The Miami Dolphins thoroughly dominated the New York Jets, 34-13, in the NFL‘s first Black Friday game to improve to 8-3 and extend their lead in the AFC East. But the victory might have been pyrrhic.
Star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips suffered what appears to be a significant Achilles injury well after the game was out of reach. That was a considerable loss to a defense that has been playing at a very high level the last month.
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets Instant Observations
Jets’ Hell Mary
Eleven years and two days after the Butt Fumble, the Jets served up a play that caused just as much Thanksgiving indigestion for their fans.
Tim Boyle will go down in history as the Jets quarterback who not only threw a pick-six on a Hail Mary, but he’ll be in the highlight (or lowlight, depending on your rooting interest) twice.
#Dolphins S Jevon Holland makes up for Tua’s 2nd INT by intercepting a Hail Mary and returning it 99 yards for a TD 🤯
BRUTAL end to the half for the #Jets #FinsUp | #TakeFlight
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 24, 2023
That’s because Dolphins safety Jevon Holland shook him out of his cleats on the return. Boyle was the last line of defense, but he was defenseless to stop the Dolphins’ gifted young safety, who scored his first career touchdown Friday.
Boyle, named the starter this week after the Jets benched Zach Wilson, finished the game 27 of 38 for 179 yards and with a passer rating of 67.8.
As a team, the Jets managed a meager 159 yards of offense.
As for Holland, he left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
Dolphins’ Dynamic Duo
All that talk about the Jets’ fantastic secondary? Pffft.
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle abused Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, et al., for 114 and 102 yards, respectively.
MORE: Miami Dolphins Depth Chart
And they did it at less than 100% health. Hill tweaked his ankle or foot on his first catch of the game, while Waddle — who has been banged up all season — came up a bit gimpy after one of his eight catches.
If the Dolphins can eliminate the turnovers (Tua Tagovailoa threw two more interceptions Friday, including one returned for a touchdown), they will be really, really dangerous down the stretch.
Coming Up a Yard Short
Our unsolicited advice on how to fix the Dolphins’ short-yardage woes apparently went unheeded.
The Dolphins’ struggles on 3rd- and 4th-and-short carried over until Week 12 — and cost them at least three points in the first quarter.
Hill dropped a touchdown on 4th-and-1 inside the Jets’ five-yard line and then Mike McDaniel got a little too cute on third-and-1 inside the Jets’ 30, resulting in a disappointing field goal.
The Dolphins are too good to be leaving this many points on the field. Why don’t they simply line up and run the football? Jeff Wilson proved that he is a very hard player to tackle.
Pay That Man
Fifth-year defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is sizzling. The Dolphins’ defensive tackle had two more sacks Friday, giving him a career-high 6.5 with six games left to play.
Wilkins will need to do a lot more of that in the weeks to come if Phillips is indeed out for the season, which is the expectation.
Wilkins, who is in a contract year, turned down an extension before the season and bet on himself. That decision looks better and better by the week. All but one of his sacks have come in the Dolphins’ last seven games.
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