Dolphins face Jets, hope to shake off loss

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins have done almost everything they’ve needed to since playing the New York Jets three weeks ago — except stay healthy.

Injuries to standout linebacker Jaelan Phillips (Achilles tendon tear) and starting safety Jevon Holland (knees) overshadowed Miami’s blowout win over the Jets in Week 12, when Holland also returned an intercepted first-half Hail Mary attempt 99 yards for a score.

Injuries showed up again in the Dolphins’ win over the Commanders the following week when linebacker Jerome Baker suffered a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve.

And they played a major role in last week’s 28-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans, with Miami losing starting center Connor Williams for the season because of an ACL tear, and with star receiver Tyreek Hill largely limited by an ankle injury.

“This is how the league works,” Tagovailoa said. “You pray that you can have healthy seasons and stay healthy as long as possible, but it’s a physical sport, and things like that happen. When those things do happen, how do we as a team come out and not let our foot off the gas?”

He challenged the Dolphins to not be too “emotional” entering Sunday’s matchup against the Jets despite blowing a 14-point lead against Tennessee with less than five minutes remaining. The Dolphins (9-4) still sit atop the AFC East, and they’re the No. 2 seed in the conference.

“We don’t want to come into the game thinking we need to do this, we need to do that,” Tagovailoa said.

“We just need to play within the rules and principles of what that play entails for us to do.”

The Jets (5-8) are coming off one of the best wins of their season — a 30-6 blowout of the Houston Texans that can serve as an energyboosting victory to build on.

“Getting that win under our belt and getting that feeling again about who we are was huge for us,” said defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

“It’s another divisional game. You normally don’t like the opponents in your division for a reason. You’re rivals, you play them twice a year, you guys know each other too well, so it’s definitely a game you want to win.”

Coach Robert Saleh this week characterized their Week 12 meeting as a mix of “unfortunate situations” and “missed opportunities.”