Scooter & Hum: Day 1,375, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Jets Game 14 Review

In a game that was largely won by the Miami defensive front, the 'Fins held the visiting Jets to four yards in the entire first half on its way to an emphatic shutout. Despite missing eight starters, the Dolphins rolled, dominating the turnover battle (4-0) and time of possession (36:21 to 23:39) while moving to 10-4 for the first time in nearly a quarter-century.

Field position was a massive storyline, as Miami started three straight first-half drives in Jets' territory and began five possessions at midfield or on the visitors' side of the field. New York averaged its own 21-yard line on their own drives and never advanced past the Dolphins' 30-yard line.

Committing nine penalties isn't great, but Miami showing that the previous week's mind-boggling loss to the Titans was an aberration was low-key important for a franchise desperately trying to establish a culture. In a word, this was thorough.

On to the J-O-K-E, joke-joke-joke recap ...

Offense

Minus all-everything wideout Tyreek Hill, the offense was uncharacteristically quiet -- though to be fair, the unit didn't have to do much in this one. The 'Fins managed 16 first downs and 290 yards, converting just six of 15 third downs but both fourth-down tries. The red zone continued to be a bugaboo, with the Dolphins scoring touchdowns on just two of five red-zone trips. The ground game struggled at times behind another makeshit offensive front, rushing for 77 yards and averaging 2.8 yards per carry.
Tua Tagovailoa was cold-bloodedly efficient, connecting on 21 of 24 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown in his 53 plays. He did take three sacks and commit a delay-of-game penalty, but earned a 76.5 grade from Pro Football Focus, and most importantly, ran his record to a perfect 10-0 as a starter against the Jets and Patriots. Backup and former Jet Mike White hit both of his passes for four yards and lost two yards on kneeldowns in his eight plays in relief.
At running back, Raheem Mostert set a franchise record for touchdowns by rushing for two, running his season total to an even 20. He carried 15 times for 42 yards and caught both of his targets for a yard on his way to a 67.2 PFF grade (he was also called for a false start) in 33 plays. DeVon Achane tallied 62 yards on his dozen touches in 24 snaps, good for a 78.0 PFF grade. Jeff Wilson saw just eight snaps of action, rushing twice for five yards and catching one of two targets for a yard. Fullback Alec Ingold was used exclusively as a blocker in his 19 snaps.
With Hill out, Jaylen Waddle was targeted on Tua's first three passes and ended up catching eight of nine targets for 142 yards and a 60-yard touchdown in his 41 snaps -- earning a 92.8 mark from PFF. Braxton Berrios caught his lone target for 12 yards in 34 snaps, while Chase Claypool caught both targets for eight yards in five snaps. Cedrick Wilson led all receivers with 47 snaps and caught two of three targets for just two yards, but both he and Robbie Chosen (23 snaps, one offsides call) received poor marks from PFF (53.6 and 47.3, respectively). River Cracraft (eight snaps) was also not targeted, and the wideouts totaled just 22 receiving yards on five receptions outside of Waddle. However, you had to feel good for Waddle, who was been lost in the shadows of Hill's mercurial season to date.
At tight end, Durham Smythe caught all four targets for 32 yards in 43 snaps. Julian Hill was not targeted but did get whistled for his weekly holding call on his way to a 56.0 PFF grade for his 22 snaps. Tyler Kroft contributed only a holding penalty in his eight plays.
The big story up front was the return of left tackle Terron Armstead, who earned an 83.3 PFF grade for his 53 plays of work. Guards Lester Cotton (33.8 PFF mark) and Robert Jones saw action on 61 snaps, while center Liam Eichenberg gutted his way through 58 snaps with a calf injury, earning a game ball despite a 35.8 grade from PFF (he was called for illegal use of hands). Right tackle Austin Jackson had a forgettable game, picking up a 27.4 pass-rushing grade from PFF and also being whistled for holding in 29 snaps. Kendall Lamm (32 snaps), Kion Smith (eight snaps), and Jonotthan Harrison (three snaps) saw action in reserve. While Armstead's return was notable, A-Jax has had a couple of subpar performances after signing a massive contract extension, which bears watching.

Defense

In a truly stunning effort, the Dolphins allowed just 11 first downs and 103 total yards, limiting New York to 1.9 yards per play. The Jets were just five of 13 on third down and failed on both fourth-down tries. Not only did the visitors not score, but they never even reached the red zone in the contest.
Christian Wilkins collected three tackles, half a sack, one stop for loss, one offsides call, and a quarterback hit in 42 snaps, being graded at 64.9 by PFF. Zach Sieler notched two tackles, a sack, a stop for loss, a pass breakup, two quarterback hits, and a fumble recovery in 41 snaps. Sieler narrowly missed a second straight week with a defensive touchdown, being tackled on the one-yard line after recovering a fumble.
At tackle, Raekwon Davis had an assisted tackle and two quarterback hits in 32 snaps, while Da'Shawn Hand added an assisted tackle in 16 snaps.
Playing angry, Bradley Chubb simply took over the game at outside linebacker, tallying seven tackles, five solos, three sacks, two stops for losses, three quarterback hits, seven pressures, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 41 snaps. He had at least half a sack taken away after the game and could have easily had about five with better officiating, but he still earned a 94.0 PFF grade -- best in the NFL among edge defenders in Week 15 -- and earned NFL Defensive Player of the Week honors. Andrew Van Ginkel got 51 snaps on the other side, picking up four tackles, half a sack, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hits, earning an 86.7 PFF grade. Cameron Goode had an assisted tackle and a quarterback hit in 20 reserve snaps, while Emmanuel Ogbah posted an assisted tackle, half a sack, and a quarterback hit in just four snaps.
At inside linebacker, Duke Riley delivered another strong performance, racking up five tackles, four solos, half a sack, one pass breakup, and a quarterback hit in 47 snaps for a 90.9 mark from PFF. David Long recorded six tackles and one stop for loss in 54 snaps, but was graded at just 58.0 by PFF. Calvin Munson had a solo stop (and got robbed of a tackle for loss) in 11 snaps, earning a 79.2 PFF grade in limited action.
Jalen Ramsey (pass breakup, illegal contact, 72.6 coverage grade by PFF) and Kader Kohou (quarterback hit, 67.3 mark from PFF) played 47 snaps at cornerback and weren't tested much by New York quarterbacks in Xavien Howard's absence. Eli Apple came off the bench to play 44 snaps, registering four solos, a pass breakup, and an illegal contact flag. He allowed four catches for 42 yards on seven targets according to PFF, which assigned him a 58.6 grade. Nik Needham (two solo stops in 14 snaps) was not graded well by PFF (39.1), but newcomer Ethan Bonner was, earning an 81.7 mark after making an assisted tackle and a pass breakup without allowing a reception in two targets among his 11 snaps. Apple must be credited for a professional outing after weeks of little to no action in Howard's stead.
The story at safety was Brandon Jones, who appeared to cement his return from injury with five solo stops, two pass breakups, a pair of interceptions, and 40 yards in returns in 58 snaps. He and Elijah Campbell (four tackles, three solos, and a pass breakup in 58 snaps) filled in admirably for starters Jevon Holland and DeShon Elliott.

Special teams

Jason Sanders hit all three field goals (with a long of just 37 yards) and all three extra points.
Jake Bailey punted four times for just a 35.8-yard average, but did place three inside the 20-yard line. His 22-yarder on the second-to-last play of the game hurt his average, but instead of downing it, his teammates elected to let it bounce in the wrong direction in order to let more time go off the clock.
Berrios returned four punts for 53 yards, with a long of 19, but Miami did not return a kickoff. The Jets did not have any kickoff or punt returns.
Claypool led offensive players with 13 snaps on special teams, while Justin Bethel (18 snaps), Channing Tyndall (17), and Goode (17) paced defensive players in the third phase.

Momentum plays

Miami got the ball first and got an initial first down on back-to-back completions to Waddle, but a late holding flag on Jackson stymied the drive and led to a punt.
New York also earned a first down, but Chubb made his third standout play in four snaps, finishing a Wilkins pressure with a huge hit on Zach Wilson that led to a fumble recovered by Sieler on the Jets' one-yard line. Sieler's awareness was important, since Wilkins immediately started celebrating by himself while the ball was still loose on the ground.
Deciding not to overthink things, the 'Fins ran it three straight times with Mostert, with the back eventually skirting the edge on the third attempt to set a franchise touchdown record and give Miami a 7-0 lead halfway through the quarter.
The Jets converted another third down to start the following possession, but Van Ginkel knocked away a downfield pass, Jones made a nice underneath tackle, and Apple had strong coverage on a third-down pass. New York ran a particularly stupid fake punt -- somehow believing that they could get four yards on a run straight up the middle in a punt formation -- that was easily snuffed out by Wilkins, Riley, and others to give Miami the ball at New York's 41-yard line.
The Dolphins took nine plays to travel just 22 yards, with a holding flag on Chosen disrupting the drive and leading to a 37-yard field goal by Sanders to make it 10-0 early in the second quarter.
The Jets went three-and-out after Chubb again wrecked the drive with a sack, and a 12-yard punt return by Berrios set up the 'Fins in Jets' territory again at the 49-yard line.
Miami couldn't take advantage of the great field position again, though, as Tua held the ball too long and took a third-down sack that featured Quinnen Williams inexplicably doing the "Waddle" afterward. Back-to-back great pressures by Chubb (he was robbed of a sack when in the grasp wasn't called and set up another by Sieler) made it two straight three-and-outs for New York, which delivered a 54-yard punt with no return.
As well documented on "Hard Knocks" later in the week, the Dolphins got the coverage look they wanted and coach Mike McDaniel's prediction of a one-play drive proved prescient when Tua unleashed a perfectly delivered deep ball to Waddle, who coasted in from 60 yards out and demonstrated a "Waddle that, bitches" celebration for the Jets. Halfway through the second quarter, Miami led, 17-0.
New York somehow avoided another grounding call after Goode pressure, and the Jets got a break with a late illegal contact call on Apple on a third-down play. A second-down sack by Ogbah and Riley set up a 3rd & 11 incompletion that saw Wilson injured on a Long blitz. New York uncorked another monster punt of 59 yards, which Berrios took back 13 yards before taking a big hit.
The 'Fins converted a 3rd & 4 on a short Waddle pass that got better when the Jets -- again, inexplicably -- added a late hit well after the play was over and where whistled for unnecessary roughness. Berrios climbed the ladder to reel in a 3rd & 6 catch that saw him land on his back just in bounds along the sideline. Tua faded a near-interception on the next play, but converted another third down with a dart to Waddle, who went for 19 yards and nearly broke it the distance. A shifty, 12-yard run by Mostert was followed by a one-yard run to the edge by the back -- following a Smythe block -- to extend his scoring record and Miami's lead to 24-0 with a minute remaining in the half.
With backup Trevor Siemian in, the Jets picked up a first down, but two plays later, Chubb and Van Ginkel ended the drive with a sack. Berrios delivered the best nine-yard punt return you might ever see, sending the teams into halftime.
New York went three-and-out to start the second half, and the Dolphins responded with a nine-play, 41-yard drive. On a 4th & 5 play, Tua made a no-look pass into a tiny window to find Waddle for 25 yards. The 'Fins reached the Jets' two-yard line, but lost seven yards on a pitch to Mostert and then did not get a flag on a clear interference on a third-down fade pass to Jeff Wilson in the end zone. Sanders booted it through from 27 yards out to push the advantage to 27-0.
The visitors picked up a couple of first downs on its next possession, but a deep ball was affected by pressure from Kohou, Chubb, and Van Ginkel, leading to an interception that Jones returned 40 yards.
Miami put together a 12-play drive, aided by a third-down conversion on a Smythe grab and a fourth-down conversion on an Achane run. Mostert contributed an 18-yard run, but his subsequent 13-yard jaunt was nullifed on a late holding flag on Hill. A third-down sack forced yet another Sanders field goal, this one from 35 yards out to make it an even 30-0.
The Jets strung together a couple of first downs before Chubb took over again with the rare triple play: sack, strip, recovery.
Once more starting on New York's side of the field, the 'Fins' next drive (featuring White at quarterback) never had a chance thanks to back-to-back penalties on Kroft and Eichenberg. No highlights were shown due to the game being out of hand, but a late hit on the sideline was certainly missed after a Claypool catch and run.
Following another punt that pinned the Jets inside their own 15-yard line, the visitors converted a 3rd & 6 and a 3rd & 9 due to poor tackling by Miami backups. After a 3rd & 10 long ball fell harmlessly to the turf when Campbell wasn't looking for the pick, the fourth-down long shot was easily intercepted by Jones, who reeled in his second interception instead of allowing Apple -- who was waiting under the ball a yard away -- to get this first of the year.
A Wilson handoff and two White kneeldowns ensued, allowing Miami to punt the ball away with just 36 seconds remaining. The Jets handed the ball off once to mercifully ended the contest.