It’s going to happen. The Miami Dolphins are going to end the losing streak by taking care of business against the New York Jets at home in Week 9.
In a game that’s sure to be an ugly one, someone has to win when the Miami Dolphins welcome the New York Jets into Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Sunday afternoon in Week 9. Combined, these AFC East rivals have 1-13 through the first eight weeks of the 2019 NFL season. Collectively, they stink but barring an awkward tie, someone has to win this game. It’ll be Miami.
Wait, what? Aren’t the Dolphins done with winning this season? They might be, but it’s not like Gang Green is all about collecting W’s either. This will be the first of two annual meetings between these divisional foes. It might sound silly now, but this is a game the Dolphins could win. If the Jets could beat the Dallas Cowboys, the Dolphins can beat the Jets at home on Sunday.
A reason we can believe the Dolphins are going to get it done vs. Gang Green is that they played well for stretches against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in Week 8. Miami held a 14-0 lead before surrendering 27 unanswered points in primetime. The Dolphins outplayed the Steelers for much of the first half. If they want to, they can do this thing vs. the Jets.
Though both organizations are about as dysfunctional as it gets, we have to give the slight edge to Miami in togetherness at this time. Sure, the Dolphins traded running back Kenyan Drake to the Arizona Cardinals before the NFL trade deadline and they put star defensive back Xavien Howard on IR after Monday night’s loss in Pittsburgh, but that’s still not as chaotic as the Jets organization.
Jets starting quarterback Sam Darnold is seeing ghosts. That could explain why he’s throwing interceptions like he’s Baker Mayfield or Jameis Winston or something. Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams told the Jets brass that he wanted to stay in New York, only to be nearly dealt to a team like the Dallas Cowboys before the deadline. They even tried to trade running back Le’Veon Bell.
All the while, Jets head coach Adam Gase is a very strong candidate to go one-and-done in New York this season. His odd personality isn’t winning press conferences and his coaching isn’t winning games. The Jets offensive line is essentially a wet paper bag in pads. That’s not to say he’s lost his team already, but it does seem that the Dolphins are still playing hard for Brian Flores.
With Ryan Fitzpatrick starting again in Week 9, he’ll give his team the best chance to win. We’ve seen Fitzpatrick carry lackluster teams to victories before. Frankly, the Fitzmagic is due and he’s going to unleash the fury on a Jets team that’s quickly letting its season slip away. Or at least, that’s what we’re all hoping for out of Fitzpatrick.
Truthfully, these are two of the five worst teams in football. The Jets might be a slightly better team, but they’re not good enough to go on the road against a division rival and expect a victory. They’ll have to battle for it. While both teams are all kinds of terrible, this is one of the five games left on the Dolphins schedule they can win. They’re not as bad as the Cincinnati Bengals.