The Miami Dolphins' matchup against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday will pit them against a familiar opponent with a familiar set of circumstances.
It might not be quite like looking at a reflection in the mirror, but the Dolphins certainly can identify with a lot of different things going on with the Jets.
Most of them are less than ideal, challenging and even at times depressing, but there are similarities that do offer reason for optimism.
THE TOUGH SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE DOLPHINS AND JETS
The obvious starting point when discussing similarities between the Dolphins and Jets is that they've both been looking up at the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in the AFC East for a pretty long time.
The last time the Dolphins won the division title was in 2008, and the Jets have to go even further back, all the way to 2002.
But it's not just the AFC East that's been a problem because the Dolphins and Jets both have the wrong kind of longest current streak in the entire NFL; for Miami, it's the longest drought without a playoff victory (since 2000), while the Jets have gone the longest without making the playoffs (2010).
Both teams are in the midst of a rebuilding project that saw them discard some of their biggest assets — Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Minkah Fitzpatrick for the Dolphins; Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner for the Jets — and both were among the NFL leaders in dead cap money in 2026.
The Dolphins, as has been well documented, set a record by topping $180 million in dead cap space this year, but the Jets came in fourth in that department at over $117 million.
For each team, the biggest culprit was at quarterback, with Tua Tagovailoa ($55 million) for Miami and both Aaron Rodgers ($35M) and Justin Fields ($20M) for the Jets.
THE OTHER SIMILARITIES
The Dolphins and Jets each have a new starting quarterback this year with Malik Willis and Geno Smith, and the only potential difference is that Willis is much younger and has a chance to convince Miami he's a long-term answer where Smith clearly is a stopgap.
It also appears — and this might be the most encouraging and significant similarity of all — that both teams hit on their top three draft picks this year, though it was easier for the Jets considering all three were first-round selections.
The early returns on edge David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. have been very positive, and the same applies (albeit to a lesser degree) to Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson and Jacob Rodriguez.
Where the Jets have an advantage is they have another set of three first-round picks in the 2027 NFL draft, owning picks from the Indianapolis Colts from the Gardner trade and another that will come from either the Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys from the Williams trade.
The Dolphins, on the other hand, do not have an extra pick in 2027 before the fifth round, that one coming as part of the 2025 trade that sent Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh and Fitpatrick to Miami.
At some point, the Jets or Dolphins will be back in a position to challenge the Bills and Patriots in the AFC East, but it won't be this season and the result of the game Sunday likely won't mean much in the big picture.
It might offer an indication, however slight, as to which team might be further ahead on their road back to relevance.
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