Miami Dolphins at New York Jets, New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 4:15 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Jets -6
Current Line: Jets -5
Opening Total: 41
Current Total: 39.5
Money Line: Jets -230 / Dolphins +190
The New York Jets (9-3) may have buried the ball from Monday night’s 45-3 loss at New England, but they hope the memories of that devastating defeat went along with it as they host the Miami Dolphins (6-6) in a key AFC East matchup on Sunday. The Jets (-5) can pull even again atop the division standings with a win and a Patriots loss at Chicago.
New York head coach Rex Ryan buried the game ball from what looked like the “Boston Massacre” at the team’s training facility, but he will need to make sure his team has a short memory and moves on from what he hopes will not be a repeat of the 1986 season. That year, the Jets got off to a 10-1 start before getting pummeled by the Dolphins in a similar situation on the road, starting what turned out to be a season-ending five-game losing streak.
The big concern for the Jets right now continues to be the play of quarterback Mark Sanchez in cold-weather games, which could no doubt haunt him down the stretch. Sanchez had played brilliantly at times this season, but he completed just 17 of 33 attempts against New England for 164 yards with three interceptions. He will now face a Miami secondary that ranks in the Top 5 in the NFL and has given up an average of 186 yards through the air with five interceptions in the last six games.
Offensively, the Dolphins have been challenged to score consistently since Week 8. They have not scored more than 10 points in consecutive games since a three-game stretch when they won twice following their bye week. The good news is that Miami has been a better team on the road, where they are 5-1 both straight-up and against the spread this season.
The team has played better defense away from home, limiting opponents to 17 points or less in four of six road games. The only loss for the Dolphins on the road this year came at Baltimore in Week 9, 26-10. In that game, quarterback Chad Henne threw three interceptions, something he did last week as well in a 13-10 home loss to Cleveland. Henne has thrown three picks on three different occasions this season, but he threw for a season-high 363 yards in a 31-23 home loss to New York in Week 3.
Miami is 3-1 both SU and ATS in the last four meetings with the Jets, and the OVER has cashed in the last three games between the teams. The OVER is also 4-1 in New York’s last five games overall, with the team posting a 4-1 record SU and ATS during that stretch.
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