It has been a long time since a running back has been the star of the game for the Miami Dolphins. But on Sunday in the Dolphins 31-24 win over the New York Jets it was veteran running back Duke Johnson who clearly was the star of the day rushing for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught a pass for 20 yards.
The most impressive part of Johnson’s performance was the heart and toughness he showed while running the ball. The diminutive 5’9” 210-pound RB did his best Derrick Henry impersonation battling for extra yards, making something out of nothing on many runs and stiff-arming multiple defenders to extend several plays.
Some of the credit for Johnson’s success must go to the oft maligned offensive line, who had their best game of the season by frequently opening holes for the Fins running backs. Overall, Miami ran for 184 yards on 42 carries for a 4.4 yard per carry average. Fellow RB Myles Gaskin, who missed most of practice this week due to a positive Covid test, also had a solid game with 54 yards on 10 carries.
120 of Miami’s rushing yards came in the 2nd half which allowed the Dolphins to control the clock and helped lead to Miami’s three 2nd half touchdowns.
The Dolphins defense also showed up in the 2nd half holding the Jets to just 54 total yards, three 1st downs and zero offensive points after halftime.
And the 2nd half dominance was needed as Miami came out flat in the 1st half. Maybe it was some rust due to coming off their bye week. Maybe they didn’t take the Jets serious enough. Or maybe the Jets deserved some credit for playing their best 1st half of the season, as it was their 1st time all year leading at the half.
New York took a 7-0 lead after their 1st drive of the game covered 83 yards in 10 plays consuming 6:04 of time. The drive was a perfect combination of passes and runs that was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Braxton Berrios on a play that originally called for Berrios to throw the ball, but the receiver had fallen down. It was the 1st of several trick plays the Jets tried during the game.
On the 1st play of Miami’s next drive quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a terrible interception when he missed an open DeVante Parker. This resulted in the Jets kicking a 27-yard field goal to put them up 10-0 with 4:30 left in the 1st quarter.
The Dolphins went three & out on their next drive and their first 3 drives resulted in 7 yards on 7 plays, zero 1st downs and a turnover.
Miami turned things around on their next drive, though, as they went 68 yards on 8 plays covering 4:01. A pass to Parker put the ball at the 2-yard line after which Johnson ran the ball in to bring the Fins within 3 points.
The Jets came right back with a long drive of their own covering 69 yards that consumed 7:30 and was capped by a 1-yard QB sneak by Zach Wilson. Fins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel assisted the Jets on the drive by committing a careless roughing the passer penalty that gave the Jets a 1st down at their own 45-yard line.
With 1:59 to go in the half, Miami reduced the Jets lead to 17-10 on a 24-yard Jason Sanders field goal. It capped a 14 play 69-yard drive that lasted 7:30.
The 2nd half was all Miami, though. The Fins defense gave the Jets offense no room to breathe as Wilson was under constant pressure getting sacked 5 times. Meanwhile the offense controlled the clock rushing for 120 yards with Tua also throwing 2 touchdown passes.
Miami tied the game on their 1st drive of the 2nd half with a 6-yard Johnson TD run capping a 78-yard drive.
The Miami defense sacked Wilson twice on the next drive forcing them to punt. The Dolphins then went on a 12 play 58-yard drive that consumed 6:35. It was finished off by a 1-yard TD pass from Tua to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who had lined up at fullback. This gave Miami their 1st lead of the game at 24-17 early in the 4th quarter.
The lead was short lived however, as Tagovailoa threw a pick 6 with 7:52 to go in the game. Tua telegraphed the pass to tight end Hunter Long and Jets defensive back Brandin Echols who took the pass 20 yards the other way for a touchdown to tie the game.
But Tua quickly shook off the interception leading Miami on a 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by an 11-yard TD pass to Parker on a quick slant. It gave the Dolphins a 31-24 lead with 3:43 to go in the game.
The Jets still had 2 more opportunities to score, but the 1st drive was 3 & out with the 2nd drive stopped on downs as a 9-yard pass to Keelan Cole came up a yard short of a 1st down at the Jets 46-yard line.
After 2 kneel downs, Miami had their 6th straight win to even their record at 7-7.
Other key takeaways from the game were:
- Jets safety Elijah Riley left the game on Miami’s 1st drive of the 2nd half with a neck injury after colliding with a teammate. Riley laid on the field for several minutes before being carted off the field.
- Jerome Baker had 2 of Miami’s 6 sacks. The other 4 sacks were credited to Emmanuel Ogbah, Brandon Jones, Van Ginkel and Zach Sieler. Sieler’s sack resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Ogbah. Ogbah also knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage in the 4th quarter.
- In addition to Tua’s 2 interceptions, Miami also had a turnover on special teams as the snap on a fake punt to Clayton Fejedelem in the 4th quarter appeared to surprise Fejedelem as the snap hit him right in his face mask. The Jets got the ball at Miami’s 46 yard line, but were then forced to punt.
- Miami controlled the time of possession 34:22 to 25:38 and had 23 1st downs to the Jets 16.
- The Jets rushed for 102 yards on 24 carries with only 37 of the yards coming after halftime.
- Tua went 16-27 for 196 yards with 2 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions. He also ran 7 times for 19 yards including a 9-yard run where he lowered his shoulder and bowled over the Jets defender. Tua was sacked only once as the Fins O-line had a strong overall game.
- Wilson finished 13-23 for 170 yards with no TD passes or interceptions. He ran 4 times for 12 yards with a touchdown.
- Miami had 5 penalties for 45 yards while the Jets had 3 penalties for 32 yards.
- Miami’s 6 sacks resulted in 44 yards in losses.
- Fins punter Michael Palardy had another strong game averaging 53 yards on 3 punts.
- Parker led Fins receivers with 68 yards on 4 catches and a touchdown. Mike Gesicki had 5 catches for 43 yards while Isaiah Ford had 3 receptions for 51 yards.
- Wilkins certainly had a good time celebrating his touchdown. After doing a Hard Rock leap into the stands he put forth an excellent version of The Worm in the endzone. I’m sure you’ll see it on a few highlight reels.
I’ll be curious to see how Miami utilizes Duke Johnson next week, as Gaskin should be fully recovered from Covid and it’s possible Phillip Lindsay will also be active, who played very well in his only Dolphins appearance a few weeks ago. I assume there will be some version of a running back by committee, but after today’s performance, Johnson deserves to be the first man up.
Miami kept their playoff hopes alive with the win, but they have a tough road game next Monday night in New Orleans vs. the Saints who are fresh off a 9-0 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday night. New Orleans is also 7-7 and battling for a playoff spot.
