NFL Florida Trio Take on Division Rivals in Week 14
The NFL season is coming down to the wire and each Florida squad faces unique circumstances. The Miami Dolphins find themselves “in the hunt” for the playoffs for seemingly the fifth consecutive year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars are each trying to hang on to their respective divisional leads.
WRUF.com NFL beat writers Riley Orovitz and Dalton Sallengs are neck-and-neck in their predictions. Riley pulled ahead last week and has a record of 21-15. Dalton is slated two games back at 19-17.
Every game is crucial down the line this month. Here’s who each team in the Sunshine State is set to face in Week 14:
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS)
Don’t look now, but the Dolphins (5-7) have won four of their last five games, with a game at the Meadowlands to face the Jets (3-9) today.
The divisional matchup will be crucial if Miami wants to move up in the playoff picture. While not likely, the Dolphins have a chance to run the table and sneak in as the last wild-card team. That would be pretty hard to believe if you heard that in October when they were 1-6.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn took the reins from former starting quarterback Justin Fields and handed them to veteran Tyrod Taylor. The journeyman picked up his first win with the organization last week against the Atlanta Falcons. Taylor threw for 172 yards and a touchdown.
While not playing elite football, Taylor has made strides in a Jets uniform. The Virginia Tech standout tossed 222 yards in the team’s 23-10 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.
On the other side is the much-improved Dolphins defense. The group reeled in two interceptions and picked up four sacks against New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
If Miami wants to improve to 14-3 against New York in the last nine years, running back De’Von Achane must continue to dominate. The Texas A&M product notched 1,000 total rushing yards on the season last week.
Achane has taken the league by storm since his home debut in 2023, when he posted 233 total yards against the Denver Broncos.
He has added more than 120 yards on the ground in three consecutive contests.
The Jets run defense stacks up to No. 25 across the league, allowing 131.2 yards per game, making Sunday a suitable matchup for the young ball carrier.
Achane picked up more than 100 total yards in each of his previous two contests against New York. Watch out for Achane to continue his historic season for Miami in Week 14.
Riley’s pick: Dolphins 24, Jets 10
Dalton’s pick: Dolphins 35, Jets 10
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS)
The Jags (8-4) enter Sunday on a three-game win streak and face one of the most important matchups of the year. Indianapolis (8-4) once led the league but has dropped its last two games, leaving the door to the AFC South title wide open.
Jacksonville wideout Jakobi Meyers is quietly making massive appearances for his new squad. The seventh-year man has found the end zone in two consecutive weeks and has seen six targets in three straight.
One of the Colts’ largest facets of their game is Jonathan Taylor. The former two-time unanimous First-Team All-American at Wisconsin has notched 1,287 rushing yards on the year with five games remaining.
Taylor has 17 total touchdowns on the year but has been limited in recent weeks. The Colts’ slump can be partly drawn from his lack of success on the ground. Indy is 2-4 in games where Taylor is kept to less than 90 rushing yards.
Luckily for Jacksonville, its front seven has been deemed the best defense against the run this year. The Jags kept Tennessee to 67 total ground yards and Arizona to 55.
With the Colts and Jags facing off for the first time this season, Sunday is important for both squads. Whoever comes out on top may secure the division’s top spot — that is if the Houston Texans don’t surge at the end of the year.
Riley: Colts 28, Jaguars 17
Dalton: Jaguars 24. Colts 21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS)
With five games remaining in the season, it’s become increasingly difficult to understand who the Bucs (7-5) have become. They started the year 5-1, but have dropped four of the last six games since.
Yes, Tampa Bay has battled numerous injuries to mainstream players like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., Bucky Irving and, most recently, Baker Mayfield. They continue to get healthy and will look to finish the season on a high note. The Bucs are slightly edging out the Carolina Panthers for the division crown, and will face NFC South competition in all but one game to close out the year.
The first of the slate is against the Saints (2-10). The Bucs are 3-2 at home and will play at Raymond James Stadium during three of their final contests.
The glaring question ahead of Sunday’s game is Mayfield’s health. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner left the Nov. 23 contest against the LA Rams at halftime due to an AC shoulder sprain, but returned the following week.
Mayfield completed 64.3% of his passes for 194 yards and a score. While not a stellar statline, he managed to be productive against a bottom-half defense in the Cardinals. Sunday may be a different story. New Orleans’ pass defense stacks up to No. 7 in the league.
If the Bucs want to find the win column once more, they will have to utilize all available weapons on both sides of the ball. Evans, Tampa Bay’s sure-handed wideout, has missed the last five games after undergoing collarbone surgery in October. He was expected to miss the majority of the year and could see the field quicker than originally deemed.
It seems like the backfield is back to its original status with Irving’s return last week. He added 81 total yards and a touchdown in his first game since late September.
Riley: Buccaneers 28, Saints 10
Dalton: Buccaneers 42, Saints 10
Category: NFL
