Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets: New York Grades, Notes and Quotes
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This was the game the Jets had to have. If New York wanted to snap its four-year playoff drought, or at least keep its hopes alive of doing just that, the team would have to beat the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium.
A loss, and come January, the Jets would be sitting at home watching as 12 teams pursued the dream of a Lombardi Trophy.
At least for now, the Super Bowl chase is still alive in northern New Jersey.
On Sunday, the Jets dominated Miami from start to finish on their way to a 38-20 victory. The win improves New York's record to 6-5 and puts it in a tie for one of the AFC's two wild card spots.
"For the most part, I thought we played good football today," Jets coach Todd Bowles said. "We didn't finish the way we wanted to, but we played good football. I'm proud of [my team]."
While the Jets offense started a bit slow, failing to score on five of their first six drives, a late touchdown in the first half ignited arguably the team's best outing of the season. Leading by seven after Brandon Marshall caught a touchdown on the third possession of the game, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with rookie wideout Devin Smith for a 16-yard score with just seconds remaining in the half, putting the Jets up 14.
Fitzpatrick finished the game 22-of-37 for 277 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 118.9 quarterback rating was his highest of the season.
When the Jets took the field in the second half, the team continued with the momentum it gained following Smith's touchdown. The Jets scored on four of their next five possessions, punting just once in the third and fourth quarters combined.
Led by the aerial attack, Fitzpatrick found wideout Eric Decker five times for 62 yards and Smith twice for 33 yards. Arguably the Jets' most dominant offensive weapon Sunday, though, was Marshall. The wideout finished the game with nine catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Marshall has now caught 71 passes for 931 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
"I think Brandon is such a big, physical guy out there and we had him in some one-on-one situations we were able to take advantage of," Fitzpatrick said. "I think that was the plan going in."
Defensively, the Jets gave the Dolphins fits for the majority of the game. It wasn't until the final drive of the third quarter that Miami converted a third down, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the team had a drive that lasted more than seven plays.
While Tannehill threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns, 180 of them and two of those scores came with the game decided in the fourth quarter. Miami wideout Jarvis Landry led all receivers with 13 catches for 165 yards and added a touchdown. While the offense put up impressive passing numbers, the running game was non-existent. As a team, the Dolphins ran for 12 yards. That's the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Jets in franchise history
Jets cornerback Marcus Williams intercepted his fifth pass of the season, tied for the most in the NFL. Jets defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, along with rookie linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, had sacks.
Running back Chris Ivory led all rushers with 87 yards and a touchdown as the Jets tallied 137 yards on the ground.
The Jets will face the New York Giants next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Position Grades for New York
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Quarterback: This was quite the bounce-back for Ryan Fitzpatrick: nearly 300 yards through the air, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Even more impressive was the fact that he made nearly as many plays extending drives with his legs. The quarterback ran for 21 yards on five carries. A.
Running Back: For three quarters, Chris Ivory and the Jets rushing attack was held in check. There weren't any rushing lanes or open holes, and the majority of Ivory's carriers went for a yard or two at most. In the fourth quarter, when the Jets began to really have success in the air, that extra defender that had been in the box was taken out to double Brandon Marshall. When that happened, things opened up a bit. Ivory finished with 87 yards on 21 carries. B.
Tight End: No catches for the Jets tight ends, which is the norm. Kellen Davis has essentially replaced Jeff Cumberland as the starter and is only used as an extra blocker. C.
Receivers: Marshall had his best game in quite some time. The big-bodied wideout caught nine passes for 131 yards and two scores. Eric Decker got in the mix, as well, with five catches for 62 yards and a score. Even rookie Devin Smith scored a touchdown. A.
Offensive Line: The Jets rushing attack averaged 4.0 yards per carry, and Fitzpatrick was sacked just once. It was a pretty impressive day from the unit. The one thing hurting the overall grade was the poor blocking on a 4th-and-1 attempt on the Jets' first possession. No one picked up cornerback Brent Grimes, who made his way right into the backfield to tackle Ivory for a loss. B
Defensive Line: Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson each had a sack, and the unit as a whole helped hold the Dolphins to 12 rushing yards (a franchise low). Rookie Leonard Williams had a couple of quarterback pressures, too, and a big hit on Tannehill to force a punt. A.
Linebackers: The linebackers, like the defensive line, contributed to the containment of the Dolphins rushing attack. Lorenzo Mauldin's big hit of Tannehill in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty. A.
Secondary: Tannehill's numbers (33-of-58, 351 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) are a bit deceiving as the majority of them came in garbage time. Jarvis Landry did have his way finding the holes in the Jets' zone coverage with 13 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown, but few of his grabs were meaningful. If it was 3rd-and-10, Landry would make grabs for eight yards. B.
Special Teams: A 58-yard punt return for Jeremy Kerley? Not bad for the player criticized for constantly calling for fair catches. In total, Kerley returned six for 96 yards. Ryan Quigley had a 57-yard punt and downed one inside the 20-yard line. The Dolphins never got much going in regard to punt or kick returns. It was a solid overall day from the unit. B+.
Coaching: What a nice bounce-back win for the Jets. This was a must-win game, and the Jets won it. Not many mental mistakes, few penalties and no turnovers from the Jets. Nice job by coach Todd Bowles to get the team ready. A.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Finds His Mojo
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It hadn't been an enjoyable few weeks for Fitzpatrick.
After leading New York to a 4-1 start through the first five weeks of the regular season, Fitzpatrick's play had taken a step back, and as a result, losses began to pile up. After back-to-back games ended due to Fitzpatrick's game-sealing interceptions, there was some talk of a quarterback change. So, Fitzpatrick took matters into his own hands looking for a spark.
On Wednesday, he trimmed his beard in an attempt to regain his self-described "mojo."
It worked.
Against the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 37 passes for 277 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a quarterback ratting of 118.9, threw the most touchdowns in a game by a Jets quarterback since 2011 and became the first quarterback since Chad Pennington in 2002 to throw four touchdowns and no picks. It was, without a doubt, the best Fitzpatrick had looked in over a month.
"I thought we had a great game plan going into the game and we had some guys really step up today," Fitzpatrick said. "It's a game where you can't do it on your own. You need all 11, and the second you think you can do it on your own is when you press and get in trouble.
"I thought as a unit, especially from that last two-minute drive into the second half, we played well."
For Fitzpatrick, the four touchdowns marked a season high, and it was the eighth time this season (12 games) he's had a multi-touchdown game. To put that number in perspective, Jets backup Geno Smith has had just six multi-touchdown games in his career.
While the quarterback stole the show, he wasn't the only one on offense to put up impressive numbers. Marshall caught nine passes for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Ivory ran 21 times for 87 yards and a score on the ground.
The 38 points scored by the Jets were the most by the team since 2011. In the season opener of that year, New York defeated the Buffalo Bills, 48-28.
"I'm happy coming out of this game in terms of how it went," Fitzpatrick said. "We scored touchdowns in the red zone, all that stuff. We stayed away from forcing the issue a little and just stayed patient throughout the game."
Defense Dominates
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It had been one of the more alarming aspects of the Jets' recent struggles. In their four losses in the last five games, the defense had been horrid.
Missed tackles, blown assignments, minimal forced turnovers and even fewer sacks plagued a defense that had looked like one of the NFL's best early on. Questions that would have been laughed off just a month ago were suddenly being asked legitimately: Is the Jets defense even all that good?
Against the Dolphins, New York got back to its dominating ways...in a big, big way.
In Sunday's 38-20 victory over Miami, the Jets defense dominated from start to finish. The Dolphins running game was non-existent, the passing game irrelevant and both head coach Dan Campbell and quarterback Ryan Tannehill were never able to get a step up on Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers' scheme.
While two garbage-time touchdowns cloud the statistics just a bit, the stats through three quarters tell the true story.
As the fourth quarter began, Tannehill had completed just 18 of 32 passes for 178 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Running back Lamar Miller had just five rushes for two yards. Aside from Landry, who had seven catches for 92 yards, no other Miami wideout had more than three receptions.
The Jets defense was suffocating.
"We played Jets football today," said Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson, who recorded a sack-fumble. "That's something we try to do every game. Usually when we stop the run, we have games like this. We were able to cause turnovers. I finally got one. Just great team ball."
Making things even more impressive from the Jets' perspective was the fact that the team was able to perform as well as it did without cornerback Darrelle Revis. In his absence, Marcus Williams filled in admirably. Despite being just a spot-duty corner for the majority of the season, Williams intercepted his fifth pass of the season in the first quarter.
Not only are those five interceptions tied for the league lead, but they're the most by a Jets cornerback since Revis himself picked off six in 2009.
Williams did get banged-up in the game and missed the majority of the second half, but Bowles said the second-year pro suffered just a "knee sprain" and is listed as day-to-day.
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Playoff Picture Update: Where Do the Jets Stand?
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This was, for all intents and purposes, a must-win game for the Jets. Had the team lost, any chance of making the playoffs this season would have been shot.
So, with the Jets having won, where do they stand?
Here's a look:
When Sunday began, both the Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-4 and Kansas City Chiefs at 5-5 were in as the fifth and sixth seeds in the AFC. Ahead of the Jets, who entered Week 12 at 5-5, were the Buffalo Bills at 5-5 and the Houston Texans (also 5-5). Both the Bills and Texans had the leg-up on the Jets, having pulled out victories in their head-to-head battles.
Behind the Jets, but still in contention for the wild card spot, were the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, each 4-6.
On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills to improve their record to 6-5. The Steelers lost to the Seattle Seahawks and dropped to 6-5.
The Oakland Raiders won to improve to 5-6. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to drop to 4-7. The Houston Texans won to improve to 6-5.
So, what's that mean for the Jets?
Right now, the team is still on the outside of the playoff hunt behind the Houston Texans (who have the tiebreaker) and Kansas City Chiefs (who have the conference-record advantage); both would be in over New York if the playoffs began today.
Here's an updated look at the bracket:
Wild Card Outlook:
5th Seed (WC playoff seed): Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) [head-to-head advantage over Texans]
6th Seed (WC playoff seed): Houston Texans (6-5) [head-to-head advantage over Jets]
7th Seed (non-playoff seed): New York Jets (6-5) [conference-record advantage over Steelers]
8th Seed (non-playoff seed): Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
In Hunt: Oakland Raiders (5-6)
In Hunt: Buffalo Bills (5-6)
Ryan Fitzpatrick on Devin Smith Touchdown
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"It was great. It was such a trust throw. He had to cross the face of an inside leverage corner and he goes up and makes a great catch. All week people kept asking me about him and he's a guy that has played in big football games and made a lot of great plays. His emergence and just the fact that he is going to continue to get better is really going to help us.
"
Few players on the Jets roster have caught as much heat from the team's fanbase as rookie second-round pick Devin Smith. Viewed as a player who was going to bring another dimension to the offense, Smith has been largely ineffective through the first three months of the season.
Prematurely labeled a bust, Smith got in the end zone for the first time in his career when the wideout caught a 16-yard score before the end of the first half. After the game, Fitzpatrick weighed in on the score, and what it means that Smith is beginning to catch on.
Lorenzo Mauldin on Big Hit of Ryan Tannehill
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"It wasn't one of the harder hits I've put on a quarterback, but it was one of the most unexpected. I was just in pursuit of him, but then he turned right smack into it. [Laughs]
I just thought I'd give him what he's been waiting on. He was sitting back there the entire game and we barely got any pressure on him. I guess it was time to put a little bit and let him know who I was.
"
Toward the end of the fourth quarter, Jets rookie linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin came screaming around the edge on a pass rush. Mauldin met Tannehill in the backfield and leveled him. It was a near de-cleater, and arguably the biggest hit by a Jets defender this year.
After the game, Bleacher Report asked Mauldin to weigh in on his hit.
Sheldon Richardson on Butt-Patting
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"I don't think I patted him on the butt. I'm not a butt-patter... Probably was [Lorenzo Mauldin]. It wasn't me. I'm not a butt-patter. I'm a helmet-smacker, guy-pusher. Not a butt-smacker.
"
Standing by his locker after the game, Sheldon Richardson, who's one of the best quotes on the team, was speaking about the Jets' dominating defensive effort.
As the interview was wrapping up, Richardson was asked about his sack-fumble of Tannehill. From the press box, it looked as if Richardson had smacked Tannehill on his behind then said something to him. So, reporters wanted to know what Richardson had said.
The issue was that Richardson wasn't the one who had butt-tapped Tannehill. That was rookie Lorenzo Mauldin. Richardson took the opportunity to set the record straight that he has never been, and will never be, a "butt-patter."
Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for the Journal Inquirer and Scout.com. All quotes, practice observations and advanced stats referenced are gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Connor can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes) or via email (Connor_j_hughes@yahoo.com)
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