Sam Darnold and the New York Jets fall in defeat in miserable fashion to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Miami Dolphins.
- New York Jets 3 (0-11)
- Miami Dolphins 20 (7-4)
- NFL, Week 12, Final, Box Score
- MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Just like that, the familiar New York Jets are back. After two-straight games that featured plenty of offensive yards and points (led by Joe Flacco) the Jets have returned to form. Sam Darnold’s return to action didn’t exactly work out as he might have planned.
The Miami Dolphins walked into MetLife Stadium and put down the now-0-11 Jets by the final of 20-3.
Adam Gase reportedly reclaimed play-calling duties to no applause. Sure, no fans in the stands would make that the case, but had there been fans at MetLife, the boos would have furiously littered the MetLife atmosphere.
A critical point in the game came early in the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-and-1 at Miami’s 17-yard line, Gase had a decision to make. His 0-10 team trialed 13-3 needing just one yard. Considering he’s run it in nearly every third or fourth-and-short situation this year, the entire world thought Darnold would hand the ball off to Frank Gore.
He did. And, of course, the Dolphins stopped it cold.
Darnold finished the day with 197 yards, no touchdowns and two terrible-looking interceptions on 16 of 27 passing. No matter the situation or intended target, Darnold couldn’t find any rhythm. He was just always a touch late or a bit too careful, especially when throwing to the big targets outside (Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims).
His second interception of the game (Xavien Howard) was just as inexcusable as the first.
Everyone better be voting for @Iamxavienhoward right now >> https://t.co/KiybRl11uJ
📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/SSLi9k9ydt
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 29, 2020
New York’s opening possession was promising. A nine-play, 55-yard drive resulted in a Sergio Castillo 38-yard field goal. From there, it was all Miami’s defense.
Brian Flores’s defensive unit relented just 260 yards on the day. Gregg Williams’s defense also performed solidly. Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s touchdown to tight end Mike Gesicki turned out to be more than enough for Miami to earn its seventh win of the season.
With a little under nine minutes to go in the first half, Fitz found Gesicki who beat Ashtyn Davis on the corner:
JERSEY BOY!! @mikegesicki
📺 @NFLonCBS https://t.co/gKtwNkbrzp
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 29, 2020
Fitzpatrick finished with 257 yards and two touchdowns.
Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders connected on two field goals. He hit a 54-yard field goal on the Fins’ second possession to tie the game, and then put one through on a 51-yard try near the end of the second half.
Interestingly, the Jets’ kicker—who had been tremendous up to this point—missed a 29-yard chip shot that would have cut the score to 13-6 heading into halftime.
Fitzpatrick added another score in garbage time, a 7-yard toss to Adam Shaheen.
Frank Gore tallied 74 yards on 18 carries. Without La’Mical Perine‘s services, the wily veteran was the team’s workhorse. Ty Johnson and Josh Adams received just one carry apiece.
The Dolphins didn’t get much of a ground game going either, but they didn’t have to. DeAndre Washington led the way with 49 yards on 13 attempts.
The high-man in the receiving game was DeVante Parker, who grabbed eight balls for 119 yards. Initially, rookie Bryce Hall lined up on his familiar left side, but at some point midway through the contest, Williams put Hall on Parker exclusively. Hall played well, but Parker went to work on the rest of the secondary.
Perriman led the Jets through the air with 79 yards on four receptions. Mims finished with 67 yards on four grabs. The rookie wideout left the game early with what looked like an ankle injury, but he returned shortly after and finished the game.
Go up and GET THAT @B_Perriman11!!
📺 #MIAvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/i1jV30ZTxJ
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 29, 2020
.@Zel5Zelly with the fingertip grab 🔥
📺 #MIAvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/YbI6aeQ2yB
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 29, 2020
Defensively, Neville Hewitt picked up the Jets’ highlight of the afternoon, a strip-sack of Fitzpatrick:
.@Neville_Hewitt laying the lumber 💪💪💪
📺 #MIAvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/6ICqiHvwnv
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 29, 2020
Quinnen Williams put forth another strong performance. Big Q tallied a sack, three quarterback hits, two pass deflections and a seven tackles in the game.
.@Neville_Hewitt laying the lumber 💪💪💪
📺 #MIAvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/6ICqiHvwnv
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 29, 2020
Next up for the 0-11 Jets will be a tough Las Vegas Raiders team at MetLife Stadium next Sunday.
