New York Jets Keep Playoff Hopes Alive with Win over Miami Dolphins

They're not dead yet.

The New York Jets started off the season red-hot, at 4-1 through five games, but they looked like a completely different team over the next five games. In fact, they were the exact opposite team, compiling a 1-4 record in that stretch.

But after a resounding 38-20 win over the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium, the Jets have gotten their playoff hopes—and their season—back on track. 

And they did it playing quintessential Jets football: a stout defensive effort, an efficient offensive effort and big showings from their best skill-position players. It was the closest we've seen to a complete game from the Jets since that 4-1 start, and it's exactly what we'll need to see from them over the course of the remainder of the season if they're going to capitalize on this newfound momentum.

Their postseason dreams depend on it, which is exactly how they played on Sunday.

They would stand a much better chance of making the playoffs if they could just play the Dolphins every week. On Sunday, the Jets swept the two-game series with the Dolphins by a combined score of 65-34. That's an average victory of more than 15 points. 

Ryan Fitzpatrick went off, going 22-of-37 passing for 277 yards and four touchdowns with a 118.9 passer rating. A good chunk of his production went to wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who hauled in nine passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, close to half of all passing production on the day. Of course, Eric Decker was once again the yin to Marshall's yang with five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

But the Jets also got the running game going, with Chris Ivory popping off 87 yards on 21 carries and scoring his first touchdown in three weeks in the process. Ivory ran hard, bowling over defenders, but he also had some holes in front of him from the Jets offensive line moving the Dolphins defensive line off the ball on a consistent basis.

The Jets had 24 first downs: 10 rushing, 13 passing, one by penalty. They ran 71 plays on offense: 34 rushing, 37 passing. If that's not balanced, I don't know what is.

But without the defense, that balance would have been completely gone. The game ended in an 18-point blowout, but it didn't always appear to be headed that way; the Jets offense took some time to get going, and in the meantime, the defense buckled down to keep New York at an advantage. The Jets scored on just one of their first six possessions; in that time, the defense forced five punts and had an interception.

When the Jets were 4-1 to start the season, it was their defense that was winning them games. The offense would do just enough to manage the game, taking advantage of good field position, making a handful of big plays per game and avoiding the costly turnovers. Over the past month, the Jets have gradually gotten further and further away from that. 

The Jets gave up 333 yards of offense on Sunday, but 156 of those yards were on two drives in garbage time after the Jets had already taken a 28-point lead. 

Sunday was a return to normalcy for the Jets, and as a result, it was also a return to the postseason discussion.

The Jets now sit at 6-5, and after the Buffalo Bills' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the Jets are now firmly in the running for one of those two wild-card spots in the playoffs. They share the same record as the Chiefs, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. There is no one firmly in the driver's seat for a wild-card spot.

A loss would have plunged the Jets to 5-6. A win keeps them 6-5 and their hopes alive. That rhymed, but there's nothing cute or fun about the rest of this season for the Jets. On the other hand, the Jets can't afford to play like less than poetry in motion—even if that poetry involves the smashmouth style of offense they purported to feature early in the season.

In their six wins, the Jets have shown they can play a complete game by getting contributions all over the ball. In their five losses, the Jets have come completely unglued and gotten away from everything that defines this team. If they can do more of the former than the latter in the final five games of the season, the Jets could end December as one of the six AFC playoff teams.