MIAMI GARDENS — This is the game you had circled all along as a possible victory for the Miami Dolphins (0-5) — Sunday at the New York Jets (2-4).
The Dolphins have beaten the Jets four of the past five times they’ve played, and 10 of the past 12 dating back to 2020. That has nothing to do with the rebuilding 2026 Dolphins, of course.
But it supports the idea that the Jets are top candidates to cure whatever ails the Dolphins.
On the field, you’d think there’s a path to victory for Miami through diligent self-scouting, good coaching and improved execution. The Dolphins are coming off a bye week so coaches should have more insight into how this team can win games.
But coach Jeff Hafley, said the Dolphins’ process — be better today than you were yesterday, be better tomorrow than you were today — dictates this should be their best performance of the season, not the introspection of bye week.
“Every week we should be looking more comfortable and we should be improving. I mean, that’s our goal,” Hafley said. “I talk about our process. That’s what our process is. I need to be better today than I was yesterday. I need to be better tomorrow than I was today. That needs to be the mindset of all of our players. So we need to be more comfortable, right?
“And we need to play better on Sunday than we did against the Bengals (before the bye week), and that needs to continue to climb until the end of the season and we better be much better at that point than we are right now. That is very, very important to me.”
As for the Dolphins’ strategic path to victory, two things became apparent during the first five games — the Dolphins are fairly adept at running the ball, and show promise at stopping the run. Miami is No. 9 in rushing offense (126.6 yards per game) and No. 16 in rushing defense (110.6 ypg allowed).
This aligns favorably for the Jets matchup.
New York is No. 23 in run defense (123.0 ypg allowed), which means the Dolphins could possibly ride the ground game, led by running back Ollie Gordon II and some physical blocking by the offensive line, to their first win of the season.
“We really have put our offense on the run game’s back,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “I think that’s done good things for us as we keep going through this, and that won’t change.”
On the other side of the ball, New York, which appears as though it will have versatile running back Breece Hall (quad) available, is No. 23 in rushing offense, and that leads you to think that the Dolphins might be more likely to stop the run and make the Jets offense one dimensional.
The Dolphins have a blue-collar run defense that starts with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips successfully tying up two blockers with frequent double teams that frees up middle linebacker Jacob Rodriguez to make the tackles.
Defensive coordinator Sean Duggan pointed out how it spreads from there among edge rushers Chop Robinson and Josh Uche and defensive tackles Zeek Biggers, Zach Sieler and Kenneth Grant.
“You see corners tackling,” Duggan said. “You see guys in three techniques setting edges. You see guys like Chop setting edges, guys like Josh Uche setting edges. You see guys like Zeek Biggers and Zach Sieler grinding out blocks. KG did a nice job when he was back (in the Bengals game).”
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If the Dolphins stop the run and make the Jets offense one dimensional, Miami would obviously need to improve its pass rush.
The Dolphins are last in the league in sacks (four).
But again, there’s an opportunity to excel because the Jets have allowed 19 sacks, tied for fourth-most in the league.
Hafley said the Dolphins had a productive bye week, an energetic week of practice, and are ready to travel to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and face the Jets.
“There’s a ton of excitement, there’s great energy,” he said Friday, later adding, “They’re excited. I’m excited to watch them play. I’m excited for practice (Friday) and then we’ll head out to Jersey and we’ll give it our best shot. But these guys are in a good place right now.”