Last week, the New York Jets became the first team in NFL history to lose twice in one season to two teams that entered the game with records of 0-7 or worse: the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals.
On Sunday, New York (4-8) will get another shot at the visiting Dolphins (3-9).
The Jets, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, are 3-3 at home this season. The Dolphins are 1-4 on the road. That helps explain why the Jets are six-point favorites on Sunday.
However, there is the matter of that Dolphins’ 26-18 win in Miami over New York on Nov. 3. The Dolphins were 0-7 at the time. This past Sunday, the Jets lost 22-6 to the Bengals, who entered that game with a 0-11 record.
“You don’t want to be the team that gives (the opposition) their first win of the season,” Jets defensive end Harry Anderson said. “It sucks.”
The Dolphins, who haven’t won a playoff game since 2000 and have been to the playoffs just twice since 2001, have experienced mostly misery the past two decades. But since that 0-7 start this season, the Dolphins have produced a 3-2 record, including Sunday’s 37-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Miami is playing so loose and free that one of their five touchdowns on Sunday was a 1-yard touchdown pass from punter Matt Haack to kicker Jason Sanders.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had seen his teammates work on that play in practice.
“But I didn’t think they would ever call it in a game — this is the NFL,” Fitzpatrick said of the trick play. “Pretty cool that it worked.”
The Jets are led by second-year quarterback Sam Darnold, 22, who has had highs and lows this season. He has nine touchdown passes and just two interceptions in New York’s four wins this season, but he threw seven interceptions across a two-game stretch from Weeks 7-8. Darnold also missed three games due to mononucleosis.
Sunday’s game could turn in part on the health of star Jets safety Jamal Adams, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle. He missed just one snap despite the injury last week, but head coach Adam Gase labeled the safety “week-to-week.”
Adams, 24, was a first-round pick in 2017 and made the Pro Bowl in 2018. This year, he has been even better, producing 12 quarterback hits, eight tackles for losses, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception for a touchdown and one fumble scoop-and-score.
The Jets could be without three of their top five defensive backs on Sunday as Adams, Brian Poole (concussion) and Arthur Maulet (calf) all missed Wednesday’s practice. And that doesn’t count starting corner Trumaine Johnson, who is on injured reserve and hasn’t played since Oct. 27.
New York’s top healthy defensive backs are safety Marcus Maye and cornerback Darryl Roberts.
Additionally, Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley (groin) is officially done for the season after being placed on injured reserve.
That could set things up for Fitzpatrick — the Jets’ starter in 2015 and 2016 — to have a big day.
Fitzpatrick is 3-6 as a Dolphins’ starter this season, not bad given the Dolphins are in a rebuilding mode, having traded away many of the team’s best players.
Against Philadelphia last week, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 39 passes for a season-high 365 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.
DeVante Parker was his favorite target, catching seven passes for a career-high 159 yards and two scores.