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| CAR at NO | CHI at HOU | CLE at PIT | DAL at PHI | DEN at SD | DET at GB | JAX at BAL | KC at CIN |
| MIA at NYJ | NE at BUF | NYG at MIN | OAK at TB | SEA at ARI | STL at ATL | TEN at IND | WAS at SF |
Week 17 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 24, New York Jets 17
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
The Dolphins came into the final week needing a win to capture their first division title since the 2000 season. On the mistake free arm of Chad Pennington, they did just that, rolling up over 300 yards of total offense and controlling the clock in a seven point road win. Pennington posted his ninth game without throwing an interception as he threw for 200 yards and hit Anthony Fasano and Ted Ginn for the Dolphins only two offensive scores of the game.
On the ground Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams moved the ball, combining for over 100 yards on the ground and showing all sorts of versatility out of their Wildcat package. Through the air, Miami was able to move the ball and sustain drives thanks in part to their trio of Ted Ginn, Anthony Fasano and Davone Bess. They combined for 149 yards on 11 grabs and were able to hit pay dirt in the second and third quarters. The speedy Ginn led all receivers with 71 yards on only two catches including a beautiful 44 yard touchdown grab in the back corner of the end zone.
Defensively, Miami kept finding ways to be successful, forcing the Jets into turnovers and capitalizing on them. They scored ten points off of turnovers, including a big interception return for a touchdown by rookie defensive end Phillip Merling, who broke up a screen pass and proceeded to rumble 25 yards for the score. On the day they forced four turnovers in total as they sent their division rivals packing and marched into the post season, winning the AFC East for the first time since the 2000 season.
| New York Jets |
The Jets needed a win to close out their season and keep their playoff hopes alive in 2008. Faced with a familiar foe, New York came out swinging and scored quickly to open up the second quarter. It was all downhill from there as Brett Favre, playing in what could amount to his last game in the NFL, threw three interceptions as the Jets fell to the Miami Dolphins by seven points.
Favre finished the day completing 20 of 40 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown in the loosing effort. He found Laveranues Coles, who led the Jets in receiving, for a 13 yard score early in the second quarter. Coles finished the game with 88 receiving yards and was the lone bright spot through the air as no other Jet caught more than four balls or surpassed 50 yards receiving.
On the ground, New York found success but traded in the ground game to let Favre air it out. Leon Washington continued his explosive success, rushing 10 times for 60 yards and the only other offensive touchdown for the Jets. Workhorse running back Thomas Jones, started the game however became ineffective in his limited touches, gaining only 23 yards on 10 carries as he became a non factor as the game wore on. Washington's 10 yard touchdown run came in the third quarter, as he found a hole and burst towards the goal line, putting the Jets on top by three.
In the end, the defense was called upon to stop Pennington and company, which they could not do. They only recorded one sack on the day and were outscored in the second half, as Miami moved the ball down the field with ease, controlling the clock when it mattered most. They allowed 319 yards of total offense and a completion rate of 70 percent as they saw their playoff hopes come to an end in front of a sold out home crowd.
What you ought to know
| QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 22 - 30 - 200 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Chad Pennington led the Dolphins by doing what he does best, playing mistake free football. He was insanely accurate as he threw for an even 200 yards while tossing two touchdowns and no interceptions. He found ten different receivers and did what he needed to do to put points on the board and keep the Jets defense on the field. Both of his touchdowns came on perfectly placed passes in the corner of the end zone.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 11 - 57 - 0, Rec: 4 - 15 - 0 (4 targets) |
Brown was held in check for most of the game as he only totaled 57 yards on 11 attempts. He helped moved the chains through the air as he caught all four of his targets for 15 yards. Brown saw his usual time out of the wildcat package taking direct snaps under center.
| RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 10 - 50 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Williams had a solid performance sharing the backfield with Brown, totaling 50 yards on ten carries and hauling in one catch for three yards. He ran well and still looked to have fresh legs late in the season.
| RB Patrick Cobbs, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Cobbs was used in the wildcat package mostly as he saw two targets, catching both of them for 14 yards.
| WR Davone Bess, Rec: 6 - 39 - 0 (9 targets) |
Bess saw a team high nine targets and managed to haul in six of them for a slender 39 yards. He worked underneath and helped Pennington and the Dolphins move the chains and sustain long drives.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rec: 2 - 71 - 1 (4 targets) |
Ginn made the most of his limited looks as, getting separation down field and catching two passes for 71 yards and a 44 yard score. He beat his man deep as Pennington floated a beautiful touch pass to the corner of the end zone.
| WR Brandon London, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
The young receiver saw limited action in three wide sets, seeing two targets and caught one ball, good for ten yards.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 3 - 39 - 1 (3 targets) |
Fasano was also able to do a lot with a little as he hauled in all three of his targets for 39 yards and a touchdown reception of 20 yards. Pennington was clearly looking Fasanos' way often, however he was forced to battle tight coverage all game long. His touchdown grab came on a beautiful sideline route as he managed to get two feet in bounds for the six.
| PK Dan Carpenter 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Carpenter banged home a big 48 yard field goal to put the Dolphins up seven late. He also converted on all three PAT tries.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Dolphins rush defense did an excellent job bottling up Thomas Jones in his limited carries, however had no answer to the quick and tough running style that Leon Washington threw at them. They allowed less than 100 total rushing yards on 21 carries as they gave up a score to Washington in the third quarter. The lock down rush defense forced the Jets to throw 40 times as they found themselves trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
| MIA Pass Defense |
The Dolphins pass defense stepped up and made the plays as the Jets clearly took to the air in trying to win this game. They hurried Favre all game, failing to record a sack but forcing him into three interceptions, one returned for a Dolphins touchdown. They kept Jet receivers in front of them and did not get beat deep in coverage as they clinched their first division title in eight years.
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 20 - 40 - 233 - 1 TD / 3 INT |
Favre put up another poor outing completing an even fifty percent of his passes and throwing three interceptions. Throwing for 233 yards against a physical Miami defense, Favre started out well hitting Laveranues Coles for a 13 yard touchdown in the second quarter. The adjustments caught up to him as he followed that up with an interception which was batted and caught by Phillip Merling and returned for a 25 yard touchdown. This was a clear momentum shift in the game and gave Dolphins a visible confidence.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 10 - 60 - 1, Rec: 6 - 29 - 0 (8 targets) |
Washington received a heavier workload and proved he can handle it as converted 16 touches into 89 yards and a score. He ran well and was a dual threat out of the backfield, catching six passes. His touchdown run came on a tough ten yard run as he used his speed and open field moves to punch in New York's second touchdown of the game.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 10 - 23 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones was keyed and shut down for most of the game, gaining only 23 yards on ten carries as well as being obsolete in the passing game. He found no room to run as the Jets were clearly more effective with Leon Washington working out of the backfield.
| WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 4 - 88 - 1 (6 targets) |
Coles saw six targets and converted a 12 yard reception into the first six points of the game for New York. He led the Jets with 88 receiving yards despite being targeted a mere six times in total and showed good speed as he gained good yardage after the catch.
| WR Chansi Stuckey, Rec: 4 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) |
Stuckey saw five targets in late action as he managed to grab four of them for 50 yards. He was used to move the ball late in the game as New York lined up with three and four wide receiver sets, trying to move the ball downfield for a tying score.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 2 - 41 - 0 (8 targets) |
Cotchery, like two of his teammates saw a high of eight targets but was only able to grab two balls for 41 yards. He was targeted often by Favre however most passes were thrown enough off target to fall incomplete.
| TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (8 targets) |
Keller's eight looks led New York but he was only able to grab two balls for 24 yards against a Miami defense who was very physical off the line of scrimmage. He was used on intermediate routes however was defended well and had a few balls thrown off the mark his way.
| PK Jay Feely 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
Feely connected on his only field goal attempt of 28 yards.
| NYJ Rush Defense |
The Jets rush defense buckled down, limiting the Dolphins to short runs while bottling up the wildcat package for most of the game. Combined on the ground they allowed a shade over four yards per carry and managed to keep both Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown out of the end zone. With their backs against the walls, this defensive front did everything they could to keep themselves in the game, limiting the big play and forcing Miami to score through the air.
| NYJ Pass Defense |
The pass defense was again less than stellar, as they allowed ten different receivers 200 yards of offense and two scores through the air. Allowing Chad Pennington to pick them apart with short passes and in turn keeping the chains moving, the Jets were unable to stop Miami through the air, which ultimately sent the Jets packing to end their 2008 season.