Week 16 Game Recap: New York Jets 13, Miami Dolphins 10

What you need to know

New York Jets

In a game played in heavy rain for the most part, the Jets punted on eight of their first nine possessions. A late field goal gave the team a narrow victory and they will advance to the playoffs with a win next week.

Chad Pennington did very little to lift the Jets in the first half, but he didn’t turn the ball over and ultimately led the team to a scrappy win. Most of his passes were for short gains, although Leon Washington turned a short pass into a 64 yard gain. Pennington completed two deep passes, the second of which went to Jerricho Cotchery for a 32 yard touchdown.

With Cedric Houston inactive, the running duties were shared between Kevan Barlow and Leon Washington. Barlow had the bulk of the carries but was ineffective. Washington gained over 100 yards in the passing game and took a short pass for a 64 yard gain to set up the winning field goal.

Laveranues Coles played, but had a quiet game. He was hurt and missed time in the second and third quarter. Jerricho Cotchery was the most heavily targeted receiver for the Jets and he responded with 50 yards and a touchdown.

The Jets’ defense played well, forcing the Dolphins to punt ten times. The run defense allowed Ronnie Brown to rush for 110 yards, but the only touchdown for the Dolphins was given up to Randy McMichael in the passing game.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins could not generate any offense in the first half of a game played in heavy rain, and they were forced to punt ten times in the game. The loss saw Nick Saban suffer his first losing season in 13 years as a coach.

Joey Harrington completed just seven passes for a total of 42 yards before being benched for the entire second half in favor of Cleo Lemon. The Dolphins improved with Lemon under center. He kept the plays simple and led the team on a 73 yard touchdown drive that was capped by a seven yard pass to Randy McMichael for the score.

Sammy Morris was the starter at running back, but Ronnie Brown returned to action after missing three games and saw the bulk of the carries. Brown was able to move the ball on the ground when the passing game was faltering and he ended the game with 110 rushing yards.

Marty Booker was inactive for the game, and Chris Chambers was held to one catch. It was Randy McMichael that ended the game as the Dolphins' leading receiver with 46 yards and a touchdown.

The Dolphins’ defense stifled the Jets’ attack in the first half and for most of the game. But Jerricho Cotchery was allowed to score on a 32 yard pass from Chad Pennington, and a long gain from Leon Washington in the final two minutes put the Jets in field goal range and cost the Dolphins the game.

What you ought to know

QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 14 - 29 - 237 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 26 - 0

Pennington did not generate much offense for the Jets in the first half, completing just five passes for a total of 41 yards. Six of the Jets’ seven possessions in the half resulted in punts. Pennington did have some success on the Jets’ third possession of the half. He found Jerricho Cotchery for a short gain and a first down, and then scrambled ten yards himself on third and three. He then threw a shovel pass to Leon Washington who broke free for a 28 yard gain. Pennington targeted Cotchery in the end zone but the pass was incomplete. The drive should have ended in a field goal try but the snap was fumbled and the kick was aborted.

Most of Pennington’s attempts were short passes, but he did throw deep on the Jets’ opening possession of the second half. The catch was made by Justin McCareins for a 42 yard gain. Pennington then targeted Jerricho Cotchery and was lucky that the pass was not intercepted. The drive stalled but Pennington led the team down the field two drives later. He converted on third and four by scrambling for a 15 yard gain, and then drew a pass interference penalty when throwing deep for McCareins. Pennington tried to find Laveranues Coles in the end zone, but threw the ball out of bounds. Facing a third and 10 at the Dolphins’ 11 yard line, Pennington completed a pass to Cotchery but Zach Thomas made a good tackle to prevent both the touchdown and the first down.

On the following drive, Pennington had even more success. He converted on third down with completions to Brad Smith and Leon Washington, and then threw deep over the middle for Jerricho Cotchery. The catch was made and Cotchery made a great effort to get into the end zone for a 32 yard score. Pennington’s longest completion of the day came on a short pass to Leon Washington who broke away for a 64 yard gain to set up the winning field goal. Pennington did not turn the ball over in the game but he was lucky not to be intercepted on more than one occasion.

RB Kevan Barlow, Rush: 18 - 36 - 0

Barlow saw most of the carries with Cedric Houston inactive for the game. He carried 18 times for a total of 36 yards and his longest run was for six yards. Barlow was stopped for a loss three times and did not have a first down in the game.

RB Leon Washington, Rush: 6 - 26 - 0, Rec: 4 - 108 - 0 (5 targets)

Washington was the starting running back for the Jets with Cedric Houston inactive, but he did not get the bulk of the carries. He turned a shovel pass into a 28 yard gain on the Jets’ third possession and had an 11 yard run up the middle on the following drive. Washington was not a factor in the running game in the second half, but he had two big gains in the passing game. The first was a 20 yard reception on third down and it kept alive the Jets’ only touchdown drive of the game. With under two minutes remaining, Washington caught a short pass and broke free for a 64 yard gain to put the team in range for the winning field goal. He ended the game with four catches for 108 yards. His only other target was thrown away by Pennington and was not catchable.

RB Stacy Tutt (1 targets)

Tutt was targeted once by Chad Pennington but could not make the catch.

RB Cedric Houston

Houston was inactive for the game.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 4 - 50 - 1 (10 targets)

Cotchery gave the Jets’ their opening first down of the game with a six yard catch on their third possession. He was targeted in the end zone on the same drive but the pass fell incomplete. He caught one other pass in the first half for a short gain. Cotchery had a seven yard gain in the half that was credited as a run after he caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage. Cotchery was the target on the Jets’ third drive of the second half when Pennington found him at the Dolphins’ 11 yard line. It looked like he might score, but a good tackle from Zach Thomas stopped him from reaching the end zone. On the following drive, Cotchery did find the end zone. Pennington threw deep over the middle and Cotchery made the reception. He struggled to keep his balance but made a great effort to get to the end zone. He was called down at the one yard line but after a challenge it was ruled a 32 yard touchdown.

WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (7 targets)

Coles started the game after being listed as questionable earlier in the week. He only made one catch for a six yard gain in the first half. Two of his targets fell incomplete after he was hit first by Travares Tillman and then by Renaldo Hill. A third pass was also knocked loose as he took a vicious hit from Zach Thomas, and Coles had to leave the game in the second quarter. Coles did return during the third quarter. He caught a pass for a three yard gain and was then targeted in the end zone on the Jets’ third possession of the half. The ball was thrown too wide and went out of bounds. Coles was making his 95th consecutive start; the longest current streak among wide receivers.

WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 2 - 47 - 0 (4 targets)

McCareins was not targeted at all in the first half, but he did see some action in the second half with Laveranues Coles missing some time. On the Jets’ opening drive of the half, Pennington threw deep for McCareins and the catch was made for a 42 yard gain. It was very fortunate as McCareins juggled the ball and wedged it against the body of the defender to regain control as he fell to the ground. McCareins was again targeted deep two drives later and drew a pass interference call for a 28 yard gain even though he was unable to make the catch. On the following drive Pennington threw an inaccurate pass in the direction of McCareins and it was almost intercepted. McCareins gained five yards on his only other target.

WR Brad Smith, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets)

Smith was targeted once in the game, making the catch for a 12 yard gain and a first down.

TE Chris Baker, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets)

Baker was targeted once in the second half and he made the reception for an 11 yard gain and a first down.

PK Mike Nugent 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

The Jets should have taken the lead in the first half when Nugent came in to attempt a field goal, but the snap was fumbled and the kick was aborted. Nugent made both field goal attempts in the second half to extend his streak to 15. He also converted an extra point.

NYJ Rush Defense

The Jets gave up 110 rushing yards to Ronnie Brown, but did not allow any scores on the ground.

NYJ Pass Defense

The Jets held Joey Harrington to seven completions for a total of 42 yards in the first half and he was replaced by Cleo Lemon. Andre Dyson was shaken up in the second half and the defense allowed Lemon to make a few plays. Randy McMichael should have been tackled by Kerry Rhodes at the two yard line, but he carried Rhodes across the line for a touchdown. The Jets managed three sacks but did not generate a turnover in the game.

QB Cleo Lemon, Pass: 11 - 16 - 104 - 1 TD / 0 INT

Lemon began the second half after Joey Harrington failed to generate much offense in the opening 30 minutes. He began badly and a pass intended for Chris Chambers was almost intercepted. Lemon was sacked on the following drive and the Dolphins had to punt. The next drive ended when Lemon completed a pass on third down, but threw the ball too short to convert for a first down. Derek Hagan was forced to come back to the ball to make the catch. Lemon kept things simple and started to settle down on the following drive. He threw completions to Randy McMichael and Wes Welker for first downs, and then went deep for McMichael for a 20 yard gain. Lemon completed the drive by connecting with McMichael yet again, and the tight end carried a defender into the end zone for a seven yard score. Lemon led the team down the field two drives later, finding Derek Hagan for two first downs. The drive stalled when a Sammy Morris reception was stopped a yard short on third and 13.

QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 7 - 15 - 42 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Harrington had a game he will want to forget. The rainy conditions did not help the passing game and he completed just seven of his 15 passing attempts for a total of 42 yards. The Dolphins had to punt the ball away on their first six possessions. Harrington was sacked on his first possession and was called for intentional grounding later in the half. He completed a 16 yard pass to Chris Chambers but none of his other completions were for more than eight yards. He threw deep for Chambers on two other occasions but the catches were not made. Harrington was benched at the half to allow Cleo Lemon to start the second half.

RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 18 - 110 - 0, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (4 targets)

Brown returned after missing three games with a broken hand. He did not start the game, but got involved on the Dolphins’ second drive. Brown was effective; gaining 65 yards on 10 first half carries for four first downs. His success continued in the second half with gains of 13 yards and 17 yards for two more first downs. Brown was able to run the ball up the middle and make defenders miss. He caught all four of his targets, although a seven yard gain was negated after a penalty for an illegal shift.

RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 6 - 14 - 0, Rec: 4 - 23 - 0 (4 targets)

Morris started the game, but saw Ronnie Brown get most of the carries as the game progressed. He made a good effort to convert on third and seven with a seven yard reception. Morris only carried the ball once in the second half as Brown found success on the ground. Morris was targeted four times and caught them all for a total of 23 yards.

RB Darian Barnes (1 targets)

Barnes was targeted once in the passing game but did not make the catch.

WR Derek Hagan, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (3 targets)

Hagan was not targeted by Joey Harrington in the first half, but saw action after the break with Cleo Lemon in the game. Hagan’s first target came on third and 13, but the pass was too short and he had to go back to make the catch and was a yard short of the first down. He was targeted twice on the Dolphins’ final drive. The first was thrown low, but he made a good catch for an 11 yard gain and a first down. The other was made on the sideline and also gave the Dolphins a fresh set of downs.

WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (6 targets)

Chambers caught the first ball thrown his way, gaining 16 yards on the play. Harrington tried to find Chambers twice more in the first half on deep throws, but both fell incomplete. Lemon only threw to Chambers twice after starting the second half, but both passes were incomplete. The first was almost intercepted and was a bad throw. Chambers ended the day with just one catch.

WR Wes Welker, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (4 targets)

Welker dropped his first target of the game to end the Dolphins’ opening drive. He made an 11 yard reception for a first down in the second half, but was hurt later in the game after taking a shot to the ribs on a deep pass that fell incomplete.

WR Marty Booker

Booker was inactive for the game.

WR Marcus Vick (1 targets)

Vick was targeted once in the game by Lemon but was unable to make the catch.

TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 5 - 46 - 1 (6 targets)

McMichael failed to catch his only target of the first half but was more involved when Cleo Lemon entered the game at quarterback after the break. On the Dolphins’ fourth possession of the second half, McMichael made four catches. He had a 12 yard gain for a first down before making the reception on a 20 yard pass. McMichael scored at the end of the drive, taking Kerry Rhodes across the line for a seven yard touchdown after being hit initially at the two yard line.

TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets)

Peelle caught his only target of the game but was tackled immediately for no gain.

PK Olindo Mare 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Mare converted a 25 yard field goal and an extra point attempt and was perfect on the day.

MIA Rush Defense

The Dolphins were able to contain Kevan Barlow and hold him to two yards per carry. Chad Pennington did have two long scrambles for first downs but the Jets were held to 95 net rushing yards.

MIA Pass Defense

After shutting down the passing game in the first half, the Dolphins’ gave up a few big plays after the interval. Michael Lehan missed an easy opportunity for an interception and the Jets found Jerricho Cotchery for a 32 yard touchdown four plays later. Jason Taylor recorded the Dolphins’ only sack of the game but the only turnover came on special teams when the Dolphins recovered their own punt after the ball touched a Jets player. Jason Taylor was poked in the eye in the second half and did not return until the final 12 minutes of the game.