It wasn't pretty, but the Miami Dolphins remain in the heart of the AFC playoff race following a come-from-behind 16-13 win over the New York Jets on Monday night. Our takeaways:
- Just win baby. The Dolphins managed just 291 yards of total offense, but hung around long enough to let the Jets bury themselves. Ryan Tannehill recovered from a poor overall performance to lead Miami on the go-ahead field-goal drive late in the fourth. Reshad Jones sealed the deal by picking off Geno Smith on the ensuing possession. The Dolphins are in the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC as they reach the final quarter of the season.
- When we say the Jets tried to hide Geno Smith, we mean they literally tried to hide Geno Smith. He wasn't even announced with the rest of the offensive starters during pregame introductions, an "only the Jets" decision surely meant to protect the passer from the wrath of the home crowd. Then the game started. Smith had just eight pass attempts at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter and finished the game 7 of 13 for 65 yards and the doom-clinching pick. Was this Rex Ryan hitting back at Jets management that reportedly pushed Ryan to turn back to Smith over Michael Vick?
- This was the version of Tannehill that had Joe Philbin pondering a quarterback change in October. The quarterback struggled with accuracy all night, repeatedly missing open receivers. He threw one pick and would have had two more if Jets defenders didn't stone-hand two gimmes. Give Tannehill credit for leading Miami to the go-ahead score, but this was a forgettable performance.
- Things started promisingly for the Jets, who built a 10-0 lead by bullying the Dolphins in the trenches. New York ran 23 out of 24 plays at one point, including 14 straight. They went into the half with 210 rushing yards on 29 carries. Things changed in the second half, when Miami smartened up, loaded up the box and dared Ryan to trust Smith. He didn't.
- The Jets' quarterback and secondary woes get most of the blame for a lousy season, but don't sleep on special teams. Outside of the typically solid Nick Folk, this unit has struggled in the post-Mike Westhoff era. We saw four penalties, a blocked punt and two Folk misses here. Meanwhile, big return runs remain almost entirely absent, even with the addition of Percy Harvin.
- Chris Johnson is still alive. The veteran running back delivered a turn-back-the-clock performance, posting his first 100-yard performance since Dec. 29, 2013. Johnson looked fresh, which makes sense considering he entered Monday with just 92 carries all season.
- Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace gets paid too much money -- $882,352.94 per week, to be exact -- to not pull in that slightly errant would-be touchdown throw by Tannehill in the third quarter. He needs to be better on a team that lacks offensive weapons.
- Remember Eric Decker? The Jets don't. He was barely targeted despite a one-on-one matchup with R.J. Stanford, the Dolphins' fifth right cornerback this season. We'd be depressed, too.
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