NFL Week 7 Preview: Jets at Dolphins

The New York Jets visit the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 of the 2017 NFL season. PFF previews the top player matchups of the game.

Coverage by: Cyrus Geller

Matchup: New York Jets offense vs. Miami Dolphins defense

• TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins vs. LB Lawrence Timmons – Seferian-Jenkins had a terrific game against the Patriots last week, catching eight balls on 10 targets for 46 yards, a touchdown and a passer rating of 119.2 when targeted. He has yet to drop a ball on 28 targets this season, which is the fourth most targets without a drop among tight ends. He will see a lot of Lawrence Timmons this week, who is having a terrific 2017 season. Timmons is the sixth highest graded linebacker at 85.4, though he his coverage grade of 79.8 is only 16^th, so Seferian-Jenkins may have an opportunity to continue his strong season this week.
• G Brian Winters vs. DI Ndamukong Suh – Winters is going to have his hands full this week, dealing with the seventh-highest graded interior defender in Ndamukong Suh. Winters is currently tied for 39th among 77 offensive guards in pass-blocking efficiency at 96.3, though he is coming off a week against New England in which he only gave up one hurry and one hit in 54 pass-blocking snaps.
• WR Jermaine Kearse vs. CB Xavien Howard – Josh McCown has found himself a target he likes in Kearse, as Kearse currently has a wide receiver rating of 123.8, the sixth highest in the league out of 84 qualified receivers. Last week against New England, Kearse was targeted four times, and caught all four balls for 79 yards and McCown’s passer rating was 118.8 when throwing to him. This duo should have another opportunity to have a good game against Xavien Howard, who is tied for 86th out of 110 qualified cornerbacks in passer rating when targeted at 104.2, and his overall grade of 37.4 puts him 111th out of 114 cornerbacks this season.

Coverage by: Cyrus Geller

Matchup: Miami Dolphins offense vs. New York Jets defense

• RB Jay Ajayi vs. DI Muhammad Wilkerson – Jay Ajayi has returned to his dominant form, as he is currently the third-highest graded running back in the league at 85.8, and he has forced the fifth-most missed tackles on rushes with 21. Stopping Ajayi is priority number one for the Jets, and if they want to do that, they will need more from Muhammad Wilkerson, who is currently ranked 113th among 124 qualified interior defenders with an overall grade of 46.5, and he is 102th with a run-defense grade of 48.3. It’s been a rough season for Wilkerson, and his job doesn’t get any easier going up against Ajayi.

• WR Jarvis Landry vs. Buster Skrine – Landry makes his living in the slot, as he has the sixth highest slot target percentage out of 55 qualified receivers at 23.8 percent, and is tied with Nelson Agholor for the seventh most receptions out of the slot with 18. He will be matched up with Buster Skrine, who hasn’t been terrific in the slot, ranking 41st out of 53 qualified cornerbacks in passer rating at 108.1, and 49th in yards given up from the slot with 205. Look for the Dolphins to try and exploit that match up.
• T Laremy Tunsil vs. Edge Kony Ealy – Tunsil hasn’t been great this season, his overall grade of 65.8 puts him 36th out of 71 qualified tackles, but other than Ja’Wuan James, he has been Miami’s second best offensive lineman. He will be tasked with handling Kony Ealy off of the edge, who is putting together a solid 2017 campaign. He is a respectable 23rd out of 104 qualified edge defenders with an overall grade of 82.4, and 15th in pass-rushing grades at 83.2. Keeping Ealy in check with be a good test for Tunsil.