The Dolphins have been labeled one of the surprise teams this season with wins over the Patriots, Chargers, and a close call in Denver last week. The Jets on the other hand have been struggling to find an identity and a quarterback. Geno Smith was drafted to be the next quarterback after Mark Sanchez was released last season. Coming out of West Virginia, Smith has shown little progress to cement his place as the starting quarterback. He was benched back in week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, but he got another shot last night against Miami.
Monday night football kicked off last night in East Rutherford, New Jersey as the Jets took on the Dolphins in a AFC East showdown. With two teams going in completely different directions, one would figure that Miami would win pretty handily. However, the game was much closer than anticipated. The Jets stuck to what they do best which is running the football. Ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards, the Jets kept the ball out of Miami’s hands for the majority of the game. Heading into halftime the Dolphins were trailing 10-3.
In the second half, the Dolphins capitalized on Jets mistakes and managed to shut down the running game. Making the most of the mistakes, Miami was able to claw their way back into the game and tie the score at 13 early in the fourth quarter. Caleb Sturgis, the kicker from Miami, had three field goals on the night including the game winner with 1:57 left in the game. With less than two minutes to play in the game Geno Smith had his opportunity to retake the lead they had possessed all game. The result was an interception that would put the final nail in the coffin for the Jets.
On the night the Jets had their opportunities. Nick Folk the kicker from the Jets is typically a sure fire kicker. However, on Monday night he was 2-4 including an attempt that would have tied the game at 13. Ryan Tannenhill completed over 70% of his passes for the fifth straight game. He did have one interception and no touchdowns as the only touchdown for the Dolphins came from Lamar Miller on a 4-yard run. Geno Smith was a lousy 7/13 with 65 yards and an interception. He was also sacked twice for a loss of 16 yards. The game was comparable to the rest of the Jets season, and head coach Rex Ryan said it best, “Can’t believe we are 2-10, it’s a joke.” There is little doubt that the Jets have the worst quarterback situation in the NFL, however with a 2-10 record they are positioning themselves at the top of next year’s draft which should help this Jets team back to competitive football.
