Written by Ben Baskin at SI.com
This game was ugly—beyond ugly. The two teams combined for 18 penalties, totaling 145 yards. There were three turnovers, including a hilariously bad Dolphins fake punt in the third quarter that was thrown directly to Jets safety Terrence Brooks. The most exciting play was when Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard Jets receiver kicked Jermaine Kearse when he was down on the turf, and somehow no flag was thrown. It was also fun when New York defensive end Lawrence Thomas lined up at fullback, which he did on multiple occasions, one time even catching a 15 yard pass. The slow-motion shots of Adam Gase’s reactions on sidelines were also entertaining, especially at one point in the second half when his defense was flagged for an illegal formation on a field goal attempt, giving New York an automatic first down. Despite being up by 20 points, Jets fans began heading to the exits at the start of the fourth quarter, and only a smattering remained to watch the team earn their first victory this year. It seemed that many were rooting for the team to tank.
Despite how ugly the game was, the Jets defense was actually quite impressive. The unit came into the game allowing 33 points per game and 185 rushing yards per game, which both ranked dead last in the NFL. They had given up 409 total yards per game, 30th in the league. But against the Dolphins today they resembled the unit that head coach Todd Bowles wants them to be: fast, aggressive and stifling. They held Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi to 16 yards on 11 carries, a 1.5 yard average. (For context, Ajayi had rushed for 122 yards in the Dolphins first game of the season against the Chargers.)
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