Key matchups of the week: Miami Dolphins vs. Jets
By Nick Belotto
The Miami Dolphins will look to build on last week’s victory when they play the New York Jets on Sunday. Here are some key matchups that will be the highlights of the game.
The Miami Dolphins travel up to New York this weekend for a matchup against the New York Jets. Even though it’s early in the season, a convincing win against a division opponent will silence a lot of Dolphins doubters and give the team a valuable leg up once we start talking playoffs.
Let’s take a look at some of the key matchups for this weeks AFC East showdown.
Sam Darnold vs. Dolphins Secondary
Miami’s secondary played a quality game against the Titans last Sunday. They were able to keep both Titan’s quarterbacks from doing a lot of damage through the air and the hope will be that they continue to do so against the Jets rookie quarterback.
Darnold looked decent in his first game against the Lions and shook off a first quarter interception return for a touchdown. Since the game is in New York, Darnold will try to take advantage of a home field advantage and will air the ball out.
Reshad Jones, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Xavien Howard played great against Tennessee. If they can play great coverage against the Jets, Sam Darnold is going to have a rough afternoon and the Jets will have a tough time winning this game.
Ryan Tannehill vs. Marcus Maye and Jamal Adams
Tannehill’s first game back from an ACL injury was a good start to the 2018 season. He finished with two touchdowns against two interceptions. More importantly than his stat line was his poise in the pocket, most of his decision making and his clean jersey. Since Tannehill was not knocked around too much against Tennessee, he was able to step into his throws and took some shots downfield.
On one of those shots, he hit Kenny Stills on a beautiful 75 yard touchdown pass. The deep ball is a great weapon for the Dolphins especially with the speed on this years team. Against the Jets, however, Tannehill will need to make sure that he can throw off the talented Marcus Maye and Jamal Adams. Both players are young, gifted players looking to ruin Miami’s day. Tannehill will need to keep his eyes on them if he wants to throw any ball, especially the long bomb.
Brandon Shell and Kelvin Beachum vs Cameron Wake and Robert Quinn
One of the tried and true strategies for handling a rookie quarterback is to rattle him early on in the game. Miami will do everything they can to make this happen early and often.
In order for this to work, Miami will have to unleash Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake on the Jets tackle tandem of Shell and Beachum. Neither Quinn nor Wake had sacks in the first game against Tennessee but it was clear that Marcus Mariota had a rough day with tons of pressure.
If Miami’s star defensive ends can consistently put pressure on Darnold, they will force him to commit turnovers (a big problem for him in college) which will give the Dolphins offense more chances to score.
Leonard Williams vs Miami’s interior offensive line
Leonard Williams is a game changing defensive lineman. He is disruptive on every play and is looking to hit Tannehill often throughout the game.
Miami’s starting interior of Josh Sitton, Daniel Kilgore and Jesse Davis played great football against the Titans. They consistently kept a clean pocket and opened up great lanes for Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore to hit throughout the day.
If the interior of the line can keep Tannehill upright and Williams from destroying the offensive gameplan, Miami will be able to win this game.