Team Grades: Jets Sweep Season Series From Dolphins With 38-20 Rout
By Abraham Gutierrez
Todd Bowles and the New York Jets came into Week 12 of the 2015 NFL season desperately trying to snap a two-game skid in order to get back into playoff contention in the AFC. Luckily, they ran into a Miami Dolphins team that was more than willing to throw in the towel as soon as the going got tough. The end result was a 38-20 rout in favor of Gang Green, helping the Jets sweep the season series from their old nemesis. After the game, the Jets head coach spoke about his team's performance in front of a soldout crowd at MetLife Stadium.
"For the most part we played good football," Bowles said after the game. "We didn't finish the way we wanted to, but we played good football [and] I'm proud of them."
Offense: A
Offensively, the Jets pretty much did what they wanted to do against a hobbled and demoralized Miami defense. Gang Green closed out the game with 24 first downs and 411 yards of total offense. They held on to the rock for 31:16, went 10-for-17 on third downs, ran for 137 yards and threw for 274 additional yards.
Much like in the first meeting of the season, Jets running back, Chris Ivory embarrassed the Dolphins defense by making them look foolish with his violent rushing attack. After struggling with injuries, Ivory looked more like himself, rushing for 87 yards on 22 carries and a score.
Through the air, Ryan Fitzpatrick had a whale of a game; completing 60 percent of his passes (22-for-37) on his way to a 351-yard day, to go along with his four touchdowns, earning a respectable 118.9 QBR. Some of his favorite targets this afternoon included Brandon Marshall (9 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD), who had a career day, as well as Eric Decker (5 catches, 62 yards, TD) and Devin Smith (2 receptions, 33 yards, TD).
Defense: A+
If this were a baseball game, and the Jets defense the starting pitcher, this would have been as close to a no-hitter as it gets. In fact, the Jets defense had a perfect game through the first two and a half quarters, as Miami couldn't get anything going offensively against this resistance.
The Jets defense ended up giving up 20 first downs and 333 yards of total offense, out of which, 321 came through the air, and all Miami could muster on the ground was a miserable 12 yards all game long. Top Jets defenders include Marcus Gilchrist (7 tackles, PD), Buster Skrine (7 tackles, PD) and Calvin Pryor (7 tackles, PD).
Special Teams: A
The Jets special teams were on their game once again, starting with kicker Randy Bullock who was perfect on the afternoon with 8 points scored on five extra points and a 41-yard field goal. With the offense clicking, punter Ryan Quigley only had his number called five times, averaging 46.8 yards per punt, including a long of 57 yards and one placed inside Miami's 20-yard line. Finally, the only return to report is that of Kellen Davis, who finished with 11 yards on his one kickoff return on the afternoon.
Coaching: A+
Much like in the first matchup, Bowles and his staff did a tremendous job of pushing the Dolphins into a corner and making them quit. That's exactly what took place Sunday afternoon in the Meadowlands, as the Jets overwhelmed Miami with decisive play-calling, using the pass to setup the run, and never letting their foot off the gas pedal.
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, Examiner.com and other online publications.