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SPORTS Thursday 31 OcTOber 2019
Winless Dolphins are again

underdogs against Jets

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Nearing place cornerback Xavien some knee flared up, and
the midpoint in the season, Howard on injured reserve he watched the end of the
the Miami Dolphins must with a knee injury that both- game from the sideline.
wonder what it will take to ered him in recent weeks. The loss of cornerback Ken
win a game. He made his first intercep- Webster (ankle) further de- Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline
during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pitts-
Their furious fourth-quarter tion of the season at Pitts- pleted an injury-plagued burgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019.
rally against the Wash- burgh before his trouble- secondary.q Associated Press
ington Redskins in Week 6
didn't do it. A lead in the
final period against the Buf-
falo Bills in Week 7 wasn't
enough. And a two-touch-
down advantage in the first
quarter Monday at Pitts-
burgh couldn't do it.
Might the New York Jets be
what the Dolphins need?
Former Dolphins coach
Adam Gase and his Jets (1-
6) visit Miami (0-7) on Sun-
day.
The Dolphins are under-
dogs, as they have been
in every game, but only
by five points. That sug-
gests Miami has a decent
chance to break a two-
year, 10-game losing streak
that dates to the days of
Gase in December 2018.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpat-
rick remains confident a
breakthrough will come for
the rebuilding Dolphins.
"This whole thing is just a
progression," he said. "We'll
continue to go for it."
Here are things to know
about the Dolphins as
they prepare for Sunday's
matchup of misery:
WHAT'S WORKING
As ordered by owner Ste-
phen Ross, the Dolphins
gutted the roster so they
could position themselves
for a draft bonanza in 2019.
They remain the favorite
for the No. 1 selection, and
if the season ended this
week, they'd have three of
the first 26 picks.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
The Dolphins have been
outscored 130-20 in the
second half, including 17-0
at Pittsburgh.
STOCK UP
Defensive end Taco Charl-
ton has a career-high four
sacks in five games for
Miami. The latest came
when he forced a fumble
by quarterback Mason
Rudolph, but the Steelers
recovered and had a 4-1
advantage in takeaways.
INJURIES
Miami decided Tuesday to