EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Jets CEO/chairman Christopher Johnson said wins and losses didn't matter so much, but progress did.
Well, the new man in charge got both, progress and a win, as the Jets earned their first victory of the season on Sunday with a 20-6 defeat of the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets jumped out to a 20-0 lead on a Dolphins team playing their second game of the season because their season opener was postponed due to Hurricane Irma.
After a 40-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro gave the Jets their first lead of the season, 3-0, with 5:42 to play in the second quarter, the Jets made big plays to forge further ahead.
Robby Anderson caught a 69-yard pass from Josh McCown, a beautiful throw by the Jets' 38-year-old quarterback that gave the home team a 10-0 lead.
For McCown, it was a strong effort. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 249 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. McCown had a quarterback rating of 126.3.
McCown earned his first victory as a starter since 2015 when he played for Cleveland. It was also McCown's first home victory as a starter since 2013 when he played for Chicago.
And the Jets' defense helped him, holding the Dolphins to 21 yards rushing after allowing a total of 370 yards the previous two weeks.
The Jets also pressured quarterback Jay Cutler with several hard hits, sacked him three times and picked off one pass. With about two minutes to play in the game, the Dolphins' offense was averaging just three yards per pass play.
With the defense playing so well, it enabled McCown to run an efficient offense that produced 336 total yards on 59 total plays. The Jets added a 1-yard touchdown run from Bilal Powell with 9:48 remaining in the third quarter to push their lead to 17-0. Catanzaro added to the lead with a 22-yard chip shot with 6:58 remaining in the third.
All that was left was to secure the shutout, which the Jets failed to do as Cutler completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker as time expired. Cutler completed 25 of 43 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown pass and the interception. He had a quarterback rating of 61.9.
