Week 3 GameScout: Dolphins at Jets

Sep 23, 2017 - 2:09 AM MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-0) AT NEW YORK JETS (0-2)

KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, MetLife Stadium. TV: CBS, Tom McCarthy, Steve Beuerlein, Steve Tasker (field reporter).

SERIES HISTORY: 103rd regular-season meeting. Jets lead series, 53-48-1. Miami swept the series last season. QB Matt Moore threw four TD passes in the Dolphins' 34-13 win in December, a victory that clinched Miami's first winning season since 2008.

KEYS TO THE GAME: Miami must rely on running back Jay Ajayi offensively, as always. Ajayi rushed for 122 yards last week and continued his trend from last year of aggressive running, yards after contact, and getting stronger in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, the Dolphins must shore up their pass defense, which gave up 323 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers, while being mindful everything starts with stopping the run.

Miami held the Chargers to 44 yards rushing last week but the pass defense, and the pass rush, showed vulnerabilities.

Granted, Miami went against quarterback Philip Rivers, who is accomplished, but the coverage was a bit loose.

The Jets' passing offense wasn't atrocious last week, and Josh McCown didn't throw an interception. The Dolphins' secondary, meanwhile, was torched by Philip Rivers for 331 yards. McCown isn't as accurate and doesn't have as strong an arm as Rivers, but there should be some openings down the field for the Jets.

On defense, the Jets' league-worst run defense will have its hands full with Ajayi, who is one of the toughest runners to bring down, and the Jets haven't been a good tackling team outside safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry vs. Jets CB Morris Claiborne. Claiborne mostly covered Amari Cooper last week and held him to four catches for 33 yards (Cooper also dropped a couple balls), while Landry had 13 catches on 15 targets. If Claiborne can limit Landry's production, Miami will look to exploit the DeVante Parker-Buster Skrine matchup, as Skrine struggled last week against Michael Crabtree.

--Jets RG Dakota Dozier vs. Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh. Dozier did a solid job when starter Brian Winters went down with an injury last week; but, if Winters can't go Sunday, he'll face a stern test in the five-time Pro Bowler Suh, who generally lines up over right guard. Suh has yet to record a sack this year, while McCown has gone down five times.

FRIDAY INJURY REPORT

MIAMI DOLPHINS

--Out: LB Rey Maualuga (hamstring)

--Doubtful: DT Jordan Phillips (ankle)

NEW YORK JETS

--Out: TE Eric Tomlinson (elbow), G Brian Winters (abdomen)

--Doubtful: TE Jordan Leggett (knee), S Rontez Miles (eye)

--Questionable: TE Will Tye (illness), DE Muhammad Wilkerson (shoulder)

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Dolphins SLB Chase Allen. The undrafted rookie from Southern Illinois had four tackles in his debut last week against the Chargers. Allen showed his speed and athleticism while pursuing ballcarriers. Whether he can continue this performance for 16 games is the big question. But Allen certainly has displayed the physical tools to stay in the NFL so far. And he rarely makes mental errors. His big thing will be showing he can adjust to the week-to-week demands of the league.

FAST FACTS: QB Jay Cutler put up a 101.8 rating in his Miami debut last week. In three starts vs. the Jets, he has 797 passing yards (265.7 per game) seven TDs and two INTs. ... Miami WR Jarvis Landry tied a career-high with 13 catches last week. Since entering the NFL in 2014, he has six games with 10 catches, tied for fourth most in the NFL. He has 100 receiving yards and a TD catch in two of the past three meetings. ... Miami K Cody Parkey converted the winning 54-yard FG with 1:05 remaining in Week 2. He is 6 of 6 from 50-plus yards in his career. ... Jets RB Bilal Powell had 162 scrimmage yards (84 rushing) and a career-high 11 catches in the last meeting. He is looking for a third home game in a row vs. the division with 130 scrimmage yards. ... Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson has four sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the past five meetings.

PREDICTION: The Jets can't run or stop the run, and they certainly don't have the weapons to win a shootout.

OUR PICK: Dolphins, 24-17.

--Chris Cluff