The Miami Dolphins (6-10) refused to pass up a golden opportunity to end the season of the hated New York Jets (8-8), on New Year’s Day. A 19-17 victory by the Dolphins knocked New York out of contention for the sixth and final AFC postseason seed – meaning there will once again be no Super Bowl title for Gang Green, despite coach Rex Ryan’s preseason prediction.

But that didn’t sway Ryan to take the high road for a change. “I’m always going to chase the Super Bowl,” said Ryan. “I know I get criticized for it beyond belief, but if you don’t, then you’re probably a loser, OK? I’m not a loser.”

Two straight losses following an 8-5 start put the Jets in a position where they needed a significant amount of help to make a playoff run for the third consecutive season under Ryan. New York understood that a win against the Dolphins would be meaningless unless it was accompanied by losses for Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Denver/Oakland.

Scoreboard watching was unnecessary once this one was all said and done. New York had a slight advantage coming into the ball game, as 1,000 yard runner Reggie Bush and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jake Long were both unable to play due to knee and arm injuries, respectively. Bush’s 5.0 yards per carry was the highest average among 1,000 yard rushers this season.

Fourth year running back, Steve Slaton, replaced Bush and had 55 yards on 11 carries. The Jets had the upper hand on the ground with 129 combined yards in comparison to only 82 for the Dolphins. LaDanian Tomlinson made history yet again, as he passed former Steeler great, Jerome Bettis, for 5^th on the all time rushing list with 56 yards on the day.

A 44 yard Dan Carpenter field goal gave Miami an early 3-0 lead with 9:31 remaining in the first. Mark Sanchez responded with a one yard play action touchdown pass to tight end Justin Keller to put the Jets ahead 7-3 with just under 6 minutes in the quarter. The drive covered 77 yards in 8 plays.

Unable to take advantage of an Antonio Cromartie interception later in the quarter, the Jets defense would nonetheless hold Miami at bay and allow their offense to extend the lead to 10-3 with a 31 yard field goal late in the second quarter. Safety Brodney Pool’s interception with 25 seconds remaining in the half set the Jets up at their own 45, giving them a chance to take a two possession lead before entering the locker room.

A crucial interception by defensive lineman Randy Starks quickly erased Matt Moore’s interception. Miami suddenly cut the lead to 10-6 with a 58 yard field goal as time expired. It was an atrocious first half passing-wise. Sanchez and Matt Moore had a total of just 106 yards while throwing the 3 interceptions.

Miami took their first lead of the game in the 4^th with a record-setting drive. It was the longest possession of the season in regards to both time and amount of plays. The Dolphins went 94 yards downfield in 12 minutes and 29 seconds. A one yard 3^rd and goal touchdown pass to Charles Clay on the 21^st play put them ahead 13-10 with 10:27 remaining in regulation.

“I didn’t realize how long it was,” said Moore. “It was unbelievable, just a great job on everybody’s part.” Not since 1993 had the Jets given up a drive consisting of 21 plays. A 41 yard field goal made the score 16-10 Miami with 7:11 left to go following another Starks interception of Sanchez.

New York moved the ball all the way down to the Miami 10 on the next possession, but Sanchez’s third interception of the afternoon cost them mightily. Linebacker Marvin Mitchell recorded the pick and returned the ball back to the Jets 36. Miami tacked on another field goal to take a two possession lead, 19-10 with 2:32 on the clock.

Brandon Marshall sealed the win for the Dolphins with an onside kick recovery after a late Jets touchdown. Receiver Santonio Holmes appeared to quit on his team and was benched during the drive. This marked the first time in 95 career games where he did not record a reception.

New York finishes the season at .500 and goes into the offseason with several unanswered questions concerning their leadership and identity. The Dolphins now know what they’re capable of, winning 6 of their final 9 after an 0-7 start.

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Aside from having to call a timeout before ever running an offensive play and losing safety Jim Leonhard to a potential season-ending knee injury, the New York Jets got exactly what they needed on Sunday. The team won an easy game over the Kansas City Chiefs and got help from the rest of the N.F.L. as Cincinnati, Oakland, and Tennessee all lost, putting the Jets in control of their playoff destiny with three weeks remaining.

Aside from the timeout, the Jets offense came out firing and never stopped. For the second straight game, the Jets offense scored on their first drive and put up 30+ points, cruising to victory over the Chiefs 37-10 to move into the final wild card spot. Mark Sanchez became the first quarterback in Jets history to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns.

The Jets have been slow starters all season rarely scoring in the first quarter let along their first drive, but were able to rebound after an inexcusable timeout was called due to the wrong personnel being on the field at the start of the first drive. They scored 28 points in the first half and the defense dominated the hurting Chiefs holding them to just four total yards in the first half,

Sanchez finished the game 13 of 21 for 181 yards before Mark Brunell came in to finish the game. Shonn Greene led the way on the ground rushing for a season-high 129 yards and a score while catching three balls for 58 yards. LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes caught touchdowns from Sanchez and the Jets won their third straight improving to 8-5 overall and 6-1 at home.

Tyler Palko got sacked five times and finished 3 of 8 for 11 yards in the first half and 16 of 32 for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception. During the worst part, the Chiefs got flagged five times for 81 yards during the Jets’ final touchdown drive. One of the flags was on head coach Todd Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“That generally gets you beat,” said Haley, who wouldn’t elaborate on what he said to the officials. “The one thing we can’t do is lose our composure on calls.” Sanchez capped the first drive with a one-yard touchdown run and the Jets never looked back. He finished an 11 play, 77-yard drive to set the tone for the rest of the game.

After Leonhard made an interception, was injured, then carted off the field, Sanchez found Greene for 36 yards. Two plays later, Sanchez found Holmes for a four-yard strike to make it 14-3.Greene’s seven-yard touchdown run gave the Jets a 21-3 lead and Tomlinson made it 28-3 less than two minutes later on a screen pass from Sanchez near the end of the half.

The Chiefs’ lone scoring drive came when Jerheme Urban caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-10, but the Chiefs didn’t have much else to smile about. Sione Pouha finished things off by tackling Jackie Battle for a safety late in the game.

New York is now in control of its destiny with only three weeks left in the season. They travel to Philadelphia to face the Giants and finish up on the road against Miami. Kansas City heads back home to face the undefeated Packers, and then finishes the season with games against Oakland and at Denver.

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With their backs to the wall in the midst of a three game tailspin, the Jets needed a win in “the worst way” against the winless Dolphins on Monday Night just to stay relevant in the NFL playoff race. They got the win, but it wasn’t too convincing. However, ask the Jets and they’ll tell you its fine as long as it wasn’t another loss.

With the Dolphins knocking at the door, threatening to jump out to a 10-0 lead early in the first, Darrelle Revis ran back the first of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown and helped kick start the Jets to do just enough to get a win at home. The Jets were sitting at a 2-3 mark coming into the game with a ton of turmoil going on in the locker room.

“Anytime you lose three games straight, you’re going to lack some confidence,” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. “You’re going to start to question yourself a little bit.” However, the Jets did nothing to prove that they’ve turned things around, getting off to yet another slow start with their first four possessions ending in three-and-outs for the second straight game.

The Jets didn’t get their 1^st first down until 6:17 left in the half. Sanchez, while not playing a great game, was serviceable. He found Holmes for a 38 yard touchdown on a crossing pattern early in the fourth quarter. Sanchez finished 14 of 25 for 201 yards 1 TD and another touchdown coming on the ground when Sanchez ran a QB draw 5 yards for the score.

Shonn Greene had another decent outing rushing for 74 yards on 21 carries. The Dolphins came to town just in the nick of time for gang green, but they have a much better opponent in the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, coming into town next week with a bye following. For the Dolphins, they drop to 0-5 and this season is beginning to look like 2007 when they went 1-15.

Fans are hoping for no wins so they can get Andrew Luck in next years draft, but the heat for this seasons is falling on Tony Sparano. He didn’t help his cause by designing a game plan that had Matt Moore in his first start. The Dolphins were constantly throwing toward Revis’ side of the field which ended up burning them.

“It’s tough right now,” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. “When you lose, everything looks bad. It’s a nasty feeling in the building and a nasty feeling every day. The only thing we can do is fight to get a win.” Marshall didn’t even live up to the promise that he’d get ejected during the 2^nd quarter. He didn’t start a fight with Bart Scott or Antonio Cromartie like he said he might.

The Dolphins were first on the scoreboard when Dan Carpenter knocked a 23 yarder midway through the opening quarter. The Jets fumbled and lost the ensuing kickoff when a short kick bounced off blocker Garrett McIntyre and was recovered by Austin Spitler. After Daniel Thomas rushed twice for 3 yards, Moore attempted to hit Marshall in the end zone.

Unfortunately for Moore, Revis was on Marshall, stepping in front of the pass and was off to the races, making it 7-3 and turning the game right around. Matt Moore, who was in for Chad Henne, had a horrible game. He was 16 of 34 for 204 yards and two interceptions. “It’s rough, kind of the same old story, trying to find answers and make plays down there in the red zone and we seem to hit a wall,” Moore said. “Just got to keep going.”

Marshall finished with six catches for 109 yards but no touchdowns. Five of the catches and 63 of the yards came against Revis who was matched up on Marshall for most of the night. He was targeted 19 times. Reggie Bush who left in the 3^rd quarter with a neck injury had 71 yards on the ground and two catches for 7 yards.

Carpenter hit a 21 yard field goal in the early 2^nd to make it a 7-6 game, but that would be the end of the scoring for the Dolphins. The Dolphins face the Broncos at home next week before heading back to MetLife stadium for a showdown with the other New York team Big Blue.

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When reports first surfaced about there being a possible rift in the Jets locker room, the Jets organization was quick to downplay it. The report stated that the Jets’ three big-name wide receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason went to Rex Ryan to complain about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ play calling.

The Jets issued a statement 90 minutes before their game last weekend against the New England Patriots, saying the report wasn’t true and that the meeting never took place. After the game this week, all three receivers and Ryan all denied the report.

Derrick Mason has since been traded to Houston due to ‘lack of performance’, though many speculate Mason’s critical post-game comments lead to his benching during the New England game and his eventual trade. This move wasn’t popular among the receiving core and served as somewhat of a wake-up call to the rest of the Jets team, a call that Holmes clearly didn’t answer.

Santonio Holmes repeated his criticism of the offensive line. “I may be criticized again for saying it, but it starts up front,” Holmes said Thursday. “The big guys know it. If they give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes.”

While this may be a true statement, it’s not what the Jets need. Holmes, clearly frustrated after the poor and very conservative play calling against the worst ranked defense in the league, said, “The numbers speak for themselves,” he said, adding, “If you were in my shoes, what would you think?”

Guard Brandon Moore fired back on Friday. “He’s obviously got the green light to evaluate every position on the team,” Moore said. “I just didn’t think captaincy entailed that. I’ve never seen a captain do that. That’s not leading. That’s not being a leader. It actually fragments the locker room. It’s not productive.”

The offensive line is clearly ticked off and this couldn’t come at a worse time for the Jets who are in the midst of a three game losing streak. The fact that Moore said anything back, especially something critical, shows the state of the locker room. Moore is regarded as a quiet leader and is the longest tenured offensive lineman.

Schottenheimer, who’s been under a ton of scrutiny from the fans, media, and some players alike, downplayed the situation between Holmes and Moore. “The team is a family and families have disagreements.” He said the offense has “a great relationship,” expressing confidence that the players will resolve their differences.

Schottenheimer has plans to address this issue with the entire offensive unit. “Absolutely,” he said. “Whether it’s done in public or whether it’s done in private, these are things we’ll keep in-house. But this group will be ready to go Monday night, I have no questions about that.”

He’d better hope they’re ready as his job may be riding on it. While this could just be the product of a frustrated team in a tough spot, it could prove either a breaking point or the season turn-around for the team.

While Holmes is right about the play of the offensive line, going public isn’t something a leader should do. He’s never been one to shy away from speaking his mind and this is one of the reasons why the Steelers were willing to trade him for such a low cost, a fifth round draft pick. One thing is for sure, if the Jets lose to the winless Dolphins and Matt Moore on Monday night, this will be just the beginning of the team’s problems.

The Jets are on a tailspin right now, but with problems like this brewing in the locker room, they could very well be in route to crash and burn. A season that started with Super Bowl aspirations could end with a team divided and a fan base left believing that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

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After the Jets celebrated their win over the Dallas Cowboys, it was straight back to work and breaking down the tape of the game. There were some problems but least expected: issues on the the offensive line.

The O-line for the Jets has for years been a strong point of the team, but in the game against the Cowboys’ Sanchez, it was sacked four times and knocked down at least three separate times. If Sanchez is the key to the Jets run at the Super Bowl then the Jets line needs to protect him better.

After the game, Sanchez took concussion tests though he seems to be fine. However, this could turn out to be a bad omen of what might happen if he keeps taking abuse like he did against the Cowboys on a game to game basis. Ryan picked on the offensive line during Wednesday’s meeting and according to players, called out the offensive line for their poor performance.

Now, there are some factors playing into their game. For starters, this isn’t the same line it used to be. Secondly, Sanchez threw the ball 44 times. That is an extremely high number for Sanchez since the Jets are usually a ‘run first’ team. If any QB drops back that many times, he’s bound to get hit at some point.

To protect their franchise quarterback, the Jets line will have to play better — not just on pass plays. Shonn Greene only had 26 yards last week as the Jets ground and pound was pounded by Rob Ryan and his various run blitzes.

This is a line very capable of playing up to the standards the Jets are used to, however the Jets need them to actually play up to those standards if they are meant to have any hope of ending this year with a trip to the White House.

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