The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets will renew their rivalry in London at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
This could be a critical game for the Dolphins and head coach Joe Philbin. After beginning the year with lofty expectations, the Dolphins have sputtered to a 1-2 record. Their one win easily could have been a loss, and Philbin could be on the hot seat already.
In his three prior seasons with the Dolphins, Philbin has been unable to post a winning record. This year, Miami was a playoff pick by many analysts after a busy and productive off-season. In the three games played however, Miami has looked more like a basement dweller than a postseason contender.
The Jets had a makeover in the off-season as well with a new head coach and a new quarterback. Thus far, the new look Jets are 2-1 which puts them a game up on Miami in the division. A win in this game would give New York a two game advantage and a leg up on a potential tie-breaker.
The Dolphins need to see a better effort from their defense in this game. In three games so far, Miami's defense has been seen standing around with its hands on its hips all too often. Ndamukong Suh has yet to record a sack and only has a few tackles on the year. A lot of this is due to teams double or even triple-teaming Suh, while his teammates have failed to get the job done beside him.
Ryan Tannehill didn't throw an interception in the first two games and then tossed three picks last week. With a subpar running game and an inefficient defense, turning the ball over simply can not happen if Miami is going to succeed. Tannehill will need to be better in this game, and will need to look more like the QB that the Dolphins gave a big contract to this past off-season.
The Dolphins and Jets will kick things off at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
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Courtesy of our news partner, NBCMiami.com.
