Sam Darnold didn’t have his best game of the season, but he and the offense did enough to win Sunday’s game over the Dolphins. The same goes for the defense despite giving up 21 points and seven field goals, which allowed Miami to keep the game within reach for the offense all day.
It was a surprising kicker’s duel against two bad teams but the Jets grabbed the win thanks to a couple of crucial playmakers. Darnold, Sam Ficken, Robby Anderson and Bilal Powell all made significant contributions in the win, but it was others who did just enough to deliver the victory.
Here are five unsung heroes from the Jets’ win over the Dolphins.
RB Ty Montgomery
Montgomery saw extended looks with Le’Veon Bell missing the game due to illness, and he made the most of his 23 snaps. Montgomery finished with 31 rushing yards on nine attempts and caught all three of his targets for 30 yards.
His most pivotal play, though, came on the Jets’ final drive of the game. Montgomery caught a 12-yard reception from Sam Darnold on first-and-10 from the Miami 38 to set the Jets up at the Dolphins’ 26 yard-line. Two plays later, Sam Ficken kicked the game-winning, 44-yard field goal as time expired.
WR Vyncint Smith
Smith didn’t contribute really anything until the Jets’ final drive of the game, but his two plays were crucial in the win. He caught a 37-yard reception on the first play of the Jets’ game-winning drive to put them in Miami territory with 90 seconds left.
Three plays later, he was the target of Darnold’s pass on third-and-18, which the refs eventually called pass interference. Though it was controversial, the penalty set the Jets up at the Miami 38-yard line with 47 seconds left in the game. Four plays later they converted the game-winning field.
LB James Burgess
Burgess looked like he was all over the field Sunday. He finished with a game-high 10 solo tackles and 13 total tackles and constantly stopped Dolphins rushers for short gains on the ground.
Burgess had two near-takeaways in the win. He forced a fumble on Ryan Fitzpatrick that the Dolphins recovered and corraled an interception that was called back because Burgess held earlier in the play. Burgess isn’t the best linebacker, particularly in coverage, but he’s proven to be a solid run-stopper for the Jets.
LB Jordan Jenkins
Jenkins finished with a team-high two sacks, which gives him at least seven sacks for the second consecutive season. His second sack came on the Dolphins’ final drive of the game to keep Miami from scoring a touchdown and helped give the Jets an opportunity to win the game with a field goal.
Jenkins leads the team in sacks heading into Week 13 and consistently proves to be the Jets’ best pass rusher. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after this season and should command a solid contract offer from the Jets, who don’t have anyone close to Jenkins’ skillset on the roster.
Gregg Williams
The Jets gave up seven field goals against the Dolphins, but it could have been a whole lot worse if not for incredible coaching and playmaking from the team in the red zone. New York didn’t give up a touchdown despite the Dolphins reaching the red zone six times.
The defense also held the Dolphins to only four third-down conversions on 13 attempts.
New York had a couple of gaffes on defense, especially allowing Fitzpatrick to rush for 65 yards, but overall didn’t break.
