Week 15 Game Recap: New York Jets 20, Miami Dolphins 24

What you need to know

New York Jets

The Jets came into their last road game with a record of 0-7 on the road this year and their inability to stop big plays and their ineptitude when it came to holding onto the ball, led to a winless road record this season. Brooks Bollinger actually had a good game passing for 327 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

His favorite target was Doug Jolley who also had a huge game as he caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on a 60 yard pass after the safety fell down to give the Jets a seven point lead in the third quarter. Cedric Houston looked good running the ball and he was a big part of the offense gaining 84 yards on the ground and 40 yards in the air. Laveranues Coles caught their other touchdown in the second quarter on a four yard pass from Bollinger and he finished the day with four catches and 53 receiving yards.

David Barrett made a big interception just before halftime to put the Jets in position to tie the game, and they did. However, that was the only big play they made the whole game, as the defense allowed Miami to make big plays when they needed them and their offense turned the ball over three times on fumbles, which either gave the Dolphins great field position or killed a big New York drive.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins came into this game as one of the hottest teams in the league on a three game winning streak, and they were able to extend it to four when Sage Rosenfels came into the game at the beginning of the second half, leading them to a come from behind victory for the second time in three weeks after they fell behind in the third quarter. He threw for 99 yards in the game, and hit Marty Booker on a 50 yard touchdown pass to put the Dolphins up for good.

Booker’s big touchdown catch gave him a team leading 65 yards on only two receptions. Chris Chambers continued his touchdown tear as his first reception of the game was a touchdown to put the Dolphins up early. He finished the day with only four receptions for 34 yards even though he was targeted nine times.

The duo of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown seemed to wear the Jets defense down as Williams was able to score the game tying touchdown with a 23 yard run in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 70 yards and averaged five yards a carry. Ronnie also looked sharp carrying the ball but finished the game with only 45 rushing yards.

Even though the Jets gained almost 100 yards more than the Dolphins and the Dolphins had more penalties, their defense was able to create and recover three fumbles which was a big difference in the game. The Dolphins two star defensive players made their presence known as Zach Thomas was all over the field with six tackles and five assisted tackles. Jason Taylor had half of the Dolphins six sacks and finished with five tackles and two assisted.

What you ought to know

QB Brooks Bollinger, Pass: 28 - 42 - 327 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 10 - 0

For a team that has had problems at the quarterback position, Bollinger had a big day in terms of numbers. He opened with a very nice play fake on the first play of the game completing a 12 yard pass to Justin McCareins, but the Jets went three and out shortly after that. He hit Coles in the second quarter for a four yard touchdown before halftime. He went into halftime completing 11 of his 16 passes for 132 yards. In the second half, he found Doug Jolley repeatedly and one was for a 60 yard touchdown that put the Jets up by seven points at that point. He continued to air the ball out and finished with 327 yards and no interceptions. He gave the Jets a great chance to win even though they did not take advantage of his great play.

RB Cedric Houston, Rush: 15 - 84 - 0, Rec: 4 - 40 - 0 (4 targets)

Houston was able to run the ball up the middle on the Dolphins with the longest run of his career in the first quarter for 17 yards, but the drive ended in a missed field goal attempt. He continued to run well breaking tackles in the red zone. He finished with 84 yards on 15 carries and also caught four passes for 40 yards.

RB B.J. Askew, Rush: 4 - 5 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets)

Askew only rushed for five yards and caught one pass for 11 yards.

RB Jerald Sowell, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Sowell only caught two passes for nine yards in the game.

WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 4 - 53 - 1 (8 targets)

Coles caught a four yard touchdown pass just before halftime to put the Jets to within three points. The Jets were able to pass on the Dolphins defense, and he was targeted nine times and finished with four catches for 53 yards. Besides the touchdown, his biggest play was a 24 yard reception in the fourth quarter to set up a Mike Nugent field goal.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (9 targets)

Cotchery caught an 11 yard pass just before the end of the second quarter to give Nugent a chance at a 42 yard field goal to tie the game He was targeted nine times but ended up with four catches for 44 yards in the game.

WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 2 - 57 - 0 (6 targets)

He only ended up with two catches, but one was for a 45 yard reception that put the Jets in the red zone, however they were unable to capitalize on a muffed field goal hold.

TE Doug Jolley, Rec: 9 - 102 - 1 (10 targets)

Jolley fumbled the ball in the Jets 42 yard line early in the game to give the Dolphins great field position. He made up for it with his first touchdown as a Jet with a 60 yard reception from Bollinger after the safety fell down on the play. He went on to have a career day as he was targeted ten times and finished the day with nine receptions for 102 yards. He looked to be Bollinger’s favorite target as he threw him the ball when he wasn’t sure where to throw.

NYJ Rush Defense

The Jets rush defense had a difficult time stopping the combination of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. They allowed Ricky Williams to score from 23 yards out to tie the game, and they did not look good as he broke quite a few tackles. The Dolphins rushed for a combined 128 yards, but more importantly, the Dolphins were able to rush when they wanted and the Jets really couldn’t stop them. Erik Coleman led the team with six tackles and one assist.

NYJ Pass Defense

The Jets brought pressure early on Frerotte and it paid off as the Dolphins went three and out after two short runs and an incompletion. It did not last long though, as Miami jumped out to a ten point lead and Sage Rosenfels was able to hit Marty Booker for a 50 yard touchdown pass after he beat double coverage in the fourth quarter. The Jets gave up a combined 175 passing yards, and even though they were able to record an interception, they were unable to make big stops when they needed them. Lance Legree had the only sack in the game and David Barrett had the only interception in the game.

QB Sage Rosenfels, Pass: 6 - 13 - 99 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0

Rosenfels started the second half after Frerotte left the half clinching his right wrist and once again showed the Dolphins that he is more than a backup quarterback as he led them to another come from behind victory. After Ricky tied up the game, he found Marty Booker for a 50 yard touchdown pass that put the Dolphins up seven points, giving them the lead for good. He completed six of his 13 passes for 99 yards and did not throw any interceptions.

QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 8 - 16 - 76 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0

Frerotte continued his connection with Chris Chambers early with an eight yard touchdown to put the Dolphins up by seven with about four minutes left in the first quarter. He went into the half after completing half of his passes for 76 yards and an interception. He did not start the second half and was seen on the sideline with an ice pack wrapped around his right hand.

RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 14 - 70 - 1, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (2 targets)

Williams had a nice run as he waited for his blockers and scored a 23 yard touchdown to bring the game to a tie and swing the momentum back into the Dolphins favor. He and Ronnie Brown continued to make the running back by committee work as they pounded the ball through the Jets defense. He finished with 70 yards averaging exactly five yards a carry.

RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 12 - 45 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets)

The combination of Brown and Williams worked well early as they both ran the ball for first downs on the Dolphins second drive which ended in a touchdown pass to Chambers. Ronnie ran off the field holding his knee after a tackle, but he continued to play in the game. He finished with 45 yards on 12 carries and caught two early passes for 11 yards.

WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 4 - 34 - 1 (9 targets)

Chambers continued his touchdown tear with a touchdown on his first catch of the game to give the Dolphins a seven point lead. He was targeted nine times, but actually ended the game with four catches for 34 yards.

WR Marty Booker, Rec: 2 - 64 - 1 (7 targets)

Booker dropped a possible touchdown, but it was a tough catch and he was covered well. He made up for it when he beat double coverage for a 50 yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to put the Dolphins up by seven points. He had one other reception for 15 yards, but was targeted seven times.

WR Wes Welker, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (2 targets)

Welker, who has come up big for the Dolphins on third down plays this year, caught a beautiful 19 yard pass between three defenders to get the Dolphins offense going again. He did not make any more catches for the rest of the game.

TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (7 targets)

McMichael went into halftime with four receptions for 42 yards leading the team with the most yards. He briefly left the game after a hard hit, but it did not hamper his play for the rest of the game. His longest reception was for 19 yards which set up a 32 yard field goal by Mare. He ended the game with seven targets, but did not make any more catches after halftime.

MIA Rush Defense

Zach Thomas was all over the field and was hitting people hard throughout the whole game. He finished the game with six tackles and every single one sounded like it hurt. Channing Crowder left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return, which hampered the run defense a bit. Cedric Houston was able to run the ball for 84 yards on only 15 carries and the Dolphins seemed to find it difficult to tackle him.

MIA Pass Defense

The Dolphins brought pressure on Bollinger early and it resulted in a few tipped balls and an early Jason Taylor sack. They continued to put pressure on the quarterback, but they were burned for a 45 yard reception by Justin McCareins and a 60 yard touchdown pass to Doug Jolley. The secondary was porous as Brooks Bollinger had a career day throwing for 327 yards and two touchdowns. It seemed to be all or nothing for the Dolphins defense as they actually recorded six sacks, and three of them were by Jason Taylor.