Back in Week 6 of the NFL season, the Miami Dolphins headed north to play the New York Jets, a game that did not go so well for the visitors. Later today, the Dolphins host that same Jets team. It's time to take a look back at that first game.
The Dolphins were coming off their bye week, and were sitting at 0-4, trying to find a way to right their season. Meanwhile, the Jets were 2-3, having just lost three straight games, and reeling in the defense of their two straight AFC Championship game appearances.
Maybe kmb8488's opening sentence to his game recap story, Miami Dolphins at New York Jets: Say Hello to 0-5, retells how this game went best:
"I'd like to kick things off here with a sincere apology to anyone who actually sat through the entire game last night Instead of participating in a fun activity such as carving pumpkins with your kids or checking out network television's abysmal fall line-up, you were treated to the real-life version of The Walking Dead on Monday Night Football."
This game found Brandon Marshall, despite his pledge to be "a monster," dropping multiple passes in the end zone and allowing Darrelle Revis, who Marshall was abusing early in the game, to get his game back. Revis ended up with a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown, while Marshall never found pay dirt.
Marshall's play was so incredibly frustrating that even his inexplicable fall out of bounds when running down the field didn't seem all that out of place. Marshall ended the game with 6 catches for 109 yards, but all around, he was just disappointing.
But, Marshall wasn't the only problem the Dolphins had during Week 6. The Miami defense got destroyed in the second half of the game. They held the Jets to just 100 yards of offense, before letting Shonn Greene have his way in the second half. Other than Koa Misi and Karlos Dansby each finding Mark Sanchez for a sack, the defense really did not accomplish much during the game, and the 24-6 score reflected it.
In fact, the only bright spot for the Dolphins was running back Reggie Bush. Bush only got the ball 10-times, but tallied 71 yards. Coming into the game, Bush had been the worst starting running back in the league, averaging just 4.0 yards per carry. Since that explosion, Bush has moved his average up to 5.0 yards, and a season total of 1,086 yards- giving him the highest yards per carry of any 1,000 yard rusher this year, or of anyone who has carried the ball 200 or more times.
Unfortunately, the Dolphins will have to find running success from rookie Daniel Thomas instead of Bush, due to a knee injury Bush suffered near the end of last week's Patriots game.
The one good thing about this look back is, this isn't the same Dolphins team that the Jets will be facing this week. Since that game, the defense has awakened, and the offense really has become explosive. Hopefully, even without Bush, the team can continue that trend and bring home a win in the season finale.
With that win, the Dolphins can send linebacker Jason Taylor into retirement on a high note, while also keeping the Jets from making the playoffs this year for the first time since 2008.