New York Sports Today

New York Sports News Continuously updated

Jets Succumb to Dolphins, Extending Playoff Drought to 15 Years

by

The New York Jets faced off in Week 14 against division rivals the Miami Dolphins. In the spirit of said rivalry, the Jets debuted their brand new Nike Rivalries Gotham Green uniforms. The Dolphins debuted their Rivalries edition uniforms in their matchup with the Jets earlier this season. However, unlike the Dolphins earlier this season, the new uniforms did not help the Jets win against their division rival this week. In an all-around flat performance from the offense and defense, the Jets fell to the Dolphins 34-10.

The Rundown

This game was pretty much over before it even began. The Dolphins won the coin toss and elected to receive in order to set the tone, and set the tone they did. The Dolphins scored on their first three drives of the quarter. Jaylen Waddle, DeVon Achane, and Jaylen Wright all found the endzone. This disastrous first quarter of the Jets got even worse as well, as their starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, suffered a groin injury. This forced rookie UDFA Brady Cook into his NFL debut. His first drive was a three-and-out punt. The Dolphins’ next drive finally resulted in a punt, and it was worthwhile. The Jets’ incredible punt returner, Isaiah Williams, did it again, weaving through the Dolphins to score the Jets’ first touchdown.

The rest of the game was rather uneventful scoring-wise until the fourth quarter. The second and third quarters saw nine total punts, a field goal from the Dolphins, and an interception from Brady Cook in the end zone. To start the fourth quarter, the Jets had a 12-play 65 yard drive resulting in a field goal. This made the score 24-10. It was still in reach. However, the Dolphins finally woke up on offense and ensured their victory over the Jets. They followed the Jets scoring drive up with a nine-play 67-yard touchdown drive. Ollie Gordon was the one who punched it in for Miami. The Dolphins kicked a few more field goals and Brady Cook threw an interception to end the game. This loss sent the Jets to 3-10, eliminating them from playoff contention.

Brady Cook’s Less-Than-Ideal Debut

Brady Cook was dealt a very poor set of circumstances for his debut. He had to replace a veteran journeyman in Tyrod Taylor, which were probably large shoes to fill from his perspective. This was also a high-intensity divisional matchup for the Jets against the Dolphins. However, there were some very bad execution mistakes from the rookie today. First, he fumbled a snap on a third-and-one play, which killed his second drive. On the next drive, he was stripped on first down. Finally, late in the first half, he was intercepted on a straight-up bad read. He was looking for John Metchie III in the end zone after a double move, except the cornerback in coverage Rasul Douglas didn’t fall for it. It was a layup for the veteran defender.

Despite his own miscues, he was not helped by his weapons today. The Jets had five total drops today, which is unacceptable. The most crucial one came from John Metchie III, who was targeted on a swing pass and would have had a free touchdown if he caught it. If Brady Cook is going to get more opportunities in 2025, it’s crucial that his pass catchers do more for him. It’s possible that he does, considering there’s a chance that both Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor could be unavailable next week.

The Most Special Special Teams Unit of 2025, and Perhaps Ever

The silver lining of the 2025 season will no doubt be Chris Banjo’s special teams unit. Coming into this week, the Jets had a DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) of 11.3%. This statistic measures how efficient a unit is against the league average. That 11.3% value for the Jets special teams is far-and-away the best in football. It’s actually the third-best in the history of the sport. The Jets’ performance in this category against the Dolphins this week will only make the value better. Along with Isaiah Williams’ touchdown, Austin McNamara also had two punts downed inside the Dolphins 20-yard line. One of McNamara’s punts was a 72-yarder as well, which beat his season long of 64. The best play they made though was a fake punt. They snapped it to Malachi Moore, who ran a speed option with Isaiah Davis. He made full use of said option, pitching it to Davis for the first down. Chris Banjo was one of the best hires across the whole NFL in the offseason.

Next Up

Following this loss to the Dolphins, the now 3-10 Jets will play red hot Jacksonville Jaguars. They are coming off of a pivotal divisional victory over the Indianapolis Colts (great for one of the Jets first 2026 first rounders). This game has sneaky upset potential with Tyrod Taylor in, purely because the Jets seem to upset a playoff team every year. However, I don’t think they’d be so lucky with Justin Fields or Brady Cook in.

Main Image: Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The post Jets Succumb to Dolphins, Extending Playoff Drought to 15 Years appeared first on Last Word on NFL.