The hopes of a Miami Dolphins season turnaround were kept alive on Sunday when they eliminated the New York Jets. Let's be clear, however. This was a game that was far more exposing than revealing.
Offensively, the Dolphins played well against a normally good defense that did not have their top corner on the field. Defensively, there are so many things that were exposed in Week 14 that fans shouldn't get their hopes up too high.
To say there is a lot of work to be done would be an understatement. Mike McDaniel has to find a way to get his team better prepared for games, especially on defense where Miami nearly lost the game several times. This isn't a matter of bend but not break, this is a matter of the offense bailing you out.
After the game, several players were naturally excited after the overtime win. Any win against a division opponent is big, beating the Jets is also huge as this is one of the top AFC rivalries and anything can happen. Following the victory, the players sounded off.
Calais Campbell has been a locker room voice and leader, Sunday was no different. "We have something to play for! We're alive," he said after the game. Seems to be the common theme amongst the players.
Emmanuel Ogbah also made the same comment "We're alive," after pulling it out.
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The defense can say they are still alive all they want but on Sunday, it was the offense that won them the game. Rodgers had his first 300 yard passing game since 2021 and the three-win Jets took the Dolphins to the wire. Miami made sure they won by not allowing the defense to get back on the field.
New York made two critical mistakes late in the game. They allowed Malik Washington to return a kickoff 48 yards to set up the game-tying field goal, and Davante Adams caught a pass on the Jets' final drive of the 4th quarter and stepped out of bounds.
Had he stayed in the field, the Jets could have run the clock down and left the Dolphins no time. That being said, the mysterious loss of 11 seconds late in the 4th didn't come back to bite the Dolphins. Better teams than the Jets won't be willing to give Miami breaks like this in their postseason push.