Dolphins enter must-win Week 18 matchup vs rival Jets

Updated Jan. 6, 2023 12:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK JETS (7-9) AT MIAMI (8-8)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Jets by 1.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Jets: 8-8; Dolphins: 7-8-1

SERIES RECORD: Dolphins lead 57-56-1.

LAST MEETING: Jets beat the Dolphins 40-17 in Week 5 at MetLife Stadium.

LAST WEEK: Jets lost to Seattle 23-6; Dolphins lost to New England 23-21.

JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (25), PASS (15), SCORING (27).

JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (16), PASS (2), SCORING (4).

DOLPHINS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (27), PASS (3), SCORING (10)

DOLPHINS DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (8), PASS (27), SCORING (27)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Jets minus-7; Dolphins minus-7.

JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Garrett Wilson. The No. 10 overall pick last April has been a consistent bright spot this season despite the Jets' inconsistency at quarterback and their overall struggles on offense. Wilson has already set the franchise record for rookies with 74 catches and 1,014 yards receiving — becoming the first Jets player to have 1,000 yards receiving since Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker accomplished the feat in 2015.

DOLPHINS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Jaelan Phillips leads the team with seven sacks this season — six of which came after Week 6. Phillips has been a bright spot on an inconsistent and underperforming defensive unit this season, and he has gotten better throughout the season. In his second NFL season, Phillips is just the second Dolphins player (A.J. Duhe) to have at least seven sacks in each of his first two NFL seasons.

KEY MATCHUP: Miami receivers vs Jets No. 2 passing defense. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle will not have Tua Tagovailoa throwing the ball to them. And they likely won’t have Teddy Bridgewater either when they face a Jets defense that’s allowing 192.5 passing yards per game. Their ability to get separation and find openings in the Jets secondary will be key in helping out rookie QB Skylar Thompson, who figures to be Miami’s starter Sunday.

KEY INJURIES: Jets QB Mike White was ruled out Friday for the game with a rib injury that sidelined him two games before he returned last Sunday. Joe Flacco will start in place of White. ... LT Duane Brown (shoulder), RT George Fant, G Nate Herbig (calf), CB Brandin Echols (quadriceps) and S Lamarcus Joyner (hip) will also be out for New York. ... Tagovailoa (concussion) will likely miss his second straight game for Miami. ... The status of Bridgewater (knee/right finger) was uncertain after he was limited in practice Wednesday and barely able to throw the ball. ... LT Terron Armstead (toe/pec /knee /hip), LB Bradley Chubb (ankle/hand) and CB Xavien Howard (knee) did not practice Wednesday after they were all inactive last week vs. New England.

SERIES NOTES: The AFC East rivals have played 114 times, including a postseason game won by Miami, and the Dolphins lead the series 57-56-1. ... The only time they faced each other in the playoffs was Jan. 23, 1983, when Miami won 14-0 in the AFC championship game before losing to Washington in the Super Bowl. On a muddy field at the Orange Bowl, A.J. Duhe intercepted Richard Todd three times and returned one for a score. Todd finished with five INTs. ... In 1986, the Jets won 51-45 in overtime on Ken O’Brien’s 43-yard TD pass to Wesley Walker. O’Brien threw for 479 yards and three TDs with one INT, while Miami’s Dan Marino had 448 yards, six TDs and two INTs. ... In 1994, Marino led the Dolphins to 22 unanswered points capped by his fake spike with 22 seconds left when he threw a 5-yard TD pass to Mark Ingram for the winning score in a 28-24 victory. ... The Jets had a big comeback of their own in 2000 with the “Monday Night Miracle.” New York erased a 30-7 fourth-quarter deficit as Vinny Testaverde threw four TD passes in the period, including a catch by offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott for the tying score. John Hall’s 40-yard field goal in OT gave the Jets a 40-37 victory.

STATS AND STUFF: The Jets have lost five straight, their longest skid under coach Robert Saleh. New York hasn’t lost six in a row since they dropped their first 13 games of the 2020 season under then-coach Adam Gase. ... The Jets were eliminated from postseason contention last Sunday with their loss at Seattle. New York has not made it to the playoffs in a franchise-record 12 consecutive years, the longest active drought in the NFL. ... New York has scored just four touchdowns on offense in its past five games. ... Flacco needs just two TD passes to surpass Zach Wilson (six) for the team lead this season despite having started just three previous games. ...TE Tyler Conklin had his best game in several weeks last Sunday at Seattle, finishing with six catches for 80 yards, including a 30-yard gain on third down in the third quarter. He’s second to Wilson on the Jets with 56 receptions. ... DE Quinnen Williams leads all interior D-linemen in the NFL with a minimum of 250 snaps played in sacks (12) and sack rate (3.5%). ... Rookie CB Sauce Gardner leads the NFL with 20 passes defensed, including four last Sunday at Seattle. ... The Jets’ 44 sacks are tied for the sixth most in a season in franchise history. ... The Dolphins have had a three-game winning streak, a three-game losing streak, a five-game winning streak, and a five-game losing streak this season. No team in NFL history has had losing streaks of both three and five games in the same season and made the playoffs. ... Miami is 0-3 when Tagovailoa doesn’t start this season. ... Miami needs a win Sunday to have a winning record for the third straight season. The most recent time the Dolphins had a winning record in three straight seasons was 2001-03. ... The Dolphins are 11-2 in their past 13 home games, their best home stretch since the 2001-02 seasons. ... Hill broke the franchise’s single-season receiving yards record in his 13th game. Hill has 117 receptions for 1,687 yards (14.4 avg.) this season. Hill also broke Miami’s single-season receptions record in Week 16 and has 117 catches with one game remaining. ... Hill and Waddle have combined for 2,999 receiving yards this season and need 1 more to become the fourth pair of teammates in NFL history to reach 3,000 receiving yards.

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