The Miami Dolphins played a bad game but the Jets played worse
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins moved up in the standings and it was a good thing they played the Jets.
With the Miami Dolphins crawling into MetLife Stadium today after a loss to Denver a week ago, many believed they would whip the Jets.
It’s pretty bad when we find ourselves complaining about a 20-3 win but when that win comes against the worst team in the NFL, we tend to shake our head. The fact that the Dolphins carried only a 10 point lead into the 4th quarter, we shake our head.
The Dolphins did everything they could offensively to give the Jets a chance. As if toying with the possibility of an upset. A tease that they had hope. Why? Because the Dolphins game them hope. Not once but twice.
The Dolphins entered the 3rd quarter leading 13-3 but after not being able to move the ball on their first possession of the 2nd half, Miami punted. The Jets didn’t like that so Sam Darnold threw the ball to Dolphins corner Nik Needham. That apparently made the Dolphins mad because they ran another five plays before punting it back to them.
It seemed that no one bothered to tell the defense that the offense was letting them into the game. Miami’s running backs fumbled on the next two series giving the ball to the Jets on the Miami side of the field. The Dolphins’ defense stepped up and stopped them. Faced with a 4th and one from the Dolphins 26 following the 2nd turnover, Miami’s Elandon Roberts stuffed Frank Gore for a two-yard loss.
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Miami punted only one more time. In the 4th quarter, they finally engineered another touchdown drive to put the lead at 20-3. If there was any chance that the Jets could somehow muster a comeback with just over 3:00 minutes left, insert snicker, Xavien Howard ended it with yet another interception.
On the day, Ryan Fitzpatrick was erratic and inconsistent. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. I suppose these are not terribly bad numbers considering the Dolphins had basically squat at the running back position and had run the ball only eight times heading into the 2nd half. Miami finished with 25 runs from scrimmage. DeAndre Washington led the team with 13 carries for 49 yards. Fitzpatrick accounted for three of those carries.
While Miami couldn’t run the ball, the Jets couldn’t stop DeVante Parker who did everything but score a touchdown. He went 8 for 119. The next closest receiver was Durham Smythe who caught three passes.
No matter, in the end, the Dolphins won and with the rest of the NFL playing out in their favor, now hold one of the three Wild Card spots.