New York Jets Back in the Hunt after Complete Dominant Performance

The New York Jets thoroughly whipped the rival Miami Dolphins, dominating on defense while also playing efficient football on the other side of the ball.

Sunday marked the 100th regular season meeting between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.  It also marked the most complete game the Jets have played in quite a long time.  It was 38-20, and it could have been a lot worse for Miami.

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As we said earlier in the week, the Jets needed to follow the formula from London.  It was a simple formula, win the battle of the line of scrimmage, and the turnover battle.  They did that in spades.

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The Jets were every bit in top form when defending the run, holding Miami to 12 yards on the ground.  The Jets posted 137, led by Ivory with 87.  The leading rusher for Miami was Jay Ajayi with a whopping six yards.  In the pass protection game, the Jets allowed one sack while getting to Ryan Tannehill three times.

Next is the turnover battle.  The Jets pitched a shutout in that department, turning the Dolphins over twice and not turning the ball over once.

The formula to win in the NFL is not that hard folks, and it has been the same for many years.

The story of the game, however, was the man with the shrinking beard, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.  He had, by far, the best game of his 2015 season to date.  The line was spectacular; 22-37, 277 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.  It seemed that his poor decisions fell away with the shaving of the beard, with Fitzpatrick on the mark for all four quarters.

Jets’ fans hope that he will some day learn to slide feet first, but at this point, we aren’t getting our hopes up.

Nov 29, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver

(15) catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

A huge sign was a great performance out of Brandon Marshall. It was the first week in quite some time that he didn’t make a key drop, and he was every bit his All-Pro self, with nine receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. His fourth quarter touchdown was classic Marshall, a simple lob to the corner of the endzone, with Brandon using his height to take the ball away from his smaller opponent.

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The season has yielded 71 receptions for 931 yards and nine touchdowns for Brandon Marshall. For anyone that believed that he couldn’t post those type of numbers due to the quarterback play of the Jets, take that. Marshall is the best receiver that the Jets have put on the field in decades.

Congratulations to Devin Smith, who after a great deal of struggling, posted his first career touchdown pass. Here’s hoping it’s the first of many more for the rookie out of Ohio State.

Thanks to some help from around the league, the Jets are right in the thick of the playoff race once again. With the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Buffalo Bills, and the Steelers falling to the Seahawks, the Jets are in a logjam at 6-5. The Steelers, Chiefs, and Texans all sit at 6-5 along with the Jets. Right now, the Jets are on the outside looking in, ranked 7th in the AFC thanks to tiebreakers.

The Jets do have a favorable schedule going forward, with the Giants, the Titans, the Cowboys, the Patriots and the Bills as their remaining opponents. The Houston Texans serve as a huge obstacle in the playoff race, as they hold the tiebreaker thanks to the week 11 victory in Houston. A far more friendly scenario would be for the Indianapolis Colts to lose and fall behind the Texans in the AFC South.

If the Jets end up in a tie with the Colts, the Jets would earn the playoff spot thanks to the early season victory in Indianapolis.

Next: What grade do the Jets get for their season so far?

The key was what the Jets were able to show in this one.  Despite the slump, and the calls for Geno Smith, and the mistakes, they were able to get back to the formula.  They were able to win the battle of the line of scrimmage, and win the turnover battle.  Add to that a terrific game from Ryan Fitzpatrick, and the Jets looked like a team with playoff potential once again.

If they continue to follow the formula, they can control their destiny.  It starts against the New York Giants on Sunday.