Dolphins regroup in second half, beat Jets on road for third straight win

The Dolphins’ Week 11 road game against the New York Jets on Sunday had the makings of a letdown early after the team’s big win over the Baltimore Ravens 11 days ago.

The two teams were tied at halftime after kicker Jason Sanders’ 32-yard field-goal attempt smacked the top of the right upright and was no good as time expired in the first half.

But the Dolphins regrouped in the second half for a 24-17 victory over their division rival at MetLife Stadium. It’s the team’s third consecutive win ahead of three straight home games at Hard Rock Stadium, which begins with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers (5-6) next Sunday.

“It’s always good to win,” coach Brian Flores said after improving to 9-3 as a head coach in November. “Our guys played hard for 60 minutes. We knew it would be a tough game and a tough environment against a tough team, and that’s what we got. We were able to make a few more plays than they made.”

The game didn’t feature the suffocating performance the Dolphins (4-7) defense produced against quarterback Lamar Jackson. A 62-yard catch-and-run touchdown by wide receiver Elijah Moore tied the game at 14 with 2:59 left in the third quarter and the Jets often had success on quick-hitting passes, apt counters to the Dolphins’ aggressiveness.

However, the defense came up with timely stops, holding the Jets (2-8) to just one touchdown in four trips to the red zone. Safety Brandon Jones’ strip-sack of quarterback Joe Flacco in the second quarter deprived the Jets of a score on one of those opportunities and the defense did enough to complement an offense that scored its most points since Week 7.

“It was a little sloppy, but we got it done,” defensive lineman Raekwon Davis said of the defense’s performance.

Likewise for the Dolphins offense, it wasn’t the crispest outing but one that continued to show signs of improvement. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 27-of-33 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, including a 65-yard touchdown to wide receiver Mack Hollins to give the Dolphins a 14-7 lead in the third quarter. It was the longest completion of Tagovailoa’s career and a play that multiple players said was especially rewarding considering the team has practiced it so much and it carried over to the game.

Tagovailoa called the play a “big sigh” for an offense that started strong but, in typical fashion, sputtered in the middle quarters until his touchdown pass to Hollins. Tagovailoa completed all six of his passes on an 83-yard opening drive that ended with the Dolphins taking a 7-0 lead after a 1-yard run by rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

However, Tagovailoa threw an interception on his second possession, setting up a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamison Crowder and tying the game at 7.

The Dolphins offense couldn’t capitalize off the defense’s red-zone takeaway in the second quarter and mustered 73 yards on the five first-half drives that followed the opening possession and ended in three punts, Tagovailoa’s turnover and Sanders’ missed kick.

But for the second straight week, the Dolphins offense used a lengthy possession to ice the game late. After Tagovailoa’s second touchdown of the game, a 5-yard pass to running back Myles Gaskin, put the Dolphins up 21-14 with 10:15 left in the game, the defense forced a three-and-out, giving the offense the ball back near midfield with 8:50 remaining. The offense proceeded to go on a 12-play, 45-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock and culminated in a 24-yard field goal from Sanders, giving the Dolphins a 10-point lead with under two minutes remaining.

The possession included three third-down conversions — one assisted by a roughing-the-passer penalty — key completions from Tagovailoa and runs set up by an offensive line that not only paved the way for 115 rushing yards but didn’t allow a sack.

“Obviously, the interception, turnover, stopped us,” Tagovailoa said, “but I would say that’s what I’m most proud of of our offense. We continued to put our head down, continued to fight. We had some mishaps, but it didn’t matter. We just kept going.”

As Tagovailoa finished taking questions from reporters, he was asked about his pants, brown, Christmas-themed pajamas that developed into a conversation about Thanksgiving, quickly approaching on Thursday.

A beaming Tagovailoa, who said he’s a “big Christmas guy,” rattled off a list of things for which he’s thankful.

“[I’m] thankful for the Miami Dolphins, thankful for my teammates, thankful for my family, lots to be thankful for,” he said.

Nothing about the Dolphins season has been perfect or come easy, but the past three weeks have given a little more to be thankful — and maybe even hopeful? — for this holiday season.

This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 4:11 PM.

Daniel Oyefusi

Miami Herald

Daniel Oyefusi covers the Dolphins for the Miami Herald. A native of Towson, Maryland, he graduated from the University of Maryland: College Park. Previously, he covered the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.