EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Kerry Rhodes replayed the scene in his mind, and it still annoyed him.
Less than three weeks ago, the Miami Dolphins were out on their home field, jumping around and celebrating a late comeback victory over the New York Jets in front of a national television audience.
“I thought they won the Super Bowl,” the Jets safety said, his sarcasm clear. “It was one of those things where they were happy and we thought we saw some confetti come out of the sky, as well.”
Remember that bitter Dolphins-Jets rivalry of the 1980s and early ’90s? Well, it’s back in a big way, thanks to some tough play on the field and lots of trash talk off it. Forget Patriots-Jets. This is the matchup that gets the players’ mouths going.
, I think there’s a little bit more hate there.”
The Jets (4-3) and Dolphins (2-4) get to show how much Sunday at the Meadowlands, just 20 days after they last played at Miami. It includes a matchup of the league’s top two running games, with the top-ranked Jets coming off two straight 300-yard rushing performances and the No. 2 Dolphins using their wildcat formation to perfection.
“We look forward to it,” Dolphins linebacker Akin Ayodele said. “It’s that old AFC East, old-school, smash-mouth football.”
Just to jog your memory, the Jets let one slip away on Oct. 12 as Ronnie Brown took a snap out of the wildcat and ran up the middle from 2 yards with 6 seconds left to give the Dolphins a 31-27 victory on Monday night.
“We definitely owe them one, there’s no doubt,” Rhodes said. “We’re looking at this game as a payback game. There’s no secret about it. We want to come out and get one.”
The Jets’ defense will have to stop the wildcat first, and the Dolphins have proven it’s no easy task. Linebacker Calvin Pace drew the Dolphins’ ire when he called the formation “nonsense” and “gimmicky” after the game, only to later backtrack.
“It works for us,” Brown said. “If they don’t like it, I think that’s a good thing. That means you’re doing something right. Hopefully, we continue to have the same kind of success out of that.”
46-34 win last week by rushing nine defenders on many plays, with only the safeties staying back. To combat it, the Dolphins threw 13 consecutive times in the fourth quarter, but gained only 26 yards on those plays and were outscored 22-0 in the quarter.
“They took a chance,” offensive coordinator Dan Henning said of the Saints. “That’s a very risky proposition.”
So is underestimating the Jets’ running game, which has been incredibly productive the last two games by becoming the first team since the 1975 Buffalo Bills to gain 300-plus yards in consecutive games. New York ran for 318 yards against Buffalo, led by Thomas Jones’ franchise-record 210, and followed that with 316 – powered by rookie Shonn Greene’s 144 – in the win over Oakland last week.
Next up, New York will face the fourth-ranked rushing defense.
“It’s definitely going to be a heavyweight fight,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’ve got to stop the run and our offense has to generate the run. If we can do that and get all cylinders clicking, we’ll come out successful.”
Brown caught the attention of Jets coach Rex Ryan when he said after the game that the Dolphins went in looking to see who the tougher 11 people on the field were.
ng hit people in a Dolphins jersey or something like that, but we’ve got to get an understanding one way or another. This is our home field and I’m expecting big things out of our crowd.”
Ryan, of course, helped re-ignite the rivalry in the offseason when he and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder got into a playful quarrel. Then Miami embarrassed Ryan and his defense with the wildcat, humbling a unit that was ranked No. 1 earlier in the season.
“I’m responsible for how we played, so I can’t wait for this game,” Ryan said. “I wanted to play it three seconds after that first one.”
He didn’t have to wait too long, although a few things have changed. The Jets have lost two of their most important players: nose tackle Kris Jenkins tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee two weeks ago, and running back-kick returner Leon Washington broke his right leg last week.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are without veteran cornerback Will Allen, out for the year with a knee injury. It forces Miami to go with two rookie starters – Vontae Davis and Sean Smith – in the secondary.
“I really don’t care about that,” Ryan said. “We lost a Pro Bowl nose tackle and a Pro Bowl running back, so boo hoo hoo.”
Nope, neither team is shedding any tears for the other.
“If you like old fashioned football, then this is going to be a game that you don’t want to miss,” Ryan said. “If you want to see an aerial circus, you probably need to go to a different game.”
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AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report.
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