The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 14  Miami Dolphins vs New York Jets Sunday afternoon game on December 8, 2019 at 1 pm ET.
MiamiRank@NY JetsRank
5.5Spread-5.5
19.75Implied Total25.25
16.729Points/Gm1728
31.432Points All./Gm23.319
6126Plays/Gm58.831
64.922Opp. Plays/Gm65.525
33.1%31Rush%38.0%21
66.9%2Pass%62.0%12
47.2%31Opp. Rush %39.7%12
52.8%2Opp. Pass %60.3%21
  • Since switching back to Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 7, the Dolphins have scored a touchdown on 25.6% (20-of-78) of their possessions (ninth) after 7.4% (4-of-54) prior. 
  • Since Preston Williams was lost for the season after Week 9, DeVante Parker is the WR4 in overall fantasy scoring (82.4 points), tied for third in targets (41), tied for fifth in receptions (25), first in receiving yards (454), and third in air yards (500).
  • Jets running backs are averaging 0.57 yards before contact, the fewest in the league. League average is 1.31 yards before contact.
  • Jets quarterbacks have been pressured on 44.1% of their dropbacks, the highest rate in the league. League average is 34.9%.
  • The Dolphins rank 32nd in yardage gained off explosive runs (206) while the Jets rank 31st (248). 
  • 25.6% of the Miami rushing attempts have failed to gain yardage, the highest rate in the league. League average outside of them is 18.5%.
  • 31.9% of the rushing attempts against the Jets have failed to gain yardage, the highest rate in the league.

Trust (spike production for that player)

  • Devante Parker: It took five seasons, but Parker is finally delivering on a consistent basis while flashing the vertical ball skills that played into his high draft selection in 2015. Parker has double-digit targets in each of his past four games and hasn’t finished outside of WR3 scoring in a game since Week 3, including a 4-57-1 games when these teams played in Week 9 with Preston Williams still active. 

On the Cusp (proxy of a player’s average)

  • Mike Gesicki: Gesicki has 17.0% of the team targets over the past five games and has found the end zone in each of the past two games. He had a season-high 95 yards on five catches when these teams played in Week 9 and that was with Williams on the field. 
  • Jets WRs: The ghost of Robby Anderson has reemerged the past two weeks to lead this receiving unit. Anderson has received 17.2% (4-86-1) and 20.8% (7-101) of the team targets the past two games after 9.9% over the three previous games. He managed just 2-33 when these teams last played, but Miami has still allowed 51 completions of 20-plus yards (29th) in the league and they have allowed 10 touchdown passes on deep targets this season (30th). Anderson’s emergence has halted the hot streak that Jamison Crowder was on. Crowder has just four catches for 26 yards over his past two games, but did have nine targets (18.8%) a week ago and had an 8-83-1 line when these teams played in Week 9. 

If You Must (intriguing bench option or deeper league play) 

  • Sam Darnold: Just when we thought it was safe to start believing in Darnold as a top streaming option, the rug was pulled out on us last week as he laid an egg against the Bengals, throwing zero touchdown passes for 5.0 yards per attempt. So far on this streaming stretch of schedule, Darnold has given us three 20-point games to go with QB22 and QB28 weeks. That QB22 week came against this Miami team in Week 9, but the Dolphins are still a target for us despite that outing. Miami has allowed 20-point games to eight different quarterbacks this season and in each of their past three games to Josh Allen (33.8), Baker Mayfield (23.6), and Carson Wentz (24.4).
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick: I’ve tried to make sense of it, but the Fitzmagic has been there for fantasy. Since taking back over as the starting quarterback, Fitzpatrick has been a top-10 scorer in four games. He’s also had a low floor, finishing as the QB19 or lower in the other three weeks, so the gap from ceiling to floor potential is a wide margin. But one of those ceiling games came against the Jets in Week 9, when Fitzpatrick was the QB5 (23.7 points). The Jets are 24th in passing points allowed per game (15.8), but are ninth in yards allowed per attempt (6.9).
  • Patrick Laird: With Kalen Ballage’s status in jeopardy for Sunday, Laird would step in to take over as the lead back for the Dolphins. In relief of Ballage last week, Laird found the end zone and scored a two-point conversion, but ran the ball 10 times for five yards. The Jets are the top run defense in the league per expected points added and Miami backs ran 19 times for 48 yards when these teams last played and the Dolphins controlled game script. Laird does offer some receiving upside if you have to chase the touches for a FLEX spot, however, having games of 4-43 and 6-51 receiving over the past three weeks.
  • Ryan Griffin: Griffin has just eight catches for 43 yards over his past two games, but did still command seven targets (14.6%) last week and runs into another favorable streaming spot. The Dolphins are 27th in yardage allowed per game to opposing tight ends (59.1) and allowed Griffin to catch 6-of-8 targets for 50 yards when these teams met earlier in the season.
  • Bilal Powell:  Powell has out-touched Ty Montgomery 33-to-10 over the past six games, so he should assume the “lead” role in the Jets backfield. He likely won’t have as much of a grip on the backfield that Bell had and has averaged just 3.9 yards per touch on his limited use so far this season, but he is a home favorite facing a defense that ranks 31st in yards from scrimmage allowed per game to backfields (166.6 yards).

More Week 14 Fantasy breakdowns from The Worksheet:

DAL at CHI | DET at MIN | BAL at BUF | SF at NO | IND at TB | CIN at CLE | DEN at HOU | WAS at GB | CAR at ATL | MIA at NYJ | LAC at JAX | TEN at OAK | KC at NE | PIT at ARI | SEA at LAR | NYG at PHI