Dolphins vs. Jets: Score and Twitter Reaction from Monday Night Football

The fourth quarter has been unkind to the Miami Dolphins, who have let late leads slip away against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos in 2014.

But Joe Philbin's squad reversed that trend on Monday night, scoring 10 points in the final period to secure the 16-13 comeback victory against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

It wasn't a scintillating game—the Dolphins had 291 total yards and one turnover—but it was a significant one, as Miami (7-5) moved into the second wild-card spot in the AFC with the win. Moreover, the toughness the team showed over the last 15 minutes was a point of emphasis, as Jared Odrick confirmed, via the Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly:

The Jets, who started Geno Smith under center for the first time since Week 8, came out with a clear and simple game plan: Run the ball.

With a mix of options, sweeps and runs between the tackles, they rushed 49 times for 277 yards, a number that is typically associated with winning teams. But Smith attempted just 13 throws for 65 yards, and when New York fell behind late in the game, it didn't have the personnel to make a comeback. 

The loss continues a historically bad season for the Jets, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Rex Ryan needed few words to summarize things, via ESPN's NFL Twitter feed:

New York had over 200 yards on the ground by halftime, and as NFL's Twitter feed noted, the opposite held true for the Dolphins:

New York continued to pound the ball in the second half, leading to this joke from The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero:

But while the strategy remained unaltered, its effectiveness began to diminish. After Nick Folk's 45-yard field goal clanged in off the crossbar to make it 13-6 midway through the third quarter, the Jets had three consecutive three-and-outs.

Grantland's Bill Barnwell noted the difference in the running game's effect between halves:

The Dolphins struggled to capitalize on the other side of the ball, but good field position eventually led to a 39-yard touchdown drive, capped by a short Lamar Miller run to tie the game.

New York drove right back down the field and looked intent on recapturing the lead, but Folk's 45-yard field goal drifted wide left, marking his second miss of the game.

By that point, Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke had figured out Folk's motivations:

Miami methodically moved the ball the other direction, setting up a 26-yard field goal for Caleb Sturgis with 1:57 to play.

Trailing 16-13 with one possession remaining, the Jets were forced to throw the ball down the field. A bit unsurprisingly, that led to an interception to end the game.

Miami is in a playoff spot, but with the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots up next on the schedule, improvement on both ends of the ball is necessary if it wants to stay there.

As for the Jets, they get a winnable game at Minnesota next week, but it's not really about winnable games right now. It's about finding a new quarterback to fix a quickly tumbling franchise.