MNF Fallout: Dolphins Barley Edge Out Jets

Monday Night Football was full of drama despite it being a battle between two teams that have been underwhelming this season. The New York Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins, 16-13.

The Jets came into the game at 2-10 and are clearly going no where. The Dolphins are 7-5 but are widely regarded as pretenders in the playoff race and did not do much to prove other wise by barely edging out a team as bad as the Jets.

There was drama though on the Jets side of the ball. Rumor had it that Rex Ryan was being forced by the front office to start Geno Smith so he could be “evaluated for the future.” With his own future in New York likely being a firing, Ryan only let Smith attempt to throw the ball 13 times.

For the Dolphins, not many positives can be taking away from the game other than they got the win. The Dolphins stay in the playoff hunt as they continue to hang with six other AFC teams vying for a wildcard spot. The still showed some major weaknesses.

The Jets did everything they could to lose this. They made no secret they were going to run the ball, when Smith did pass he threw an interception, Jets had seven penalties to the Dolphins three, Nick Folk missed multiple field goals and they had a blocked punt. After all that, Miami did not take the lead until the final couple minutes of regulation.

The Dolphins did manage to contain the Jets run game enough to get the win but that was about it. The Jets were clearly going to run the ball all night so the Dolphins responded by continuously stacking the box, sometimes nine deep. However, the Jets still manager nearly six yard per carry.

The Dolphins run game was virtually nonexistent. Miami’s lead rusher, Lamar Miller ran for just 56 yards on 13 carries. On passing, Ryan Tannehill completed 25 of his 35 attempts, the fifth straight game he has completed over 70 percent of his passes. In this game, though, he passed for an average of 6.7 yards per attempt. He also threw an interception and did not throw a single touchdown pass.

From a betting perspective, it is hard to put money down on the Dolphins to do anything. The Dolphins failed to cover a 4.5 point spread as favorites. The under was easily hit as it was set at 42.

We are coming down the stretch and the Dolphins may not be consistent enough to compete with the six other AFC teams vying for coveted playoff spots, that is if they do not get it together soon.