Jets Open As 3 Point Underdogs vs Dolphins

The New York Jets got annihilated by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Mike White fell back hard from the lofty heights he had reached in the prior two games, with no touchdowns and four interceptions against the Bills. White, however, was far from the only problem. The Jets defense provided no challenge at all to Josh Allen and friends, allowing the Bills to do pretty much whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. The result was an ugly 45 - 17 loss, the third time in the last four games the Jets defense gave up 45 or more points. Needless to say, when you give up 45 points you’re unlikely to win no matter how well your quarterback is playing.

Now the Jets prepare for what on paper should be a much more competitive contest against the 3-7 Miami Dolphins this coming Sunday. The Dolphins are coming off their best performance of the season, a 22 - 10 domination of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Dolphins have been almost as bad as the Jets this year. They rank 29th in the NFL on both offense and defense. The Dolphins have had all kinds of problems scoring this year. They have scored 17 points or less in six of their nine games. If ever there was a tonic for the things that ail this woebegone, historically awful Jets defense, it may be the 2022 Miami Dolphins offense. If the Jets defense can’t contain this offense there is little hope they can contain any offense.

After his rough outing against the Bills yesterday, Mike White will likely be replaced by rookie Zach Wilson as the starting quarterback of the New York Jets. Is that fair? Probably not. The Bills have made pretty much every quarterback they faced look bad, though White takes the cake for worst quarterback performance against the Bills to date. One bad outing against the best defense in the NFL probably should not be enough to yank the rug out from underneath White, but life is not always fair. For better or worse, White is a former 5th round draft pick who has been shuttled on and off practice squads for his entire four year NFL career. Wilson is the #2 overall pick from the current draft class. Like it or not, fair or not, the #2 overall pick is always going to be given far more rope than the 5th round pick and career backup. If he is healthy Wilson is likely to reclaim his starting job this week. What that means for the Jets offense remains to be seen.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Dolphins are 3 point favorites on the road against the Jets on Sunday. That a team as bad as the Dolphins are still 3 point favorites against a home Jets team is an indication of just how bad the betting world thinks the Jets are. It’s not, however, unwarranted. Unless and until the Jets defense shows it has any ability at all to stop opposing offenses, it’s difficult to pick the Jets as favorites against anyone. The Jets may get a few more wins this year, but who knows when the Jets defense will show up enough for that to happen? Can the Jets win against Miami? Absolutely. Will they win? Only if the defense shows up.

The Moneyline odds are New York Jets +145 / Miami Dolphins -165.

The Over/Under for the game is 45.

What do you think Jets fans? Will the Jets beat the odds in this game?