The Jets are the biggest threat to the Dolphins in the AFC East

The Miami Dolphins (6-3) have taken care of business through the first half of the 2023 season. They haven’t lost a game at home and have beaten all of the teams they were supposed to beat. As the narrative goes, however, they can’t beat a team with a winning record. Nevermind that they’ve only played 3 such games and all 3 have been on the road. They were truly only blown out in one game and that was at Buffalo.

Heading into the second half of the season, the Dolphins will have a number of games they should be favored in for the next 5 games (vs. Raiders, @ Jets, @ Commanders, vs. Titans, vs. Jets). If they can take care of business in those games, they could separate themselves from the rest of the AFC East and potentially climb as high as the #1 or #2 seed in the AFC.

However, if they stumble, there could be a team right on their heels. No, not the Buffalo Bills who are currently 5-5. I’m more concerned about the New York Jets who are currently 4-5. I know, it sounds crazy because the Jets haven’t scored a touchdown in 39 drives. BUT, their defense, if we’re being honest, is legit. And good defenses travel on the road and can overcome terrible offenses.

Consider the remaining schedules for the Bills and Jets:

Bills – vs. Jets, @ Philadelphia, @ Kansas City, vs. Dallas, @ LA Chargers, vs. New England, @ Miami

Jets – @ Buffalo, vs. Miami, vs. Atlanta, vs. Houston, @ Miami, vs. Washington, @ Cleveland, @ New England

So tell me, who has an easier remaining schedule? The Bills may be the better team, but that schedule is absolutely brutal. It’s because of this that I’ll actually be rooting for the Bills this weekend against the Jets. A win would knock the Jets to 4-6 and would have lost 3 straight heading into the Black Friday game at home against the Dolphins. I’d much rather that happen then the Jets rebound with a road win in Buffalo. That would give them hope that a win against the Dolphins could get them to within a game or even tie for the AFC East lead (if the Dolphins lost to the Raiders this weekend).

All of this is irrelevant if the Dolphins win both of their games against the Jets, but I have to admit that Black Friday game is a bit concerning. The Dolphins have struggled on the road against good defenses and they’ll likely need to rely on their own resurgent defense to win that game in New Jersey. What do you think? Are the Bills or Jets the bigger threat in the AFC East? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @PhinNation