This isn’t the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets facing off in the 1982 AFC Championship Game. It’s not Dan Marino’s fake spike or the Jets’ Monday Night Miracle.
Shoot, it’s not even the Dolphins spoiling the Jets’ Week 17 playoff hopes in 2011 or New York returning the favor in the regular-season finale two years later.
It’s a rivalry that’s been relatively dormant for the better part of the past decade, a process only made more difficult by the New England Patriots’ apparent quick rise in their post-Tom Brady era.
But there’s still plenty to see when the Dolphins kick off against the Jets for another installment of the rivalry, which will break a 55-55-1 series tie, at 1 p.m. on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
For one, now the process finally begins of evaluating Tua Tagovailoa over the final seven games of the regular season before Miami’s brass decides it if it will revisit trade talks with the Houston Texans for elite but embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Tagovailoa was kept away from starting each of the past two games beyond the Nov. 2 trade deadline due to a fracture in the middle finger on his left, throwing hand. Available as a backup to Jacoby Brissett, when Brissett went down clutching his knee early in the second half of the Dolphins’ Nov. 11 upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Tagovailoa entered and was effective, given his limitations.
Coming off the bench, Tagovailoa was 8 of 13 for 158 yards in the second half, hitting a couple of big plays — one to a wide-open Albert Wilson for a 64-yard catch and run and another deep to the sideline 35 yards to Jaylen Waddle that showed just about as far as Tagovailoa could throw with the injured finger.
He is expected to play without limitations on Sunday at New York and appeared loose this week in his Wednesday press conference, even showing off his touchdown dance from the Thursday night win at the podium.
A Dolphins defense that has found its stride in the two wins in five days over the Ravens and Texans looks to continue that upward swing. Miami forced six turnovers in the back-to-back victories, and the Dolphins now face veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, 36, who makes his first start of the season with Jets rookie Zach Wilson doubtful still recovering from his knee injury and South Florida product Mike White throwing four interceptions last week against the Bills. Flacco was shut out in one start against Miami last year.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores downplayed the rivalry aspect this week from the team perspective but did acknowledge that exists for the fans.
“Every week, that’s our biggest rival,” Flores said. “For fans, yeah, that exists. For us and our team, I think there’s not more energy put into this game than every other game. There’s not more buildup, excitement or preparation for what some may consider a rivalry game. Every game is important in this league, so it’s really the same approach for me.”
And although the rebuilding Jets are 2-7, Dolphins players know they’ll still go into a hostile environment at MetLife. Take it from safety Eric Rowe, well-versed in the AFC East from time with the New England Patriots before his tenure with the Dolphins, who compared Jets fans to Buffalo Bills fans.
“Lately, obviously they haven’t been doing too well, but usually Jets fans are just as hostile,” Rowe said. “On the bus, they’re sitting there flicking you off, especially when I was back with New England. They hated us, and they’d flick you off and try to throw stuff at you.
“When they get going, that fan base — that J-E-T-S Jets (chant) — it gets loud. You’re just like, ‘Wow, this is real.’ Each fan base comes with different things, but they’re pretty hostile.”
The Dolphins aren’t taking the Jets lightly, especially with New York’s two wins coming against the Tennessee Titans (8-2) and Cincinnati Bengals (5-4).
“They are actually a great team,” linebacker Jerome Baker said. “They play very hard. They have some great backs. They’ve been banged up, but you can’t fall asleep on them. They’ve beat some great teams.”
Added Tagovailoa: “They’re good at what they do. Just regardless of the losses that they have, you look at the teams that they’ve beat and those are some really good teams — Cincinnati and the Titans. We look at those things that they do really well, and we try to avoid those things happening in these games. We’re going to try to do our best to play a mistake-free game.”
With Tagovailoa still experiencing some pain and discomfort in the finger and the ribs that caused him to miss three games earlier this season, the Dolphins’ offensive line will have to do a better job of protecting him, especially on the edges with rookie left tackle Liam Eichenberg and right tackle Jesse Davis.
“I think usually Liam is pretty upbeat,” said Davis as Eichenberg has gone through his struggles. “It’s just him versus himself sometimes. I think he’s been growing. I think he’s getting better. But as a leader, I just try to help work with him and he works with me.”
A third consecutive win would lift the Dolphins to 4-7 in what’s a bit of a soft spot in the schedule. Following Sunday, Miami returns home to host the Carolina Panthers (5-5), gets the New York Giants (3-6) and, after the bye week, hosts the New York Jets before the team’s next road game, on Monday Night Football at the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 27.
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