Dolphins Diary Week 11: The Heaven Sent Jets
It was a great day in the Swamps of Jersey as I went to Met Life Stadium to see the New York Jets host the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins came in with two straight wins, while the Jets, for some reason, decided to start Joe Flacco. I was with my God Brother Abe and stopped by a great tailgate, as I hoped the Dolphins could silence the Meadowlands and takeover.
The Dolphins had a solid first drive, going 83 yards in 11 plays to score a touchdown as Jaylen Waddle scored on a hand-off from Myles Gaskins as Tua Tagovailoa went out wide. The Dolphins seemed to be digging in a magician's chest of trick plays. As the Dolphins tried to tickle the Jets as they kicked their ass, some were better than others. Often the Dolphins tried to be too cute with their trickeration, and it could have cost them the game if the Jets were not totally inept.
The Dolphins set the Jets up for their first score as Tagovailoa made a careless throw that Astyn Davis intercepted. Michael Carter rumbled 39 yards to the Miami one on the first play after the interception, setting up first and goal. Miami was able to stop the Jets three times, but Jamison Crowder caught a fourth-down pass from the two to tie the game. The Jets had their chances to take the lead, as the Dolphins' offense fizzled most of the first half. They drove down to the Miami five in the second quarter, but Brandon Jones forced a sack-fumble to keep the score even. Both teams missed field goals on their last possession before halftime, keeping the score deadlocked 7-7.
The Jets got the ball first in the third quarter and could not score but pinned the Dolphins down to the ten-yard line. Following an offensive pass interference penalty that put them on their own six, Miami got a 20-yard run by Myles Gaskins, who had struggled most of the afternoon. Gaskins followed it up with a nine-yard run. With New York expecting another run on second-and-one, Tua Tagovailoa unleashed his longest career pass, hitting Mack Hollins on a 65-yard touchdown pass that stunned the fans decked out in green.
The Jets failed to answer the Dolphins' touchdown as Matt Amendola missed a 40-yard field goal as a penalty for intentional grounding on Joe Flacco proved costly. The Jets got their own bomb late in the third quarter, as Flacco connected with Elijah Moore on a 62-yard touchdown pass to tie the game for a second time.
As the fourth quarter began, the Dolphins were on the march. A drive that made all the critical plays went 75 yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins turned up the trickery on this drive, with a double lateral, turning into an 18-yard pass from Tua to Durham Smythe. Down at the Jets' two, the Dolphins tried two direct snaps to Myles Gaskins, drawing a penalty, while Albert Wilson attempted a pass before Tagovailoa hit Gaskins on a five-yard dump off to give the Dolphins a 21-14 lead. After a three-and-out from the Jets, the Dolphins had a time-killing drive. The Dolphins took full advantage of the Jets, wasting two timeouts in the early part of the third quarter, and all but sealed the game with a 24-yard field goal by Jason Sanders following the two-minute warning. The Jets would get down the field and hit a field goal, hoping to get the on-side kick, but that failed as the Dolphins won 24-17.
After the game, I ran into many Dolphins fans as we celebrated another MetLife takeover and improved to 4-7 on the season.