The New York Jets will be under the lights on Monday, September 29. This is the first of two scheduled prime-time games for the green and white.
Gang Green faces the Miami Dolphins on the road on Monday Night Football. They will be missing several players in the lineup for Week 4.
After filling in for Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson was listed as a healthy scratch for the Jets. The rest of the inactives included Jermaine Johnson, Jarvis Brownlee Jr, Kene Nwangwu, Esa Pole, Jelani Woods, and Leonard Taylor III.
Reynolds missed the last two games because of a troublesome hamstring injury, but he has now returned to the starting lineup.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini explains how Johnson went from starter to healthy scratch in Week 4:
Jets Add Some Insurance on the Defensive Side of the Ball Ahead of Monday Night Football
Hours before the Jets take the field against the Dolphins, they dipped their hands into their practice squad to add some reinforcements.
Both elevations came on the defensive side of the ball, with the team bringing up veteran linebacker Mykal Walker and rookie safety Dean Clark.
Jets Haven’t Beaten the Dolphins in Miami Since…
I’ll give you a hint: the number-one song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 chart the last time the Jets beat the Dolphins in Miami was “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
Still nothing?
December 28, 2014. No, that isn’t a typo.
It was the regular season finale for the Jets, and what proved to be Rex Ryan’s final day as the HC of the NYJ, as ESPN’s Rich Cimini noted on social media, Ryan was fired the next day.
The Jets won 37-24. Eric Decker finished with 10 receptions for 221 receiving yards and a touchdown, Geno Smith had a perfect passer rating, and the Jets‘ punter Ryan Quigley converted on a fake, finishing the day 1-for-1 for 38 passing yards.
You have to back, back, back to 2014 to find the Jets’ last W in Miami. Rex Ryan was the coach (fired the next day) and Geno Smith posted a perfect passer rating (158.3).
A mind-boggling drought even for the Jets, considering MIA has been a middling team.
That feels like a lifetime ago because it was. The Jets have lost 14 of the last 18 to the Dolphins, regardless of where the game was played.
Prime Time Problems for the Jets and Dolphins Alike
Both teams have had their fair share of problems under the lights.
The green and white have the worst record of any team on Monday Night Football over the last nine years (2-8), per Cimini.
Miami head coach Mike McDaniel is 3-10 in prime time games, which is “6th worst among 73 head coaches with at least 10 such games in the Super Bowl era,” Cimini revealed.
Somebody has to win, right? (Please, no tie.)
Jets: 2-8 on MNF since 2016, worst of any team
Mike McDaniel: 3-10 in prime time, 6th-worst among 73 HCs w/ at least 10 such games in SB era
Only the 3rd game in MNF history with both teams 0-3 or worse
Jets Injury Report for Week 4 vs. The Dolphins
The green and white will be without three pieces to the puzzle against Miami.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed that starting pass rusher Jermaine Johnson and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr, who the Jets traded for, were both ruled out with ankle injuries in Week 4.
Return specialist Kene Nwangwu was initially designated as “doubtful,” but the team later ruled him out over the weekend because of his hamstring injury.
DOUBTFUL: KR Kene Nwangwu OUT: Jermaine Johnson, Jarvis Brownlee
Miami Final Injury Report in Week 4
The Dolphins‘ secondary has been beat up since training camp. Things have only gotten worse through the first month of the season.
Miami ruled out a pair of cornerbacks ahead of Week 4: Storm Duck and Jason Marshall Jr. Another corner, Ethan Bonner, is listed as “questionable” on the injury report.
That should open things up for the Jets in the passing game. Justin Fields will return to the Jets’ starting lineup after missing Week 3 due to injury.
Jets Bench Veteran Playmaker, Injured Starter Returns to Lineup