Both of these things can be true when it comes to the bottom of the AFC East standings:
1. The Dolphins are playing for a top-three draft pick in 2020.
2. They can be considered a third-place team at the moment thanks to the Jets and the NFL's schedule-makers.
Miami and New York both fell to 0-3 after lopsided losses Sunday, but the Fins do have a tiebreaker over Gang Green at the moment: The Jets have a worse record within the division (0-2 vs. 0-1). They have both lost to the Patriots, but the Jets also fell to the Bills in Week 1.
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The league's online standings list the Dolphins as fourth in the division, presumably because of a worse point differential (minus-117 for Miami, minus-37 for New York), but that's 10th on the list of tiebreakers for both division championships and wild-card berths. First is head-to-head (the teams won't meet until Week 9 in Miami Gardens), and second is divisional record, so we're going with that to rank these clubs.
Unrelated: Divisional record isn't the only area where the Jets are worse than the Dolphins. Behold:
| CATEGORY | NYJ | MIA |
| Yards per play from scrimmage | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| Gross yards per pass attempt | 5.0 | 5.4 |
| Offensive points | 10 | 16 |
Granted, the Jets have played their last two games without quarterback Sam Darnold, but to be worse than the tanking Dolphins in any category after three weeks is quite an "accomplishment."
At least the Jets can say that their defense is nowhere near as bad as Miami's, which is by far the worst in the league. The Dolphins have allowed a league-worst 133 points and 7.3 yards per play through Sunday. The Jets have given up 70.
The Jets are expected to improve quickly after Darnold returns from mononucleosis and the Dolphins are expected to still sputter with a depleted roster, so Miami should enjoy its lofty position for however long it lasts.
