How New York Jets Can Beat Miami Dolphins in Upcoming Matchup

Here are three keys to success for the New York Jets as they prepare to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Dec 1, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

At least it will be warm in Miami when the New York Jets head south to face the Dolphins on Sunday at 1 p.m. eastern on CBS.

The Jets (3-9) are weeks away from having new leadership in their football offices and on the sideline, as they must hire a new general manager and head coach. That will likely lead to significant changes in the rest of the coaching staff and the roster.

Plus, there is the matter of the NFL draft. If the draft were held today, the Jets would have the No. 6 overall pick. Would that be high enough to snag one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft? Or, would “tanking” be the way to go?

The Dolphins (5-7) are on the periphery of the AFC playoff picture, so every win is important for Miami. The Dolphins have won three of their last four games, but their last game ended with a loss to Green Bay. So Miami is looking for a bounce-back.

So how do the Jets beat the Dolphins? Here are three keys to making it happen.

Buy into Breece

Earlier this week SNY reported that both running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson had issues with the offensive scheme. This would be a good week to buy into getting Hall the football more often — and not because of the criticism.

On paper, that wouldn’t appear to be the case. The Dolphins are a Top 10 defense against run and allows only 107.5 yards per game. But, Miami does allow 4.4 yards per carry and it is coming off a game in which it allowed 114 rushing yards to the Packers.

It doesn’t have to just be Hall. The Jets can include Braelon Hall and even Isaiah Davis in this equation. But what the Jets are doing now isn’t cutting it. New York is dealing with sub-par quarterback play and the best way to work around that is to run the ball.

Stay on the Turnover Train

In the last two games the Jets have forced three turnovers. In the past four games they have forced four. That doesn’t sound like much. But, New York went three straight games without a turnover after firing Robert Saleh as head coach.

So, the defense is finally starting to create some traction when it comes to creating mistakes. And the Jets have cashed in some of those mistakes with scores. It even helped the Jets win a game over Houston.

Miami is a bit turnover-prone. The Dolphins have had two or more turnovers in four games, and one turnover in four other games. Miami has at least one turnover in two-thirds of its games this season. That’s something the Jets can leverage.

Pressure the Quarterback

This is something the Jets have gotten better at the past few weeks. New York has 14 sacks in the last four games, including that eight-sack performance against Houston.

The Dolphins come into this game with protection problems around their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. The Packers sacked him five times last week, and he’s been sacked at least twice in each of the last four games.

New York seems to be getting Miami at the right time. The Jets’ pass rush is percolating and the Dolphins are having trouble sustaining pass protection.