TE Bubba Franks, a former teammate of Favre's at Green Bay, has returned to action the last two games, but has had no impact. In fact, he dropped a pass at Seattle. Franks had missed seven games after suffering a hip injury at Oakland on Oct. 16.

PLAYER NOTES

--K Mike Nugent, who hasn't played since suffering a strained right thigh on opening day, is off the injury report and still on the roster, but it seems unlikely he'll play again this season. His replacement, Jay Feely, has connected on his last 13 field-goal attempts. In retrospect, the Jets made an obvious mistake by not placing Nugent on injured reserve.

--TE Chris Baker had one reception for 12 yards at Seattle. The tight end usually has been a staple of a Brett Favre-led offense, but hasn't in recent weeks for the Jets.

--QB Kellen Clemens has kept the No. 2 job throughout the season, as Brett Ratliff, who was pushing him for playing time after the acquisition of Brett Favre in August, has been designated as the third QB for each game. But it will be interesting to see if Clemens will be the starter next season if Favre retires.

--WR Chansi Stuckey, who caught a fourth-down TD pass from Brett Favre on opening day at Miami, was a surprise scratch at Seattle. Look for him to be active again this week as the Jets may need to pull out all the stops on offense.

--NT Kris Jenkins is playing through a hip injury, and that may have limited the Pro Bowler's effectiveness the last four games.

GAME PLAN: Brett Favre needs to somehow reverse what has become a patented late-season slide for him. He had one touchdown pass and six interceptions in the last four solid games. The offense won't find it easy to run against a Miami defense that is 10th in the NFL against the rush, but the Jets need to stay the course and keep feeding Thomas Jones, who still is leading the AFC in rushing yards with 1,289. The Jets shut down the Miami running game in the first meeting and must do so again here. Even more important is the fact they must slow down former Jet Chad Pennington, who has been almost as hot down the stretch as Favre has been cold. Pennington has nine touchdown passes and two interceptions in the last five games.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Jets CB Darrelle Revis vs. Dolphins WR Davone Bess. On opening day, Revis covered Ted Ginn Jr., and in fact, outleaped him for a game-saving interception in the end zone in the waning seconds. But with Ginn slumping lately, Revis might be asked this week to cover Bess, who has been Miami's hottest wideout in recent weeks. He has 29 of his 48 receptions in the last five games.

Jets WR Jerricho Cotchery vs. Dolphins CB Andre' Goodman. Cotchery, who has 26 receptions in the last six games, scored the Jets' first TD of 2008 on a 56-yard play-action bomb from Brett Favre, beating Goodman badly. That type of play now is missing from the Jets offense, as Favre's arm doesn't seem the same as it was nearly four months ago, but Cotchery still can be effective underneath.

INJURY IMPACT: The Jets have no significant players who are expected to miss this all-important game.

WR Brad Smith (concussion) is off the injury list two-plus weeks after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Patrick Willis. The Jets like to use the versatile Smith for gadget plays, but those haven't been successful recently.

QB Brett Favre hinted Wednesday that something might be physically wrong with his shoulder, which could explain his increasing inaccuracy in recent weeks.

NT Kris Jenkins (hip) has struggled somewhat in recent weeks after being very impressive for most of the season. It seems this nagging injury is bothering him. LB Eric Barton (knee) also is playing through an injury, and his production has declined recently as well.