The Dolphins dominated time of possession late vs Jets. That was key to third-straight win
.JPG "Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, left, hands off to Myles Gaskin during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)")
The drive was slow but methodical.
The Miami Dolphins defense had just forced a three-and-out midway through the fourth quarter with a one-score lead. A long drive, regardless of the outcome, would put the Dolphins in prime position to win their third consecutive game.
How about a 12-play drive?
How about a six-minute, 53-second drive, one that started with 8:50 left on the clock?
And how about a game-sealing field goal, one that put Miami up by two scores with less than two minutes to play?
That’s how the Miami Dolphins closed out their 24-17 win over the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Nothing flashy, outside of a couple direct snaps to running back Myles Gaskin.
No big plays. The most yards gained on any of those 12 plays was 7 yards on a short pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Durham Smythe.
But they converted three third downs. They moved the ball down the field.
And, most importantly, they ate up as much clock as they could.
“Those types of drives are very key, especially ending those drives in points,” Tagovailoa said. “I think that’s very key. And obviously, that’s kind of what we wanted to do this entire game.”
It didn’t always happen like that on Sunday, but it happened when it mattered.
The Dolphins had the ball for 13:52 of the final 18 minutes of the game.
After going into halftime tied 7-7 and picking up zero points on their final five drives of the first half (an interception, three punts and a missed field goal), Miami scored on three of its final four possessions — not including their game-ending kneel down.
The first of those scoring drives was quick — 90 yards over four plays in 2:13, capped by a 65-yard catch and run from Tagovailoa to Mack Hollins.
The other two? They essentially kept the Jets off the field for the final third of the game.
They ate up 7:44 with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that started with three minutes left in the third quarter and ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Gaskin to go up 21-14 with 10:15 left in the game.
And then came the back-breaking drive.
Two-yard run. Seven-yard completion. Four-yard run on a third-down direct snap. First down.
Three-yard run. Four-yard run. Sack but a Jets penalty. First down.
Six-yard run. Three-yard run. third-down completion for six yards. Another first down.
Three-yard run. Six-yard run. No gain on third down. Two minute warning.
After a delay of game in an attempt to draw the Jets offsides, Sanders hit a 24-yard field goal to put Miami up 24-14 with 1:57 left.
“Anytime we’re at the end of the game with the lead, we always want to do a great job of milking the clock, using as much time as possible,” coach Brian Flores said. “When you’re on the other side of it, you want to conserve as much time as possible. So, that fourth quarter and that time of possession in the fourth quarter and in the second half is very important, something to talk about.”
Mission accomplished.
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