New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins: What's the Game Plan for New York?

The first two games of Todd Bowles’ Jets coaching career were easy. Really easy, actually.

Through the first eight quarters of the 2015 season, New York’s defense was ferocious, the offense was sufficient enough, and the result was a 2-0 start by a combined score of 51-17.

But after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles a week ago, the Jets now head to London to face the Miami Dolphins and ensure this one-game skid is just a hiccup and not the beginning of a long year. What does the team have to do to pull out a victory?

Here’s the offensive and defensive game plan.

Offensive Game Plan

When Miami inked defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a six-year, $114 million contract in free agency, the assumption was the four-time All-Pro would give the Dolphins one of the league’s best pass rushes.

After all, Suh and his 36 career sacks would be lining up next to Cameron Wake and his 63. The left side of Miami’s defensive line, on paper, had the makings of one that would keep quarterbacks up late at night.

Through three games? Well, paper hasn’t exactly translated to the field.

Suh and Wake have both been held sack-less and have just eight combined tackles between them through the season’s first 12 quarters. In a way, quarterbacks have found a way to neutralize the pass rush; expect the Jets to duplicate that plan of attack this coming Sunday.

What both the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 and the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 realized was that if they allowed their quarterbacks (Blake Bortles and Tyrod Taylor) to take five-step drops and sit back in the pocket, Suh and Co. would murder them. Against the Dolphins front, long-developing plays weren’t going to work, because as the wide receivers worked their way down the field, Suh and Wake would be working their way up it to get to the quarterback.

So to counter that rush, both teams set their quarterbacks up in the shotgun and ran quick passes to their receivers. The ball was out of the quarterback’s hand about as soon as it got there. As a result, Suh and Wake were barely able to get out of their stance, let alone to the quarterback’s lap.

The fact that the Dolphins as a team only have one sack isn’t necessarily a shot at their inability to get to the quarterback. The ball is just out of the signal-caller's hands too quickly.

Every quarterback in the NFL will tell you that in his head he has a timer that ticks down, almost like an alarm clock. When the alarm sounds, he knows the ball needs to be out. That clock in Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s head is going to have to be turned up a notch. Maybe normally it goes off at three seconds, but this Sunday, it needs to start buzzing at 2.5. The ball needs to get out of his hands quickly, but then again, that hasn’t really been a problem for Fitzpatrick this year.

Per Pro Football Focus, of quarterbacks who have played at least 60 percent of their team’s snaps, Fitzpatrick is releasing the ball 12th-fastest. It takes just 2.41 seconds from when the ball is snapped for it to leave his hands. The result? Fitzpatrick has only been sacked twice this year, which is tied for the second-lowest total in the NFL.

That’s going to have to continue on Sunday, because if the Jets give Suh and Co. a chance to get to the quarterback, they will.

Defensive Game Plan

The Dolphins have playmakers on the offensive side of the ball: Running back Lamar Miller is solid, quarterback Ryan Tannehill is up-and-coming, receiver Rishard Matthews looks to be a big play waiting to happen, and rookie DeVante Parker has loads of potential.

But the X-factor of all 11 players who take the field? Second-year pro Jarvis Landry.

Much of what Miami does on offense is based around finding different ways to get the ball in Landry’s hands. Because once it’s there, well, he does things like this:

The thing about Landry, though, is that he’s not necessarily a player who's going to go one-on-one with a shutdown cornerback and still catch eight or nine passes. He is more like a polished Percy Harvin. You want to get the ball in his hands, and anyway you can do that is a positive.

Miami runs a ton of screens to the slippery wideout and will put him in the backfield to get favorable matchups, but he mostly lines up in the slot, where he’s tremendous at finding the soft spot in a defense.

Landry will meander near the middle of the field, discover the weak spot in the zone and sit down right there. At that point, Tannehill normally finds him. No, the gains aren’t 30, 40 or 50 yards but instead seven, eight or nine.

Maybe his catches don’t result in home run touchdowns, but most of them end in first downs. Per ESPN.com, 48 of Landry’s 84 receptions last season went for first downs. That total was more than Buffalo Bills' Sammy Watkins, the Jets' Eric Decker or even the Bengals' A.J. Green.

Yes, the Jets are going to have to shut down the run, and yes, they will have to pressure Tannehill. But the main variable in the equation to slow down Miami is Landry. If he’s allowed to run free, he will continue to keep drives alive with first-down grabs.

Key Players and Matchups

Buster Skrine vs. Jarvis Landry

So, taking into consideration all the above in regard to what Landry does well, how do the Jets plan to slow him down? That job will fall on the shoulders of nickel cornerback Buster Skrine.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

After signing with the Jets during free agency, Skrine has been the unheralded hero in New York’s secondary. With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in the same meeting room, Skrine doesn’t always get the attention he deserves, but that doesn’t mean he’s gone without praise from teammates and coaches.

“Pound for pound, Buster’s the strongest guy on the defense,” Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said earlier this year. “There’s nothing we don’t mind asking him to do. He works hard, he’s tough, he’s a professional. We love the guy.”

The strength of Skrine’s game is just that: physicality. Despite being just 5'9", he has no problem getting up close and personal with anyone who stands in front of him. He’ll press anybody, and that’s exactly what the Jets will need him to do Sunday.

If Landry is allowed to get a clean release, he feasts. He’s not overly fast but incredibly quick. If given space, Landry is deadly. The best way to counter that is to not give him any room to work with. Stick on the wideout like glue, disrupt his routes with press coverage and make sure if he turns left, you’re right there with him.

In a way, Skrine’s talents are perfectly suited to cover Landry. But can he hang for four quarters? That’ll be determined on Sunday.

Quinton Coples vs. Jason Fox

There’s a good chance Miami is without starting left tackle Branden Albert, who’s listed as doubtful for the game. If he doesn’t play, the next man up is Jason Fox.

And that might be just what Jets outside linebacker Quinton Coples needs to jump-start his season.

Originally drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft, Coples has been a bit of a disappointment with New York, partially due to the fact he’s played out of position. At 6'6", 290 pounds, Coples is a bit large to play a 3-4 outside linebacker and not fast enough to be a legitimate pass-rushing threat around the outside. He’d be perfect as a 4-3 defensive end, but in a 3-4 scheme, he’s a round peg fitting into a square hole.

Player Name	Team	Pick	Career Tackles	Career Sacks
Bruce Irvin	SEA	15	103	18
Quinton Coples	NYJ	16	73	16.5
Melvin Ingram	SD	18	90	6
Chandler Jones	NE	21	178	26.5

Still, this year, his fourth in the league, Coples has been quieter than usual. He has just six tackles through three games, no sacks and only four hurries. Of outside linebackers who have played at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps, that hurry total is good for just 23rd overall. The Jets are desperately looking for someone to apply pressure from the outside, and against a backup left tackle, Coples may finally break out.

In two games this season, Fox has allowed five quarterback hurries, one quarterback hit and one quarterback sack. In 2014, Fox allowed eight quarterback hurries and three hits from Weeks 12-15, per PFF.

If Coples doesn’t get going Sunday, he may not all year.

With a Jets Win

It’ll be the perfect send-off into the team’s bye week. With a game against the Washington Redskins coming up in two weeks, a victory against the Dolphins could set the stage for quite the showdown with the New England Patriots on Oct. 25.

This one isn’t a must-win for the Jets, but it’s a big game. It’s the first divisional matchup, and coming off a loss, the Jets are looking to right the ship.

With a Jets Loss

Fitzpatrick’s time as the Jets starter may be just about over with a loss. It’s unlikely the Jets go back to Geno Smith, even with a loss, but this would be the second strike for Fitzpatrick. With a poor performance against Miami, Fitzpatrick’s leash will be extra short. In a way, this game is more important for him than the Jets. If the quarterback wants to remain New York’s No. 1, he has to play well after last week’s dreadful outing.

Prediction

If the first three weeks of the regular season have shown nothing else, it’s that the Jets defense is as good as advertised. The defensive front is capable of shutting down the run and getting after the passer. The secondary can lock down any receiver. After the Jets forced just 13 turnovers all of last season, forcing one to three per game seems to be the new norm. 

But on offense? Things aren’t as smooth.

The storyline for the rest of the 2015 season will be the same one on display in London: If the Jets win, it’ll be because the defense dominates and the offense does enough not to lose. Against a team such as the Patriots, that might not be enough. Against the Dolphins? Winning game No. 3 of the young season shouldn’t be an issue.

Look for Tannehill to struggle with little throwing lanes to work with and for the Jets to shut down the Miami running game. Last week against the Eagles, New York allowed 123 yards on the ground. Stuffing the run has been a point of emphasis in practice this week, so don’t expect a repeat poor performance.

The score will be closer than the game actually is with the Jets pulling out a victory. Look for New York's running game to get going with a now healthy Chris Ivory. Receiver Brandon Marshall will score on the Dolphins' poor secondary, and Tannehill will turn the ball over more than once. 

Final Score: Jets 26, Dolphins 16

Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for the Journal Inquirer and Scout.com. All quotes and advanced stats referenced and used are gathered firsthand. 

Connor can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes) or via email ([e-mail])