A look at the Week 14 game between the Jets and Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Florida:

Marquee matchup

Dolphins WRs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle vs. Jets CBs DJ Reed and Brandin Echols

The Jets likely enter this game without their top cornerback as Sauce Gardner is questionable to play due to a hamstring injury.

Hill and Waddle haven’t had their typical season, but are still major threats when they step on the field. Hill has only had one 100-yard receiving game this season, and that came in Week 1.

He has 55 catches for 654 yards and four touchdowns, all well below his usual averages.

Waddle has had two 100-yard games this year, including two weeks ago when he had 144 against the Patriots. He has 45 catches for 601 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jets rely on Echols to replace Gardner.

Echols has the team’s only two interceptions this season and two interceptions that were returned for a touchdown by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Echols is actually the last Jet to score a touchdown at Miami with his pick-six in 2021.

“It’s (a) huge (challenge),” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “It’s difficult. Now let’s say we’re very fortunate that we have Brandin Echols, a guy who has played a lot of football, played a lot of football against the Dolphins, played a lot of football against Tua and has had success against Tua in the past “Do you want sauce? There’s no doubt about it, but Echols is a very good support in this situation, I’m very happy about his opportunity.”

Costello’s call

It’s hard to imagine the Jets showing up for this game. They lost brutally last week, blowing a 14-point lead and hitting shot after shot this season.

Now they are likely missing two of their best players with Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall injured.

The Dolphins need this one to stay alive. The Jets are already dead.

Dolphins 34, Jets 13

Four defeats

Tua time: Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had plenty of success against the Jets. He is 5-0 in his career against division rivals.

The Jets’ only win over the Dolphins since Tagovailoa’s draft came in 2022 when he was injured.

This season, Tagovailoa missed four games after suffering a concussion in Week 2. The Dolphins went 1-3 without him in the lineup, and that’s a big reason why they’re fighting for their playoff lives now.

Tagovailoa was incredibly accurate this year, leading the NFL with a completion percentage of 74.5.

“It’s the same Tua we just got used to,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “He’s a highly accurate guy, he’s a problem solver, he’s quick to process, he really reminds me of playing against Drew Brees all those years, a guy that makes quick decisions, he makes it to the second or third reading.” immediately.”

Something special: The Jets didn’t have much to complain about in their loss to the Seahawks last week, but they had a memorable team day.

They became the first team in NFL history to have a kickoff return for a touchdown, two fumble recoveries on kickoffs, and a blocked extra point in the same game.

The highlight was a 99-yard kickoff return by Kene Nwangwu, a player who was on the team’s practice squad all season before being called up for the game last week.

The Jets signed him to the active roster the day after his big game against Seattle and we’ll see what he can do for an encore in Miami.

Big O: The Jets will get a detailed look at their first-round pick Olu Fashanu down the stretch.

Starting left tackle Tyron Smith landed on injured reserve with a neck injury and Fashanu started the last two games.

The initial returns were good. Fashanu took no pressure last week with 42 pass-blocking snaps.

“I keep saying it, it sounds like I’m saying the same thing over and over again, but it’s the truth: the more Ops he has to play, the better he gets,” Ulbrich said. “He just builds on every performance in both phases, both in the run game and in pass protection, so I’m just so excited for the future that this guy has.”

Florida Follies: The Jets’ recent history in South Florida has been terrible. They have lost eight straight games at Hard Rock Stadium.

Their last win there came in the 2014 season finale when Rex Ryan was still head coach.

They lost there in remarkable fashion, giving up kickoff returns, bad interceptions, losses to a winless team and some terrible offensive performances.

The Jets haven’t scored a touchdown in Miami since 2021, when Brandin Echols returned a Tagovailoa interception for a pick-six. They went 0-30 last season and lost 11-6 at the end of the 2022 season.