Early season start puts Miami in a sprint.
Jets thoroughly manhandle inept Dolphins
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For those who thought Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross linking arms with his players during the national anthem was a bit strange, what followed must have ranged somewhere between bizarre and absurd.
The previously winless New York Jets, projected by many to end the season as the worst team in the NFL, manhandled the Dolphins, 20-6, Sunday at MetLife Stadium. And that’s putting things mildly.
“They just beat the [expletive] out of us,” coach Adam Gase said after the game.
That quickly, everything you thought you knew about this year’s Dolphins (1-1) is called into question.
The passing game, led by quarterback Jay Cutler, was thought to have one of the best receiving trios in the NFL among Pro Bowl selection Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills. They didn’t do much.
The running game, led by Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi (11 carries, 16 yards), who didn’t play the fourth quarter, did very little. It ended with 15 carries for 30 yards.
“We didn’t play physical enough today,” Ajayi said. “They hit us in the mouth.”
The defensive front seven, led by Pro Bowl end Cameron Wake and Pro Bowl tackle Ndamukong Suh didn’t do much, and that’s taking into account Wake’s sack and Suh’s four tackles and forced fumble.
Andthe coaching staff, led by Gase, did little to help tomake things better,
including a somewhat puzzling fake punt in the third quarter.
“Trying to get something going,” Gase said of the play, which ended in an interception pass. “Figured we could complete a ball on the return team.”
The Dolphins were 1of 12 (eight percent) on third-down conversions. They trailed badly in time of possession (about 36 minutes for the Jets and 24 minutes for the Dolphins) and punted on their first seven possessions, including all six inthe first half. They even missed an extra point when they finally scored a touchdown at the end of the game.
“We weren’t ready to play,” cornerback Bobby McCain said. “They came in and they kicked our ass.”
Cutler, who was plagued by a few dropped passes, seemed off target all day. He finished 26 of 44 for 220 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 70.3 passer rating. And his receivers weren’t any better. Landry (six receptions, 48 yards) and Stills (four receptions, 51 yards) had a dropped pass each, and Parker (eight receptions for 76) didn’t do much until late, including catching a touchdown pass on the game’s final play.
Onthe other hand, Jets quarterback Josh McCown (18 of 23 for 249 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) had a sparkling 126.3 passer rating. And New York (1-2) rushed for 103 yards, albeit for a 3.0-yards per carry average.
Wake was succinct in describing the feelings in the locker room after the game.
“Shock, anger, disappointment, frustration,” he said.
The Dolphins were hardly ever contenders in this game, especially after falling behind 10-0 at halftime when McCown hit wide receiver Robby Anderson on a 69-yard touchdown pass. The Jets eventually took a 17-0 lead with 9:48 remaining in the third quarter and then pushed their margin 20-0.
Thefinal indignity for the Dolphins came after they scored on the final play of the game on a 3-yard pass from Cutler to Parker. The extra point was wide left.
As for the pre-game drama, during which the Dolphins locked arms with one another during the national anthem in a show of support for those who have staged social injustice protests, it was an afterthought by game’s end. No one thought it had anything
“We didn’t play physical enough today. They hit us in the mouth.”
Jay Ajayi, Dolphins running back to do with the game’s outcome.
“We’re a team, we’re a family,” Landry said. “We stick together, we stand by our teammates and we stand by our family and that’s exactly what we did today.”
“We weren’t ready to play.”
Bobby McCain, cornerback