Jets vs Dolphins NFL Pick: Winless Rivals Try to Quiet the Noise in Miami (Sep 29)

• In NFL Week 4 Jets-Dolphins, two 0-3 teams with a longstanding rivalry meet in Miami
• Both head coaches are under siege, but Miami’s Mike McDaniel could be fired with a loss to New York
• Aaron Glenn is trying to change the Jets’ culture, and it’s…challenging
• The Jets broke the Dolphins’ 4-game head-to-head win streak with a win in the final game of the 2024 season

Aaron Glenn Has Made Jets Fans Angry Very Quickly

It’s difficult to gauge what Jets fans and the media covering the team expected in what was clearly set to be a transition year, if not an outright restructuring, in head coach Aaron Glenn’s first year as a head coach.

When Will McDonald blocked a late Buccaneers field goal attempt in Week 3, Glenn was mocked for running up the sideline and dancing as McDonald ran for a TD to give the Jets a brief lead.

Is he not allowed to be excited?

This is simply looking for a reason to hate the new head coach.

The big problem for the Jets is that NFL teams cannot win without a quarterback. And currently, the Jets have shown no evidence that they have one for the long term. Justin Fields is on his third organization since the Bears drafted him 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The team looked markedly better offensively in the Week 3 loss to the Buccaneers with Tyrod Taylor under center.

Taylor was 26 for 36 and 197 yards passing with 2 TDs and 1 pick. He ran for 48 yards on 8 carries. The Bucs contained the Jets’ rushing attack. Garrett Wilson caught 10 balls for 84 yards.

They were more effective with the veteran QB.

Fields is still recovering from a concussion, but has returned to practice and is expected to play against Miami.

Glenn comes from the Bill Parcells tree and if he follows the Parcells philosophy, then he won’t dump games in developing a QB, particularly a QB the Jets did not draft and are not paying a ton of money. Taylor will be inserted sooner than later.

They now embark on seven winnable games starting with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins Are in Worse Straits Than the Jets

It’s something of an accomplishment, so to speak, to be viewed as a worse-run, more inept organization than the Jets. But the Dolphins have done it.

They’re 0-3 and the ground under the feet of GM Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel is rumbling. It’s reaching the point where owner Stephen Ross finally pulling the lever on the trapdoor over the alligator pit will be kind.

The Week 3 loss to the Bills in Buffalo encapsulated the Dolphins under this regime. They put up a fight, were down 28-21 and driving for a touchdown before Tua Tagovailoa threw an inexplicably bad interception to seal the game for Buffalo.

Tua had a reasonably solid game, completing 22 for 34 passes for 146 yards and 2 TD passes, but that one pick was the Jake “The Snake” Roberts DDT that ended their chances for an upset.

On defense, they have surrendered 33, 33, and 31 points in their three losses. The players have not quit on McDaniel, but they appear resigned to the coach’s fate unless things turn around immediately.

The Jets are the Jets, but they’re not terrible. They have some playmakers on defense and offense. But the perception the Jets carry with them will make the Dolphins look worse if they lose this game.

Jets vs Dolphins Pick

For Week 4 Jets-Dolphins, the teams are viewed as being in a similar situation with matching 0-3 records and two “almost” games where they put up a fight. But they are not in the same boat. The Jets have talent and they’re in a new coaching regime. The Dolphins players are waiting for their head coach to get fired.

The Jets can run the ball and the Dolphins are shaky against the run. Defensively, New York should be able to contain Tagovailoa and goad him into mistakes. If Fields starts and is playing poorly, they need to pull him for Taylor.

Expect that to happen and for the Jets to win the game outright.

McDaniel will be fired on Tuesday.