The Miami Dolphins go for the New York Jets’ sweep of the season when they travel to MetLife Stadium on Sunday and face their division rival. These two teams met in week six at Hard Rock Stadium and Miami handed them a 24-0 loss, New York’s only loss this season.
What will be different from this match compared to their last head-to-head is the quarterback situation of these two teams. New York is set to recover Sam Darnold after missing the previous two games with a shoulder injury. Last time around, it was Joe Flacco who nodded against Miami and the veteran threw for just 186 yards and an interception in the loss. On the Dolphins side, Tua Tagovailoa has since established himself as the starter of Brian Flores’ club. The Jets briefly saw Tagovailoa in their Week 6 game where the No. 5 overall pick completed two passes for nine yards.
The Jets are still chasing their first win of the season as they head into that 0-10 game, while the Dolphins move closer to a potential playoff spot, going 6-4. Before we break that game down even more, here’s how you can capture all of the action on CBS.
How to watch
Dated: Sunday, November 29 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)
TV: CBS | Current: CBS All Access
To follow: CBS Sports app
Overview
The main focus of this game is Tua Tagovailoa’s left hand status as the young quarterback was reportedly injured in training. Of course, this injury takes on even more significance with the knowledge that Tagovailoa throws with his left hand. Head coach Brian Flores ignored it, however, speaking to reporters on Thursday, saying: “I don’t think this is something that worries us too much.
If he dresses up, Tagovailoa will be looking to bounce back after being benched in the fourth quarter of Miami’s Week 11 game with the Denver Broncos. Down 10, Flores turned to veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in an attempt to come back up, which ultimately failed. The big thing Tagovailoa needs to focus on in this next start is getting rid of football. In just four starts, the rookie already has as many sacks (10) as Fitzpatrick in six starts. A strong area of Tagovailoa’s game at this point has been his ability to protect football, not throw a single interception and only grope once. Another comes against the blitz where the rookie has a passer rating of 100.6 and has thrown four touchdowns. This should come in handy against New York as defensive coordinator Gregg Williams blitzes 30.9 percent of the time, which is in the top 10 for defenses this season.
In Week 12, Tagovailoa will face a Jets defense that allows an average of 400 attacking yards in 10 games played this season, which is good for the fifth-worst in the entire NFL. Things aren’t any brighter for the New York offense as they only managed 268.6 yards per game, the league’s lowest yield.
If Darnold returns, he will not only try to get rid of the rust, but also seek to counter a bad tendency he has in the face of dolphins. In his career, the former first-round pick is 1-3 as a starter against Miami. He also has a 4-8 TD-INT ratio and a 68.6 passer rating against this division rival.
Prediction
Miami is just too talented and too well trained to be New York’s first win of the season. That’s probably why the NFL’s chances on William Hill Sportsbook have them as the favorites on the touchdown road in this AFC East head-to-head. With New York struggling on offense and Tagovailoa possibly limited due to that hand injury, it’s also not surprising to see this game’s total currently at just 44. Although the Dolphins are on the move. run away with this game with a win and cover, there are some CBS Sports pundits who believe New York could make it a close game. To see their choices, click here.
Goal: Miami 23, NY Jets 13
