Dolphins at Jets Recap, Highlights, Final Score, More

The Miami Dolphins started off slowly, but kept their playoff hopes alive for another week with a convincing win against the New York Jets 27-10

The Miami Dolphins came into a pivotal matchup with their bitter rivals, the New York Jets, with their playoff lives on the line. The Dolphins currently sit on the outside looking in, needing help from fellow rivals the New England Patriots to get back into the second Wild Card slot. The Dolphins did their part on Saturday, though, behind new starting quarterback Matt Moore.

Moore made his first start for the Dolphins since 2012. Though he started off slow, he turned it on as the game progressed. After kicking off the early rust, Moore made a lot of great throws. Throughout the game Moore threw some darts, including beautiful touchdown throws to tight end Dion Sims and wide receiver Kenny Stills.

Now the Dolphins get to watch on Sunday and hope the Patriots hold up their end of the bargain. If the Patriots can do their job and beat the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins will once again slide into the playoff picture, with two games left in the 2016 season.

Three Stars

Bilal Powell, Jets – Not much went right for the New York Jets, but Bilal Powell was certainly a bright spot for the team. It was a struggle offensively after an early deep touchdown by Robby Anderson, but Powell was consistently good the entire game, until it got out of hand late.

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Powell, getting the bulk of the playing time due to a knee injury from starter Matt Forte, made the most of his playing time both rushing and receiving. When all was said and done for Powell, he racked up 84 yards on the ground and added another 10 catches and 65 yards through the air.

Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh, Dolphins – If not for the combination of Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh, this game likely takes a much different course. The Dolphins offense started the game about as flat as you can. The pressure that Wake and Suh put on young quarterback Bryce Petty kept Miami in this game, and ultimately saved the game for them.

The Jets scored a touchdown early and were driving down the field for what looked like another score. Then Cameron Wake showed why he’s the front-runner for Comeback Player of the Year. Wake burst through for a huge sack and forced fumble to turn the momentum around. Later in the half, Wake would also drop back into coverage and notch his first career interception. Wake’s counterpart, Suh, was a complete beast in the first half. It seemed like his name was called every other play. Whether in the run game or the passing game, Suh was a major disruption.

Matt Moore, Dolphins – The life of a backup quarterback isn’t a glamorous one. You need to be prepared at a moment’s notice to come into the game and put the team on your shoulders. That’s the position that Miami quarterback Matt Moore found himself in last week after the gruesome injury to starter Ryan Tannehill.

With Tannehill likely out until the final week of the season, at minimum, Moore was thrust into his first start for the team in nearly five seasons. It took a while for Moore to knock off a half-decade’s worth of rust, but once he did, he played very well. Moore threw some very pretty balls. He did a great job of spreading the ball around the field, utilizing all of the Dolphins weapons. Moore’s performance tonight (230+ yards and four touchdowns) should give fans hope that their playoff chances didn’t go down with Tannehill.

Highlights

Next Week

Next week, the Dolphins look to keep their playoff hopes alive and make their first appearance since 2008 with a tilt against fellow division rivals, the Buffalo Bills. Miami will have to overcome cold weather once again, as they’ll be on the road one last time. Miami played a hard-fought game against the Bills in Week 7 and pulled out a 28-25 victory behind the second of Jay Ajayi’s back-to-back 200 yard games.

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As for the Jets, they get the unenviable task of going on the road to face the New England Patriots. To make matters worse for the Jets, they’ll go into the game with major uncertainty at the quarterback position. Starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched in favor of Bryce Petty. With Petty’s late-game injury against Miami, will it be Fitz or Petty? Or do they throw a curve and start Christian Hackenberg? No matter which direction they go, their chances don’t look good.