The numbers, on paper, tell the story.
The task, on paper, is rather simple.
If the Jets don’t want to stagger away from their Black Friday showdown with the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium with a bunch of black eyes, their defense absolutely, positively must regain the swagger it left behind last week in Buffalo.
The Dolphins are ranked first in the NFL in scoring, averaging 30.5 points per game.
The Jets offense will be trotting out journeyman backup quarterback Tim Boyle in a desperation move to spark a unit that’s produced all of nine touchdowns in 10 games, is averaging just 15 points per game and ranks 30th in the league.
That leaves the task largely on a defense that all season has fancied itself as the best in the NFL — even though the rankings don’t back up that assertion (11th overall).
The obvious storyline to this game is Boyle, with his 0-3 career record as an NFL starter, trying to provide a spark — even a flicker — to what has been one of the worst offensive performances in the league in recent years.
But what this game really is about is the defense containing a Miami offense that, with its lethal array of skill-position weapons, resembles a real, live video game.
The defense must relish the chance to squish these speedy fish.
“We consider ourselves as the best defense in the league, so it’s going to be good on good,’’ safety Tony Adams told The Post on Wednesday. “They have a great offensive coordinator, and they’re very creative at what they do, their quarterback is playing really good football, and they have some great skill-position players, as well.
“But we play great ball on defense, as well, and we’re looking forward to the matchup.’’
File this in the be-careful-what-you-wish-for drawer.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is completing 69.7 percent of his passes for 2,934 yards, 21 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 106.0 rating. For some sobering context here, the Jets have produced a total of 2,703 yards on offense — 231 yards fewer than Tagovailoa’s passing yardage. That doesn’t even factor in Raheem Mostert and Miami’s 1,430 yards on the ground, which is second in the league.
Tagovailoa’s top target is receiver Tyreek Hill, who leads the team with 79 receptions for 1,222 yards and nine TDs. Jalen Waddle complements Hill with 44 catches for 577 yards and three TDs.
“Being the competitor I am, I want to play against the best,’’ Jets cornerback D.J. Reed told The Post. “I definitely want to guard those two, and I know Sauce [Gardner] feels the same way. We definitely look forward to those challenges.’’
The pass defense is ranked fifth in the league. But it didn’t play to that ranking in last week’s 32-6 loss to the Bills, allowing two third-quarter TD passes that broke open a tight game. The first was a 28-yarder from Josh Allen to former Jets running back Ty Johnson. The second, the back-breaker, was an 81-yarder to Khalil Shakir with Jets defenders falling over each other trying to tackle him.
It was a dam burst of sorts for a defense that had been the stingiest in the league in the second half. For a team that went its first seven games allowing a total of 31 second-half points, the 16 points the Bills scored in the second half Sunday left a scar.
“That’s not who we are,’’ defensive lineman Soloman Thomas told The Post. “That wasn’t our standard. We definitely had some busts and mistakes and we let some leaky yardage happen with bad tackling. We’re preparing to show who we are this week.’’
That was the mantra of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who on Wednesday said he was “disappointed’’ by the performance at Buffalo.
“It just wasn’t indicative of who we are,’’ Ulbrich said. “To be the defense we want to be, that just can’t be a part of our DNA. Just can’t be.’’
Not against this Dolphins offense.
The Jets, playing in the NFL’s first Black Friday game, must regain their defensive swagger and play like the group that believes it’s the best defense in the league. Embarrassment can be a powerful motivator, and embarrassment is a few Hill explosive plays away on Friday.
Any defense in the NFL can be embarrassed by this offense. Ask the Broncos, who allowed 70 points to the Dolphins in Week 3.
The Jets must embrace this challenge, relish the chance to show who they are on defense.
“What a great opportunity to get that taste out of our mouth and play a really good opponent like this and show everyone who we are,’’ Ulbrich said.
“It’s always fun playing in a prime-time game, being the only game in football and having all the eyes on you,’’ Thomas said. “That’s when you want to be that player making those plays that big-time players make.’’
The Jets are going to need a lot of them on Friday.
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