An inside look at the Jets-Dolphins Week 18 matchup on Sunday at MetLife Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Dolphins QB Tyler “Snoop” Huntley vs. the Jets defense
The Bills embarrᴀssed the Jets defense last week, hanging 40 points on them.
Can they bounce back this week and show some pride in their final outing of the season?
The defense has been a huge disappointment, entering the season with expectations of being one of the best defenses in football but collapsing in big spots repeatedly this year.
Huntley is expected to start for the second straight week while Tua Tagovailoa deals with a hip injury.
Huntley helped the Dolphins beat the Browns last week, throwing for 225 yards and a touchdown.
“The offense is such a systematic offense in the way they operate that — although Tua is a fantastic player, he really is — the offense, Huntley can absolutely run this offense at a high level,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “So I think regardless of who was quarterback we are going to face a lot of the same stuff schematically, the only real difference is Huntley’s mobility. He is a guy that is a scrambler and he will get first downs with his with his legs and we got to account for that.”
Costello’s call
The Dolphins are still fighting for a playoff spot. The Jets are fighting to get to the airport to begin their offseason vacations. Everything points to Miami in this one … but I think the Jets will put together one more frustrating performance for their fans. Let the bellyaching about draft position begin.
Jets 27, Dolphins 23
Four downs
Rodgers last ride? A reflective Aaron Rodgers admitted this week that he has thought about whether this could be his final NFL game.
The 41-year-old has said he wants to take some time after the season to rest his body and mind before making a decision on whether he wants to play a 21st season.
If he does want to return, it seems unlikely he will return to the Jets, who are about to hire a new GM and head coach.
This will be Rodgers’ 17th start of the season.
He will become the first Jets quarterback to start every game in a season since Ryan Fitzpatrick started 16 in 2015.
Rodgers enters the game one touchdown shy of 500 for his career, a milestone he joked about this week.
“I would be fine sleeping in my bed 20 years from now with 499,” Rodgers said, “but 500 definitely looks better on paper.”
Scoreboard watching: Though the Jets have nothing to play for, the Dolphins still have a sH๏τ at making the playoffs, but they will need some help.
They need to win and have the Chiefs beat the Broncos.
Both games start at 4:25 p.m., so the Dolphins may be checking the MetLife scoreboard for updates.
The Jets have a chance to play spoiler for their division rival and end their season.
“I think some guys really get motivated by that sort of thing, whether it be the spoiler or whatever the case may be,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said.
Kicking carousel: Greg Joseph will become the fifth different kicker the Jets have used this season on Sunday.
That is a franchise record and one short of the NFL record.
The team thought it had stability at kicker entering the year with Greg Zuerlein, but he struggled early then landed on injured reserve.
Riley Patterson, Spencer Shrader and Anders Carlson all have kicked since.
Last week, Zuerlein came off IR and was the team’s kicker in Buffalo, but his back тιԍнтened up during pregame warmups.
He did not kick at all in the game. Now, Joseph will be the team’s latest and final kicker of the season.
Unlucky 13: The Jets are trying to avoid their 13th loss of the season.
The team has lost 13 games just four times in its history — 1995 (3-13), 1996 (1-15), 2020 (2-14) and 2021 (4-13).
Those are some rough years in Jets history, including the two Rich Koтιтe seasons and Adam Gase’s final season when they started 0-13.
The Jets are now in their 14th year without making the playoffs, the longest drought in North American sports.
They have suffered losing seasons in nine consecutive years and have double-digit losses the past five.
