The New York Jets finally played a complete game tonight and basically destroyed the struggling Miami Dolphins, 41-14. Two Jets' running backs, LaMont Jordan and Curtis Martin, ran for over 100 yards, as the Gang Green amassed a total of 275 yards on the ground. QB Chad Pennington added three touchdown passes to complete the sweep.
Although it didn't look all that pretty at the beginning, as the New York Jets punted on five of their first six possessions. But when the offense struggled, it was the defense that led the way to this astounding victory. In the first quarter S Reggie Tongue recovered a fumble close to midfield and just three plays later Pennington delivered a perfect 35-yard touchdown strike to WR Wayne Chrebet, giving the Jets their first lead of the game.
The Dolphins tied the contest in the 2nd quarter, but the Jets just weren't going to let this game slip away. On the next Jets' possession that lasted less than four minutes the running game finally came alive. First, it was Curtis Martin who carried the ball 4 times for a total of 30 yards, and then LaMont Jordan added 14 more on just one carry. Finally, Pennington connected with WR Justin McCareins on yet another perfect touchdown strike, as the Jets took a 14-7 lead.
PK Doug Brien added three more points right before halftime and the first half ended with the score 17-7 in favor of the Jets.
The second half quickly turned into a rout, as the Jets scored on their first two possessions, making the score 31-7. First, Curtis Martin scored on a 25-yard TD run, his 7th of the season. And on the next possession Pennington found TE Chris Baker in the end zone on an easy 1-yard TD pass.
The final stats looked simply astounding - 472 total yards for the Jets, 275 of them on the ground. The Dolphins gained only 259 yards, only 78 on the ground. The Jets' defense forced three turnovers - one fumble and two interceptions, and also sacked Jay Fielder 4 times.
Rookie MLB Jonathan Vilma led the team with 9 tackles (7 solo) and 0.5 sacks. FS Jon McGraw recorded 8 tackles (7 solo) and added an interception. DT Jason Ferguson had the team best 1.5 sacks. DE John Abraham recorded a sack and now leads the NFL with 8.5 on the season.
On Sunday the New York Jets will go on the road to take on the 2-5 Buffalo Bills. The kickoff time is at 1:00 PM EST.