The Jets barely squeaked out a victory over the Dolphins Sunday, winning 22-21.
The Dolphins’ lackluster red zone offense kept the Jets in the game, despite New York giving Miami every opportunity to win. Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders went 7-8 on field goals, but it was Sam Ficken who won the game for the Jets with a 44-yard field goal as time expired.
The Jets’ fifth win of the season was also Adam Gase’s first against his former team.
Mistakes were made on the final drive, but a reviewed defensive pass interference call gave the Jets a gift from above. Here are the best and worst players from the Jets’ last-second win.
Stud: RB Bilal Powell
Bilal Powell was a workhorse out of the backfield Sunday.
Powell had 19 carries for 74 yards. That’s more in a single game than Le’Veon Bell had in any of his starts (70). A staggering statistic, this is the first time a Jets running back has run for over 70 yards this season.
Dud: QB Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold looked bad Sunday.
Certainly, the play-calling wasn’t up to par, but this wasn’t the Darnold Jets fans had been used to seeing over the team’s three-game winning streak. He took an incredibly bad sack on 2nd-and-10 when the team had no timeouts left. On 3rd-and-18, Darnold got bailed out by a reviewed defensive pass interference call.
Darnold went 20-36, throwing for 270 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His performance was marred with overthrows, forced passes nearly leading to interceptions and poor decision making.
The box score won’t tell the whole story, but the Jets need their young quarterback to play better.
Stud: WR Robby Anderson
Robby Anderson keeps proving why the Jets need to sign him to a new deal. On Sunday, Anderson recorded his eighth career 100-yard game.
Anderson continues to be Sam Darnold’s favorite wide receiver, He caught seven passes for 116 yards, including a first-quarter, 26-yard touchdown.
Over the past three games, Anderson has 18 receptions for 303 yards and two scores. He’s playing at a high-level and is earning himself a payday.
Dud: WR Demaryius Thomas
Demaryius Thomas caught his first touchdown as a New York Jet, but it almost became his third dropped pass of the day.
Thomas dropped two previous passes, including a touchdown pass that hit him right in the hands. His touchdown catch was the result of an overturn on replay review. Thomas caught Sam Darnold’s second touchdown pass of the day, muscled his way into the end zone after making two steps and a football move, and had it wrestled away.
The drops have come aplenty for Thomas. He is a team captain on offense, has great continuity with Adam Gase and is the perfect veteran wideout for Darnold. However, the drops have been too frequent and Gase has to stop pretending that it’s 2012 and he’s in Denver. With increased targets to Thomas, New York has stopped targeting Jamison Crowder, who has been its best wide receiver to date. Something has to give.
Stud: CB Nate Hairston
Injuries to Brian Poole and Arthur Maulet was the get out of jail free card Nate Hairston needed to get back into the starting lineup.
Hairston manned the slot, where he played in Indianapolis. He recorded his second career interception, his first since November 2017. Hairston pickpocketed Dolphins WR Allen Hurns and came away with the Jets’ eighth interception of the season.
Sunday was a positive sign for a cornerback who has been a healthy scratch ever since his disastrous performance against the Giants, leading to the emergence of Bless Austin.
