The Jets are heading into Week 7 with the Dolphins on deck, and the national picture on Miami is as bleak as it gets.
Across the media landscape, the Dolphins sit at or near the bottom of every major power ranking after opening the year 0-5. The bye week didn’t move the needle much. If anything, it only reinforced the same thing everybody already knows: Miami is still searching for its first win, and the clock is ticking toward Sunday’s meeting with the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
USA TODAY has Miami at No. 32, noting, “You've got to feel for first-year coach Jeff Hafley, who next gets to take his overmatched, winless team to the Twin Cities − without its best player, injured RB De'Von Achane − to face the undefeated Vikings.”
Pro Football Talk also parked the Dolphins at No. 32, writing, “Maybe Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley should have waited a year.”
The Athletic slotted Miami at No. 31, unchanged from the week before. Their note centered on rookie receiver Caleb Douglas, who could return from an ankle injury after the bye and give the Dolphins a rare bright spot. The outlet pointed out that Douglas had 14.4 fantasy points in the only game he has started and finished this season, while quarterback Malik Willis has been a fantasy disappointment because he’s not getting enough rushing volume.
Bleacher Report kept the Dolphins at No. 32, pointing out that Miami’s Week 6 bye didn’t change their standing. The piece did, however, note a small step forward: the Dolphins were more competitive in one-score losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals than in their double-digit defeats in Weeks 1-3. It also suggested Miami could lean into a young receiving group if Douglas is healthy, alongside Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr.
CBS Sports stayed right at the bottom with Miami at No. 32 as well, saying the bye week helped in one simple way: “They didn't lose.” But with the Titans winning, the Dolphins remain one of only two teams without a victory.
FOX Sports also ranked Miami No. 32, calling them “the worst team in football” once again and one of just two winless teams. The piece said the Dolphins are now looking for where their first win - and possibly only win - can come from, and listed four games that stand out as chances.
Two of those are against the Jets, including Sunday’s matchup in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FOX also highlighted Miami’s running game, noting the Dolphins are averaging 126.6 rushing yards per game, while the Jets are allowing 123 rushing yards per game.
ESPN kept Miami at No. 32 too, and the issue it focused on was balance. The Dolphins own the league’s 10th-best rushing offense, but they rank 31st in passing yards per game, last in completion percentage, and last in touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Willis leads all qualified starters in average time to throw at 3.16 seconds, with the report saying that’s partly because his receivers aren’t getting open consistently. He’s also turned the ball over in every game but one.
Before the bye, Jeff Hafley said the passing game as a whole needs to improve, not just Willis. ESPN added that with Caleb Douglas returning to practice this week, Miami could get a boost in Week 7.
In Other News...
Jets Offensive Debate Is Getting Harder To Ignore
Aaron Glenn has backed Frank Reich publicly, saying the offensive coordinator has done a good job while the Jets work through a season defined by injuries and inconsistency on that side of the ball. The bigger picture is hard to miss: New York is sitting near the bottom of the league in points per game, red-zone efficiency and third-down conversions, a reminder that the offense has not found enough rhythm to support the rest of the roster.
The frustration is starting to show up in the broader conversation around the team, too, with multiple outlets placing the Jets in the NFLs lower tier because of how often drives stall once they get close to scoring range. There is still some interest in what young players like Omar Cooper Jr. can add, but the more immediate question is whether the current offensive setup can clean up the spots that keep biting them before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Just Got A Hopeful Reminder From The Knicks
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The Jets have not won a Super Bowl or a playoff game since 2011, and the losing seasons have piled up in the years since, but this season has offered a few signs that the tide might finally be shifting. Whether the current progress turns into something lasting is still the open question, and the next stretch of games will say a lot about whether this looks like a brief uptick or the start of something closer to the Knicks late-arriving breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Glenn Had To Explain A Strange Jets Sideline Mix-Up
Aaron Glenn spent part of Monday explaining a small but notable sideline mix-up from halftime, one that caught attention because it came in the middle of a game day interview. During the break, the Jets coach made a statement suggesting New York would receive the second-half kickoff, even though that did not happen.
When asked about it the next day, Glenn moved quickly to clarify what he meant, saying he was speaking more broadly about the offense needing to sustain drives rather than the specific kickoff situation. The explanation was reported by multiple outlets, and the moment was brief, but it was the kind of detail that can linger when a team is still trying to clean up its communication as much as its play. [Read more 🡒]