The Dolphins hadn’t won a game since The Miami Miracle in Week 14 of the 2018 season.
That changed Sunday when the Jets suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in franchise history. The Dolphins may be tanking, but that didn’t stop them from winning, 26-18, and giving Brian Flores his first career win as a head coach.
For the Jets, it was another step in the wrong direction. The team has regressed despite having more talent than the roster they put out last season. The culture is non-existent. The only question now is how much longer Christopher Johnson will put up with this?
Here are the best and worst players from the Jets’ Week 9 loss.
Dud: S Jamal Adams
After a week of expressing his displeasure over trade rumors, Jamal Adams was nowhere to be found in Miami. Sunday was an opportunity to put the headlines to rest and bounce back with a statement game, but he instead responded with a poor bad game against the worst team in the league.
Among his many mistakes was an instance of miscommunication in which he and Darryl Roberts allowed an easy touchdown in the end zone.
Dud: QB Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold has regressed.
Failure to see that is a disservice to a young quarterback who has mightily struggled under new direction. Blame the offensive line, blame the coaching and blame the receivers, but there’s no denying that Darnold is going backward.
He looks nothing like the player who played the final four weeks of last season and triumphantly returned from his bout with mono against the Dallas Cowboys. He completed 69 percent of his passes for 260 yards, a score and an interception against Miami, but his production and decision making left much to be desired.
Over the past three games, Darnold has thrown eight interceptions. Things have gone from bad to worse, and it’s become fair to wonder if he’s truly the answer.
Dud: The Coaching Staff
The Jets flat-out embarrassed themselves against the worst team in the sport. Losing to the Dolphins is inexcusable, and it falls on Adam Gase’s shoulders.
Gase was brought in to take Sam Darnold to the next level, not the previous one. If he can’t get Darnold going, what is he here for?
As for the defense, the Jets couldn’t cover Miami man-to-man. Everyone in the stadium could see that James Burgess couldn’t stop Mike Gesicki, except Gregg Williams. The Dolphins tight end is a vertical threat and was wide open over the middle of the field all game long. He caught six passes for 95 yards on the day.
Williams made another questionable personnel decision. Instead of playing Quinnen Williams on every down, he opted to rotate in Nathan Shepherd instead. Without Leonard Williams, it opened up a path for the Jets rookie to play. He had his first career full sack and a TFL, but still, he’s not consistently seeing snaps. That’s an issue.
Dud: CB Darryl Roberts
Darryl Roberts is eerily similar to former Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson. That’s not a compliment.
Roberts’ lack of spatial awareness, his inability to find the football, his knack for interfering with receivers and the fact that he flexes after dropped passes make him the perfect Wilson clone.
He was beaten for Preston Williams’ first touchdown grab of the day. When the ball was thrown, Williams had 1.8 yards of separation on Roberts. When the ball arrived, Williams had eight yards separation on the nearest defender, per ESPN’s Next Gen Stats.
The moral of the story? Robert should not be an NFL starter.
Stud: WR Jamison Crowder
Jamison Crowder was the Jets’ brightest spot on a dreary day.
Crowder caught his first touchdown of the season. He had eight catches for 83 yards, too. Then the Jets inexplicably stopped throwing him the football down the stretch.
