News, notes and nuggets heading into Dolphins-Jets Black Friday Game
The 7-3 Miami Dolphins, who are in first place in the AFC East, head to New Jersey this holiday week to face the New York Jets in the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game. Interestingly enough, this will be Miami’s fifth regular season game on a Friday in team history.
The first two were in 1966 against the Oakland Raiders on September 2, and the second was against the Jets on September 9.
Miami and New York met again on a Friday on the last game of the regular season in 1983 (December 6).
Most recently, the Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs moved up their regularly scheduled game two days due to Hurricane Wilma and played Friday, October 21, 2005.
As far as the all-time series between the rivals, the Dolphins have won 11 of the past 14 games against the Jets, including four of the past five.
Here are a few more notes heading into Friday:
Dolphins Offense close to record
The Dolphins have 4,340 yards in 10 games this season, putting them on pace to total 7,378 yards. That’s 96 yards shy of the NFL record of 7,474 set by the 2011 New Orleans Saints.
Through 10 games, Miami’s offense is on pace to total 519 points and 7,378 yards. Both would be team records.
The Dolphins lead the NFL in at least seven offensive categories, including total offense, passing offense, scoring offense, yards per play, yards per rush, red zone efficiency and 25-plus yard plays.
Miami has eight plays of 50-plus yards so far this season. That’s nearly double any other NFL team. The second would be the Los Angeles Chargers with five.
After 10 games, the Dolphins’ offensive line has allowed quarterback hits on only 33 dropbacks and 16.0 sacks.
Miami’s 16.0 sacks allowed are the third-fewest in the NFL, and the 33 quarterback hits allowed are the lowest in the league, despite using 10 different offensive linemen and starting seven different combinations this year.
With seven games remaining, the Dolphins are second in the NFL in rushing, averaging 143.0 yards per game. Baltimore leads with 155.1 rushing yards per game, and 535 of those have come from quarterback Lamar Jackson. Miami hasn’t led the NFL in rushing since the 1972 perfect season.
Dolphins Wide Out Duo pacing for history
Jaylen Waddle needs to average 61 yards per game over the next seven to become the first player in franchise history to post three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. His 2023 yards per game average is 64.1, and his career average is 70.2.
Tyreek Hill has 79 receptions for 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns heading into Week 12. He leads the NFL in yards and touchdowns while his 79 catches are the second-most.
Hill is on pace to total 2,077 receiving yards, which would make him the first player in NFL history to top 2,000 receiving yards in a season.
Dolphins defense starting to cook
The Dolphins defense has recorded a sack in every game this season and currently has a seven-game streak with multiple sacks, the third-longest active such streak in the league.
The unit is tied for ninth in sacks (31) and fifth in quarterback hits (71).
Miami hasn’t allowed a second-half point in November this season.
Since Week 2, the Dolphins rank third in the NFL in rushing defense (84.3 yards per game) and second in yards per carry allowed (3.4). Miami has now allowed less than 300 total yards in three straight games and five of the past six.
Since Jalen Ramsey’s Week 8 return, Miami is fourth in total defense (260.3 yards allowed per game) and tied for fourth in scoring defense (17.0 points allowed per game).
Ramsey is one of just three NFL players to have a trio of interceptions since Week 8, joining the Saints’ Paulson Adebo and the Cowboys’ DaRon Bland.
Ramsey has been targeted 16 times, allowing just four receptions for 41 yards.
A bit more than halfway through his fifth season, Christian Wilkins has more tackles than any NFL defensive lineman since 2019.
Jaelan Phillips is heating up and has 5.5 sacks, including sacks in each of his last four games. His four-game sack streak is the third-longest active streak in the NFL.
Kader Kohou has a pass defensed in each of his last five games played, which is good for the third-longest active streak in the NFL behind the Jaguars’ Darious Williams with 10 and the Cowboys’ Daron Bland with seven.
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