Different generations of Dolphins fans view Miami's biggest rival through various lenses. For a big portion of the fan base, the primary foe is Jets.
New York makes its annual trip to South Florida on Sunday to renew the rivalry for the 118th time. The Dolphins lead the all-time series with a record of 60-56-1. Miami took the series lead with a surge over the last decade of games. Winners of the last three meetings, and 11 of the last 13 matchups, the Jets last won a game at Hard Rock Stadium in 2014.
At 3-9, the Jets are playing out the string in a disappointing campaign – one that began with Super Bowl aspirations. While no one saw a 5-7 start to the year coming for Miami, everything remains ahead of the Dolphins down the stretch, starting with this pivotal AFC East showdown.
Two weeks ago, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa improved his perfect all-time mark against another division rival – New England – to 8-0. A win Sunday would boost the fifth-year southpaw's record to 6-0 against the Jets.
In the 2023 sweep of the Jets, including the Hard Rock Stadium tilt without star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Tagovailoa found the deep ball against the vaunted Jets secondary. His 60-yard touchdown strike to Jaylen Waddle stretched Miami's first-half lead to 17-0. On Black Friday in the Meadowlands, Tagovailoa found Hill and Waddle on a pair of third downs for gains of 32 and 35 yards, respectively, with both coming on scoring drives.
The Jets could be without All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, who is nursing a hamstring injury suffered in last week's loss to Seattle. Cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Michael Carter are primed for this matchup, however, and will provide a challenge to the Dolphins, with or without Gardner.
Miami is looking to get the run game back on track and has found success running the ball against the Jets in recent meeting. In Miami's last four games against the Jets, the Dolphins are averaging 137 yards per contest on the ground. Only 32 of those yards came from Miami's leading rusher this year, De'Von Achane. He missed the Black Friday matchup in 2023 and had just nine carries in the 30-0 shutout last December.
On the other side, it's the first time the Dolphins will see quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the Jets since he was dealt there 18 months ago from Green Bay. Rodgers has an arsenal of weapons that can preset a challenge of its own to cornerback Jalen Ramsey and the rest of the Dolphins secondary.
When the Jets traveled to Miami last year, Ramsey covered Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson on 24 plays without allowing a catch. The Jets added another star receiver to the mix at this year's deadline, bringing in Davante Adams. The Dolphins could get cornerback Kendall Fuller back, who missed the last two games from a concussion, which would help the Dolphins contend with Jets' firepower.
Make sure to check out the Injury Report and the team's official social media accounts 90 minutes before kickoff to see who is active for the game.
Watch the game live on Sunday, December 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, and listen on the Dolphins Radio Network and view the Game Center for the latest coverage.
