{"id":403233,"date":"2025-09-28T08:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T08:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/403233\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T08:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T08:58:14","slug":"jets-x-factor-for-week-4-monday-night-football-vs-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/403233\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets\u2019 X-factor for Week 4 Monday Night Football vs. Dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Jets\u2019 X-factor for Week 4 Monday Night Football vs. Dolphins<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New York Jets<\/a> are still searching for the first win of the Aaron Glenn<\/a> era. New York is coming off a brutal last second loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3. After trailing 23-6 in the fourth quarter, the Tyrod Taylor-led Jets mounted a comeback. New York took the lead with under two minutes remaining on Will McDonald\u2019s blocked field goal touchdown return<\/a>. But the Bucs marched down the field with ease, setting up the game-winning kick and sealing the 29-27 victory as time expired.<\/p>\n

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The loss dropped the Jets to 0-3 on the season. In Week 4 New York will take on the AFC East\u2019s other winless team, the Miami Dolphins<\/a>. But what will happen when a stoppable force meets a movable object?<\/p>\n

Defense in decline\"Nathan<\/p>\n

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

New York will have Justin Fields<\/a> back for the Monday Night Football matchup. The fifth-year passer was forced to sit out the Buccaneers game with a concussion sustained against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. But Fields\u2019 presence is unlikely to move the needle for the Jets. Taylor is just as capable of leading the team to a win as Fields \u2013 a depressing thought considering New York signed the quarterback to a $40 million deal over the offseason.<\/p>\n

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The Jets, predictably, have the 31st-ranked passing offense in the league as the team is averaging just 144.7 yards per game through the air. While no one expected Fields (or Taylor) to lead a dominant passing attack, the team\u2019s defensive downturn is a surprise.<\/p>\n

The Jets enter Week 4 with the 22nd-ranked overall defense. That\u2019s a major letdown after New York boasted the NFL\u2019s third-best defense in each of the last two seasons. And the unit was ranked fourth overall in 2022.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Jets\u2019 defense is allowing a generous 340.3 total yards per game. And the team is giving up an average of 31 points per contest, the fourth most in football.<\/p>\n

New York made Sauce Gardner<\/a> the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL with a four-year, $120.4 million extension<\/a> this offseason. Gardner shined as the best cover corner in the league over his first two seasons. But his production dipped during the team\u2019s disastrous 2024 campaign and he hasn\u2019t fully returned to form yet in 2025.<\/p>\n

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Brandon Stephens, X-factor\"Vincent<\/p>\n

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Of course, the Jets\u2019 biggest change from last year (other than general manager, head coach, coordinators and starting quarterback) is the reconfigured defensive backfield. New York allowed D.J. Reed to walk in free agency and replaced him with Brandon Stephens.<\/p>\n

Reed was Gardner\u2019s running mate during the secondary\u2019s three-year streak as a top-four unit in the league. And Stephens is a significant downgrade.<\/p>\n

Stephens is also the Jets\u2019 X-factor for Week 4\u2019s Monday night showdown with the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

New York faces several challenges this week. And things will likely get worse before they get better. The team\u2019s disappointing defense is banged up. All-Pro linebacker Quincy Williams landed on the IR<\/a> with a shoulder injury. And Pro Bowl pass rusher Jermaine Johnson will miss his second-straight game with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

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The Jets, realizing that Stephens\u2019 disastrous 2024 season probably wasn\u2019t an aberration, acquired cornerback Jarvis Brownlee<\/a> in a trade with the Tennessee Titans. But Brownlee will also miss Week 4 with an ankle ailment.<\/p>\n

Jets present get-right spot for Dolphins\u2019 offense\"Sam<\/p>\n

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

New York enters its Monday Night Football matchup with a compromised pass rush and an underperforming secondary. And the timing couldn\u2019t be much worse as the Dolphins boast one of the league\u2019s fastest wide receiver duos in Tyreek Hill<\/a> and Jaylen Waddle<\/a>. And if Tua Tagovailoa has time in the pocket, he can pick teams apart.<\/p>\n

During his last full season in 2023, Tagovailoa had a passer rating of 112.5 when given time to throw. That dropped to just 57.5 when teams pressured the quarterback. With Johnson sidelined the Jets will have a difficult time getting to Tua. This will place an emphasis on the team\u2019s surprisingly vulnerable secondary.<\/p>\n

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Both Hill and Waddle have mostly been held in check this season. But the wideouts are due for a breakout. And embattled head coach Mike McDaniel<\/a> badly needs a win. McDaniel is 4-2 against the Jets since taking over the Dolphins in 2022. And Miami is in a get-right spot this week.<\/p>\n

Through the first three weeks of the 2025 season, quarterbacks targeting Stephens have a passer rating<\/a> of 131.7, per PFF. Tagovailoa will undoubtedly look his way early and often as the Dolphins attempt to get their offense on track.<\/p>\n

If Miami is successful, Monday could turn into a long night for the Jets. New York is not built to play from behind. Glenn\u2019s preferred style is to grind out games on the ground. Forcing Fields to chuck the ball 30-40 times is a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n

The former first-round pick is at his best when defenses are compelled to guard against a strong rushing attack. That opens up passing and scrambling opportunities for Fields and he\u2019s proven to be capable of excelling in those situations. But an explosive Dolphins\u2019 offense could create a nightmare scenario for the Jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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If Stephens and the rest of the secondary can step up against Miami\u2019s passing attack, New York could earn its first win of the season. But if the Dolphins\u2019 wideouts dominate, Aaron Glenn and company will likely suffer a prime-time embarrassment.<\/p>\n

Related: The Eagles could really use Isaiah Rodgers right now<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Fantasy Football Week 4 Start \u2018Em Sit \u2018Em: Running Back<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The post Jets\u2019 X-factor for Week 4 Monday Night Football vs. Dolphins appeared first on ClutchPoints. The New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1585,10062,53,317,7,69593,14706,226,493,251,16166,1917,255,2321,2097,6,14741,7536,250,2355,394,796,3452,1089],"class_list":{"0":"post-403233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-aaron-glenn","9":"tag-brandon-stephens","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-d-j-reed","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-forcing-fields","14":"tag-jaylen-waddle","15":"tag-jets","16":"tag-justin-fields","17":"tag-miami-dolphins","18":"tag-monday-night-football","19":"tag-new-york","20":"tag-new-york-jets","21":"tag-newyork","22":"tag-newyorkjets","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-quincy-williams","25":"tag-sauce-gardner","26":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","27":"tag-taylor","28":"tag-tennessee-titans","29":"tag-the-jets","30":"tag-tua-tagovailoa","31":"tag-tyreek-hill"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115281101113325138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}