Dolphins-Jets Week 12: The Five Biggest Plays
The Miami Dolphins moved to 8-3 on the season with their 34-13 victory against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday.
We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:
1. Jevon Holland's Pick-Six
If we're being honest, this play easily could be number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. That's how much he stands above everything else that happened in this game. The Jets' own pick-six less than a minute earlier had inserted some sliver of doubt as to the outcome, but it was basically ballgame after Holland got the gift of a very easy interception with no one that close to him on a Hail Mary — a rare occurrence in itself because the ball usually arrives to a crowd on those plays — and then showed with pretty nifty open-field instincts on his way to his 99-yard touchdown. There really can't be a bigger momentum-swinging play than that.
2. Christian Wilkins' Second Sack
It's not like the Jets offense really threatened to mount much of a threat until the score was 27-6, but if there were any remaining doubt about the outcome, Wilkins ended those when he dropped Tim Boyle for a sack on the Jets' first drive of the second half to help force a punt.
3. Tua's 20-Yard Completion to Waddle
The Dolphins led only 3-0 before Tua's touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill early in the second quarter and it was made possible by three third-down conversion on the drive. The biggest came on third-and-6 from the Jets 28-yard line when Tua was given a lot of time to throw and he eventually found Jaylen Waddle open near the sideline and got him the ball in traffic for a 20-yard gain.
4. Jason Sanders' 54-Yard Field Goal
Jason Sanders' kick extended the Dolphins' lead to 20-6 on their first drive of the second quarter, but it was bigger than merely adding three points to lead. Beyond the intangible of watching Sanders nailed a long-distance a field goal, we should remember that a miss here would have given the Jets the ball at their own 44-yard line and maybe that field position would have provided the spark they needed (probably not, but who's to say for sure).
5. The Facemask Penalty
If there was a soul-crushing drive in this game, it was the one that spanned the third and fourth quarters and saw the Dolphins go 92 yards over 9 agonizing minutes for the Jets. But that drive would have ended around midfield after Raheem Mostert was met in the backfield after catching a pass on third-and-10, only to have linebacker C.J. Mosley get his hands on his facemask for a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down.
