Jets Squish Fish, 38-20

After a rough loss to Houston last week, the Jets looked to get back in the win column against division rival Miami Dolphins this afternoon, and coasted to a 38-20 win on the backs of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

The Jets first drive included a failed fourth down conversion on fourth and one, and the teams traded possession until New York cornerback Marcus Williams, in for concussed Darrelle Revis, picked off Ryan Tannehill in the red zone. The offense finally made a turnover count on a 6 minute, 72 yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to Marshall.

The teams went back to trading possession until the end of the half, when the Jets went 92 yards on 11 plays to score another touchdown. Fitzpatrick threw to much embattled rookie Devin Smith, who finally caught something.

Again, there wasn’t much action in the first half, but it did include some some hard hits, particularly by the Jets defense. Defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson crushed Ryan Tannehill at one point, and cornerback Darrin Walls stuck one of the Dolphins hard.

The Jets scored on their opening possession of the second half after Jeremy Kerley’s longest punt return of the year – 58 yards. After running ten yards, diving for the first down, and scaring Jets fans half to death, Fitzpatrick connected with wide receiver Eric Decker, who’d had a bit of a rough game to that point, dropping a touchdown pass earlier.

The Dolphins finally got into the end zone at the end of the third quarter on a completion from Tannehill to wide receiver Jarvis Landry, making the score 21-7 with 2:30 to go in the third quarter.

New York was able to answer on their next drive, which featured a 47 yard reception from Fitzpatrick to Marshall, and Fitz and Marshall connected again for the Jets’ fourth touchdown of the afternoon, making the score 28-7 with about 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Jets tacked on another touchdown on a 31 yard touchdown run by Chris Ivory, who was having a minimal impact on the game. He broke multiple tackles to get to the endzone, putting the Jets up 35-7 almost half way through the fourth quarter.

Miami was able to convert on fourth down on their next drive to bring the score to 35-14. The Dolphins were able to recover the onside kick at their own 45, but on the opening play of the drive, defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson sacked Tannehill and forced a fumble that the Jets recovered.

Making the most of their opportunities, kicker Randy Bullock added a field goal to bring the final score to 38-14.

Miami scored another touchdown when the Jets slacked off defensively, but didn’t complete the extra point, making the final score 38-20.

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s final stat line on the day was 22/37 for 277 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 118.9 rating.

Brandon Marshall led the Jets in receiving yards with nine receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. He was followed by Eric Decker with five receptions for 62 yard and one touchdown.

Chris Ivory led all rushers with 21 carries for 87 yards and one touchdown. Bilal Powell followed with six carries for 28 yards.

Defensively, it was a dominant performance by the Jets. In spite of the final score, Miami was never really in the game and struggled to run the ball. Buster Skrine, Calvin Pryor, and Marcus Gilchrist led the Jets with seven tackles each. Wilkerson, Richardson, and Lorenzo Mauldin all recorded sacks.

This was the first Jets season sweep of the Dolphins since 2006.

The Jets are the visitors against the Giants at MetLife Stadium next weekend. Kickoff is at 1:00.

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