming off a five-catch, 79-yard, one-touchdown performance in the win over the Eagles and he torched the Jets for six catches and 65 yards in Week 9. Gesicki could receive a heavy target share once again if the Jets contain Parker, especially considering the tight ends have averaged about four catches for 42 yards over the past five weeks.
James Burgess and Neville Hewitt have been horrendous in coverage against tight ends this season. They played a huge role in allowing Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah to corral five balls for 51 yards in Week 13. Gesicki is playing well enough to warrant some concern from Gregg Williams and the Jets will need to keep their eyes on him in the passing game.
Force turnovers
The Jets defense needs takeaways against this hot Dolphins team.
They didn’t force any turnovers against the Bengals in last week’s loss, which was the first time since the Jets’ Week 9 match with the Dolphins. It was a big reason why the Bengals continued to build momentum on offense.
Luckily for New York, the Dolphins rank third in giveaways with 23 and Ryan Fitzpatrick is tied for sixth in the league with 11 interceptions. Turnovers change games and the Jets defense hasn’t been forcing them with enough regularity to make them competitive in most games. That needs to change against the Dolphins is the Jets want to get back on track to end the year.
Don’t give up first downs
During the Jets’ three-game winning streak, they allowed only 15 or fewer first downs. But in the most recent losses to the Dolphins and Bengals, the Jets gave up 22 and 18 first downs, respectively. The Jets need to force quick drives to keep the defense fresh, control time of possession and give the offense more opportunities to score points.
For the season, the Jets rank 25th in first downs allowed (18.7 per game) and the Dolphins rank 27th in first downs converted (18), so neither team is better or worse at extending or ending drives. However, the Jets aren’t a good third-down defense – allowing teams to convert on 42.6 percent of their attempts (10th-worst).
