By Byler Henry
Since 1966, the Dolphins and Jets rivalry has been intense. There’s something about beating your rival twice a year that ignites the competitiveness and causes you to bring your a game. On Sunday, the Dolphins edged out a win 13 to 6 against the rival Jets. It was a tough, defensive low-scoring contest.
The Dolphins’ defense showed up to play Sunday, holding the Jets to six points the entire game. The defensive line was able to get pressure on Sam Darnold sacking him four times, while the backs were able to intercept him 4 times. “The whole point is to get off the field. Obviously, pressure is great. You want to get the guy, whoever has the ball, off his rhythm, off his spot, maybe mess up the timing, all that.” Cameron Wake says. “At the end of the day, third down, you want to get off the field. Sacks are a good way to get that done. We got good pressure today. Again, everybody doing their job and as you see, statistics are usually spread out amongst other guys – pressures, hits, sacks, all that. Again, you must play together as one and you know, and all the stuff will come to you.” Darnold was out of rhythm completing 21 of 39 passes (54%) for 229 yards. Jerome Baker was able to return one for a touchdown, while Kiko Alonso, Walt Aikens, and T.J. McDonald intercepted the other three passes. Jerome Baker offers his insight on how the defense was able to bounce back and have a better game, “It means everything. When we just execute and do our jobs and play together, we can be one of the best defenses out there,” he says. “We’re just happy to be back in our Dolphins defense and I’m grateful.”
The defense carried the team, while the offense struggled a bit. Brock Osweiler was starting for the injured Tannehill, and he had an average game completing 15 of 24 passes (63%) for 139 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. The rushing game struggled as well, with Frank Gore rushing for 53 yards and Kenyan Drake rushing for 9 yards and no touchdowns combined. The offense must find a way to score against the Packers next week. With their record now 5-4, they are still at number 2 in the AFC East behind the Patriots who are now 7-2 sitting at number one. It seems the Dolphins are in contention for the number 6 spot fighting along with the Bengals. As the season gets closer to the end, we can better predict the playoff standings. It looks as though the Patriots still will win the AFC East. The Dolphins toughest remaining games are another rival game against the Pats at home this time, and the Vikings on the road. With seven more games to go, the Dolphins can’t afford to lose too many more games, especially with the Chargers (6-2) and the Bengals (5-3) also fighting for the wildcard spots.
