Dolphins Score 17 Unanswered Points In 4th Quarter To Defeat Rival Jets 31-28
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MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins are the NFL's newest comeback kids.
Trailing the New York Jets 28-14 after three quarters, Miami stormed back with 17 unanswered points to claim the improbable 31-28 victory from their hated rival.
Leading the way for Miami was quarterback Matt Moore, who came into the game after a chest injury sidelined Jay Cutler shortly after halftime.
Moore started out slowly, throwing an interception on his fifth pass attempt, but it didn't take long for him to find his groove.
The 10-year veteran finished 13 of 21 for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns for a passer rating of 102.9.
For the Dolphins, the 31-point explosion was by far their best offensive effort of the season.
The game started out fast as both teams executed quick touchdown drives on their first possessions.
Cutler appeared to be finding his groove, throwing 4-yard touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry and Anthony Fasano, with the latter tying the game at 14 in the second quarter.
The Jets would then take advantage of two Cutler interceptions, turning both into touchdowns and a 28-14 lead heading into the final quarter.
That's when Moore, in for the injured Cutler, put the team on his shoulders.
Moore found Kenny Stills for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns 5:02 apart to tie the game at 28.
The onus was now on the defense to come up with one more big play.
Photo Gallery: Dolphins Score 17 Unanswered To Complete Comeback Against Jets
Bobby McCain answered the call, intercepting Josh McCown at the Jets 23 yard line with under a minute to go.
That's all Dolphins kicker Cody Parkey would need.
The Jupiter, Florida native continued his impressive season, drilling the game-winning 39-yard field goal right between the uprights.
MAUALUGA EFFECT
The Dolphins are now 3-0 since linebacker Rey Maualuga was inserted into the lineup.
Not only is he playing solid defensively but Rey was also brought in to play fullback on a short yardage situation in the second quarter.
Miami picked up the first down, leading to questions of whether this could become a trend.
RISING QUARTERBACK RATINGS
Before being knocked out of the game, Cutler had a passer rating of 114.1, throwing for 138 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
Moore was just as good, gaining 188 yards through the air to go with his two touchdowns. The passer rating for "we want Moore" was 102.9.
WAKE THE JET KILLER
Cameron Wake had another spectacular game, finishing with 2.5 sacks against a team that he's done exceptionally well against over the years.
Wake now has six sacks on the season and is cruising toward what would be the sixth Pro Bowl appearance of his NFL career.
CATCH OF THE GAME
This one will be on highlight reels for a while.
Stills made a ridiculous catch along the right sideline during the first quarter, keeping his focus on the ball despite falling to the ground with a couple Jets defenders surrounding him.
It led to the Dolphins first touchdown of the game.
GAME NOTES
- The last time the Jets blew a 14-point second half lead was all the way back in Week 2 of the 1995 season (against Indianapolis).
- Jarvis Landry led all receivers with 7 catches for 93 yards. He added a touchdown, his second in as many weeks.
- The Dolphins defense had not surrendered more than 20 points in any game this season before allowing New York to score 21 in the first half.
- Cody Parkey is now a perfect 7 of 7 on field goals this season, including two game-winners.
- Miami came into the game last in the NFL in yards per game (242.8) and points per game (12.2). They gained 357 yards and scored 31 points on Sunday, both season-highs.
UP NEXT
Miami has a short week ahead as they will travel north to face the 3-4 Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. Baltimore lost 24-16 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
