Two years ago, the New York Jets swept the season series with the Miami Dolphins. Last year, it was the Fins’ who twice toppled Gang Green.
With the Jets already up, 1-0, on their AFC East rivals this year, they’ll look to keep the sweep streak going in Miami.
Coming off a strong effort in a 24-17 loss to the New England Patriots at home, the Jets (3-3) can once again move a game above .500 on Sunday afternoon. It would certainly help their cause if some of their key players finally broke through and performed up to their abilities.
Here’s a look at three players the Jets need to step up, both this weekend and beyond, in order to remain surprisingly competitive this fall.
Muhammad Wilkerson
The hope at the end of the 2016 season, when the well-compensated defensive end tallied a sack in each of the Jets’ final two games, was Wilkerson had found his groove.
He hasn’t.
With zero sacks through six games, Wilkerson enters Sunday’s game — on his 28th birthday — in dire need of changing his narrative. He didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday as he deals with shoulder and foot issues, adding injury to insult.
Robby Anderson
On the surface, Anderson is having a solid year. He’s the most targeted receiver on the team and leads the regulars in yards per catch.
But hauling in fewer than half of his 41 targets is not enough. Of 135 NFL players targeted at least 20 times in 2017, Anderson ranks 130th. Maybe he could take some pointers from teammate Jeremy Kerley, whose 95 percent catch rate is the best in football.
Darron Lee
According to Pro Football Focus, the second-year linebacker is the worst in the NFL out of 83 qualifiers at his position.
Nowhere to go but up, right?
The former first-round pick actually has been trending in the right direction of late, including against the Pats. Regardless, the young inside linebacker can’t afford to settle into bad habits with a tougher stretch of schedule coming up.
Scott’s Prediction
Jets 17, Dolphins 14
