The Miami Dolphins are clinging to a slim chance of still qualifying for the playoffs with their Week 14 bout against the New York Jets looming, and in some ways, it’s impressive that they’re even still mathematically in the race. Ever since Miami lost all but one of its first seven games, it has won four out of its last five contests, and it now owns a record of 5-7 on the season.
If the Dolphins want to keep their improbable playoff hopes alive and balloon their active winning streak to four games, they will need to answer three questions on Sunday. Let’s dive deep into each one of those questions.
1. Can Tua Tagovailoa put together a bounce-back game?
It has been a forgettable season for Miami’s longtime signal-caller, who’s tied for leading the league in interceptions, and he looked rough in the team’s win over the New Orleans Saints recently. He threw for zero touchdowns and one interception while completing just 12 of his 23 passing attempts.
He wasn’t the reason the Dolphins won on Sunday, to put his performance mildly, and that’s been the case more than once lately.
He’s in need of a strong showing, and to his credit, he has proven at certain points this season that he’s still capable of looking like the Pro Bowl quarterback he was back in the 2023 season. For example, he racked up four passing touchdowns in a blowout win for the Dolphins over the Atlanta Falcons back in October.
With how successful Miami has been running the football in recent weeks, Tagovailoa’s usage rate hasn’t been all that high lately. But it would be a welcome sight if he were to take advantage of the passing plays that do get called this weekend. At least 200 passing yards and one passing touchdown would be nice, as he hasn’t checked either of those boxes in multiple games.
2. Can Miami win a game in the cold?
Sunday’s contest will be a road game for the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium in what is expected to be cold weather. In recent years, Miami has fared woefully when playing in similar conditions to what it will face this weekend.
With Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback, the Dolphins have a record of 0-7 in games where the temperature at kickoff is 46 degrees or cooler.
Miami’s inability to execute and win games in chilly conditions has been a persistent area of concern in the Mike McDaniel era, and the team needs to prove that it can win games in the cold, not just for the sake of this season, but for the sake of its future success.
A win over the Jets — even though they’re far from the best team in the NFL — could give Tagovailoa and company the confidence boost they need to be more successful playing in harsh temperatures moving forward. Hopefully, not only will Tagovailoa play well, but the Dolphins won’t look as impacted by the cold as they have been in the past.
3. How will the Dolphins’ run defense hold up?
New York’s rushing offense could potentially overwhelm a Miami defensive unit that has struggled to stop the run all season long. Running back Breece Hall is one of the premier players at his position in the league, and quarterback Tyrod Taylor is quite mobile as well and another rushing threat.
The Jets like to run the ball quite a bit, as only six of the NFL’s 32 teams this season are averaging more rushing yards per contest. So, it seems as if the best way for Miami to limit New York’s points on Sunday will be to limit the team’s running game, though that’s easier in theory than in practice.
For hope that the Dolphins can defend the running game against the Jets at a high level, fans can look to how their defense fared defending the run against the Buffalo Bills not long ago. In a game Miami won 30-13 on Nov. 9, the Bills were limited to just 87 rushing yards, and they have a running back in James Cook III who already has 1,200-plus rushing yards this season.
The fact that Miami got out to an early lead in that game might’ve forced the Bills to get away from the run, so doing something similar this coming Sunday certainly wouldn’t hurt.
