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Final Score
Dolphins 0-3-3-10 — 16
Jets 7-3-3-0 — 13
The Dolphins defeated the Jets 16-13 on Monday Night Football, and moved one step closer to clinching a playoff berth as they now are in the driver’s seat of their own fate. The Phins are one of six AFC teams who are 7-5.
The majority of the game was ugly for both teams. The Dolphins run defense was exposed tonight by a mediocre Jets offense that only had quarterback Geno Smith throw 13 times, completing just seven of his passes for 65 yards and a late-game interception missing tight end Jeff Cumberland that sealed the victory for the Dolphins. In comparison, Ryan Tanehill didn’t play well going 25-for-35 for 235 yards and one interception, but he played well enough to beat a defeated 2-10 Jets team that has a lame duck head coach, and, most likely, general manager as well.
The bright spot for the Jets offense tonight was Chris Johnson, rushing for 105 yards on 17 carries — his third consecutive 100-yard rushing effort against the Dolphins. The Dolphins saw wide receiver Jarvis Landry continue to emerge as a potential star hauling in another eight catches.
The Jets led the entire game until the final two minutes when the Dolphins broke a 13-13 tie with Caleb Sturgis’ third field goal of the night.
Next week the Dolphins host the Baltimore Ravens in a game that will have a playoff-feel to it. The Jets visit the Minnesota Vikings next week.
Sturgis’ Third FG of the Night Gives Dolphins Late Lead
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Tannehill and the Dolphins drove 57 yards on nine plays in 3:45, finishing the drive with a 26-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a late 16-13 lead inside two minutes left in the 4th quarter.
The Jets and Geno will get the ball back one more time and have an opportunity to tie or win the game.
Dolphins 4th Quarter TD Tied the Game
After getting terrific field position, the Dolphins went 39 yards on six plays to tie the game 13-13 with 10:28 remaining in the 4th quarter. The drive was capped off by a 4-yard run by Lamar Miller, which was his 6th of the season.
Up to this point in the 4th quarter, Smith has only attempted 8 passes, going 4-for-8 for 42 yards. In order for the Jets to win this game, they’ll begrudgingly have to let Geno throw for the rest of the game.
Jets and Phins Traded 3rd Quarter Field Goals
45-yarder…GOOD. @nickfolk2 extends the lead to #Jets 13, Dolphins 6
@ChrisJohnson28: NYJ career-high 85 yds rushing #MIAvsNYJ
Caleb Sturgis hit from 44 yards out and the Jets answered on the next drive when Nick Folk hit from 45 yards out as it bounced off the crossbar and in.
The Jets forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Dolphins possession and lead 13-6.
The “Ground & Pound” Helped Give Jets a Halftime Lead
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The Jets gameplan was simple, run the football, keep the football away from Miami and win. They’re halfway to completing the upset and sending Miami to .500 and one game out of the last playoff spot in the AFC.
At the tail end of the 1st quarter, Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 43-yard field goal, his 5th missed field goal this season, and the Jets were once again in business. The Jets were able to respond with three with a 40-yard field goal from Nick Folk to extend the lead to 10-0.
Under two minutes, Calvin Pace dropped a key interception, which led to a key Dolphins third-down conversion that extended the drive allowing the Phins to put points on the board right before halftime. Sturgis hit his second attempt from 43 yards out to cut the lead to 10-3.
The Jets continued to run the ball in the 2nd quarter, going over 200 yards rushing with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Johnson leads the Jets in rushing with 85 yards on 11 carries. Chris Ivory has 45 yards on 10 carries. Geno Smith attempted only six passes.
Minus the Pace throw, Ryan Tannehill continued to impress, going 14-for-18 for 125 yards.
The Dolphins will receive the 2nd-half kickoff.
Jets Run Game Led to Game’s First Score
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The Jets ran for 96 yards in the game’s first seven minutes. 46 of those yards came from Chris Johnson on a vintage CJ2K run on the Jets second drive of the game. On the next play, wide receiver Greg Salas took a reverse 20 yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Two AFC East Rivals Heading In Completely Opposite Directions
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It’s Dec. 1, 2014, and for the first time this season, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets are gearing up for Monday Night Football, the teams’ first match-up of the season. It’s uncommon for divisional rivals to have their first meeting this late into the season, but not that uncommon considering the Dolphins vs. Jets rivalry followed the same pattern last year.
After this Week 13 game, this much remains certain – the Jets? They’re out, and they’ve been out for over a month. Owner Woody Johnson will be forced to make a decision about John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan immediately following the season – one that almost surely points to the Jets starting over. The Dolphins are a much more interesting case. Last week’s 39-36 loss in Denver to the Broncos was heartbreaking, but the good news is that the Dolphins 5-3 AFC record is strong, and with a win, the Phins would move to 6-3. Due to a better conference record, they’d vault ahead of the Chiefs, Bills and Browns (all 7-5), and would move ahead of the Steelers, due to a better strength of schedule, for the AFC’s final playoff spot.
Since a late-September report about head coach Joe Philbin being “non-committal” to and considering benching starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Tannehill has answered skeptics. Since Week 4’s game against the Raiders in London, Tannehill has a 102 passer rating; he’s completed 70.2% of his passes, averaging just over 240 passing yards per-game with 16 touchdowns to just six interceptions, while also adding a rushing touchdown last week against the Broncos. He, along with a defense that his given up the second fewest yards in the league, have been the keys to the Dolphins playoff push.
Last week, Michael Vick was benched and Geno Smith was reinserted as the Jets starting quarterback. While it is doubtful that both will be with the team come next season, it can’t really get much worse under center for Gang Green.
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