Robert Deutsch - USA Today Sports
Five Biggest Storylines for the Week 5 Dolphins-Jets Matchup ... And How They Played Out
The Miami Dolphins suffered their second consecutive loss and fell to 3-2 on the season when they dropped a 40-17 loss against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
We broke down the five biggest storylines of the matchup before the game, so now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out.
1. Teddy Takes Over
BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins signed veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a fully guaranteed $6.5 million, one-year contract in the offseason with the anticipation they might need him to step up at some point and try to keep the offense moving. Well, that time has come, and Bridgewater now faces the difficult challenging of trying to help the offense continue its big-play ways of the first month of the season. It will help that Bridgewater had the benefit of a full week of practice as the starter after his two relief appearances against the Bills and Bengals.
DURING THE GAME: This was the biggest story after the game as well, the way Bridgewater had to exit because a concussion spotter in the press box determined he saw signs of instability after Bridgewater was hit on the Dolphins' first offensive snap of the game. So we never got the chance to see what Bridgewater could have done running the Dolphins offense, and this turned out to be perhaps the biggest play of the game.
2. Hill, Waddle and their Health
BEFORE THE GAME: Of course, it would make Bridgewater's life much easier if he could count of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle being in the lineup and at full speed — or as close to it as possible. While it's reasonable to be optimistic that both will play against the Jets, it was unnerving nonetheless to see Hill pop up on the injury report Thursday with a quad injury, while Waddle continues to deal with a groin issue. Hill and Waddle as a combination make up perhaps the biggest reason the Dolphins offense has taken such major strides in 2022, and it'll be interesting to see if they can continue that success against the Jets.
DURING THE GAME: Hill and Waddle both were active against the Jets, but for the first time all season the combo failed to make any kind of impact — other maybe than drawing three defensive pass interference penalties for a combined 95 yards. In terms of offensive stats, Hill and Waddle combined for 10 catches for 70 yards, with a long gain of only 13 yards. There were several factors involved, starting with not only Bridgewater but left tackle Terron Armstead having to leave the game and the Jets providing deep help to their talented cornerbacks to make sure they wouldn't wreck the game. As a trade-off, the Jets safeties played off the line of scrimmage and that helped Raheem Mostert rush for 113 yards, but Hill and Waddle weren't able to make a difference. Worse, Hill left the game with a toe injury after being stepped on.
3. X and the Corner Watch
BEFORE THE GAME: The other major injury question mark heading into the Jets game was the status of Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard, who's now dealing with two groin injuries and not just one as he did in the Thursday night game against the Bengals. If X does play, it's going to be interesting to see how well he can perform. If he doesn't, then the question becomes who can step up with a strong performance in his absence.
DURING THE GAME: Not surprisingly because of the nature of his injuries, Howard wasn't able to go against the Jets, and rookie free agent Kader Kohou ended up starting in his place and playing every defensive snap. Noah Igbinoghene even got in on the fun on defense and at first glance appeared to have his struggles. But the reality is that Zach Wilson passed for a mere 210 yards, and 79 of those came on the one pass to running back Breece Hall after he was allowed to run free downfield because of a bust that appeared to be on safety Eric Rowe, and not on a cornerback or Howard replacement. The Jets also were 5-for-11 on third down, so the cornerbacks didn't lose this game for the Dolphins.
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4. Can the Pass Rush Make a Difference?
BEFORE THE GAME: With or without Howard, the biggest key for the defense against a Jets offense that features major young talent at wide receiver will be disrupting and harassing second-year quarterback Zach Wilson and even pressuring him into mistakes. And it could be that one game-changing play like we saw in the two home games — the forced fumbles by Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland against New England and Buffalo, respectively — could be enough to make the difference, but Wilson simply cannot be allowed to operate freely the way Joe Burrow did in the Thursday night game. The Dolphins pass rush hasn't been nearly as disruptive as it was last year or even 2020, and the continued absence of Byron Jones no doubt has played a role in that, but it does need to come alive if the Dolphins once again want to have a fearsome defense.
DURING THE GAME: The Dolphins did get two sacks against Wilson, including one that stopped a drive that had reached Miami territory, but there were no game-changing plays like the sack-strip for the Jets after they had moved their lead to 26-17 in the fourth quarter. Put simply, the pass rush did not have much of an impact, which is a continuing problem for the 2022 Dolphins.
5. The McDaniel-Saleh Reunion
BEFORE THE GAME: This is a very cool element of this matchup, the first head-coaching battle between former San Francisco 49ers assistants Mike McDaniel and Robert Saleh. But it's even more than those two because both the Dolphins and Jets coaching staffs feature several men who worked together at one time or another. As well as McDaniel and Saleh know each other, they're well aware of the other's tendencies, but that also can be used as a strategic tool — like going against tendency. It will be interesting to see if either or both end up pulling out a trick here or there to try to make a difference.
DURING THE GAME: We can't help but wonder whether Saleh knowing how much McDaniel likes the play fake/roll-out combination played a role in the Jets calling a cornerback blitz on the Dolphins' first offensive play because this couldn't have worked out better for New York. Bridgewater never had a chance on the play that ultimately ended his day and it was the result of a great coaching call. There wasn't anything that stood out all that much beyond that one from a coaching standpoint, but that obviously was a huge play.
