Dolphins Obliterate Jets, Stay Alive in Playoff Hunt

The Miami Dolphins finally played a complete game on Sunday, and the result was a decisive victory over the divisional rival New York Jets. Miami hammered the Jets to the tune of 23-3, and the game could have easily been 40-3.

Miami held the ball nearly 18 minutes longer than the Jets and completely dominated the game from start to finish. The end result gave the team a 6-6 record, keeping their playoff hopes intact.

Ryan Tannehill had a few poor throws, but overall, he played well. Tannehill completed 65 percent of his passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw one interception, but it is hard to fault him for it, considering that he was being blasted by a free-running linebacker at the time. He also became the first Dolphins quarterback to have four 300-yard passing games in a single season since Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

The Jets came into the game with the league's No. 1 ranked rushing defense and were allowing just 72.6 yards on the ground per game. However, Lamar Miller had 72 rushing yards by himself on Sunday, and the Dolphins amassed 125 rushing yards as a team.

Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline had his strongest performance of the season, with nine receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. The team's other top receiver, Mike Wallace, also scored a touchdown pass in his second straight game. Wallace finished with seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Charles Clay also pulled down seven catches for 80 yards, as the Dolphins passing attack carved the Jets secondary. Offensively, this was Miami's most complete and balanced game of the season.

The most impressive performance of the day came from the Miami defense who recorded four sacks and three turnovers while holding the Jets to 144 total yards. Things got so bad that Rex Ryan benched Geno Smith in the second half in favor of Matt Simms. The results were the same, though, as Miami continued to dominate New York on both sides of the ball.

There are still plenty of issues and flaws with this team. Red-zone offense has to improve, kicker Caleb Sturgis must be more accurate, and the running game must be more consistent from week to week.

Fortunately, Tannehill and Wallace appear to have finally developed some chemistry. Now, they have to build upon that moving forward.

Those issues will be addressed in the coming days. For now, the Dolphins can celebrate a return to .500 with an easy road victory over their rival. What makes this victory sweeter for the 'Fins is the realization that any realistic chance the Jets had at the postseason is now gone.

Miami, on the other hand, is very much alive for the AFC's final wild-card spot. There is still no room for error, but the Dolphins are one game closer to getting where they want to go.   

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com

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