Jets at Dolphins final score and immediate reactions

The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets kicked off the first edition of their 2016 home-and-home series on Sunday, playing in South Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium. The game featured penalty flags throughout the day, but ultimately the Dolphins were able to overcome everything, including a dropped punt attempt to come away with a third-straight and a .500 record.

Every week, we keep a running tally of our immediate reactions throughout the game. We then sum up our thoughts of the action, all of which you can find below for today’s game.

Final Score

Jets 23 - Dolphins 27

First Half Thoughts/Reactions

• Dolphins win the coin toss and defer. Jets get the ball on offense first.
• Jelani Jenkins called for pass interference on third-down. Nearly had the three-and-out.
• Byron Maxwell and Brandon Marshall starting to jaw at each other. Should be a fun game watching those two.
• Third down again. Cameron Wake gets pressure, Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambles, then laterals to Bilal Powell, who gains more. First down.
• The top-ranked 3rd-down defense is not looking so good right now. They keep forcing 3rd downs, but then allowing the conversion.
• 2nd-and-2 from inside the 10. An 11 play drive so far by the Jets. Defense needs to stand up now.
• 3rd-and-2. Fitzpatrick tries to thread the ball through Miami defenders to Marshall. Badly misses.
• Field Goal. Jets. 3-0.
• Dolphins need to clean up the third-down defense - but when one of those plays was whatever Ryan Fitzpatrick did on that scramble/lateral, I guess there is no way to plan for that.
• The Jets picked on Jelani Jenkins on that drive. Have to see if he responds.
• Jay Ajayi with the carry on first down. Loses two yards. 202 yards from history.
• Gorgeous play action roll out from Ryan Tannehill and he finds Dominique Jones for 24 yards.
• Fight! Buster Skrine called for unnecessary roughness after skirmish with Jarvis Landry.
• Jay Ajayi backing up again. Now 209 yards from history.
• Calvin Pryor called for taunting after the Ajayi loss. Free yardage for Miami.
• TOUCHDOWN!!!! JAY AJAYI FOR 20 YARDS!!!!!!! DOLPHINS 7-3!!!!!!!!

• Ajayi now 189 yards from history.
• Dolphins hold Jets to 3rd-and-12, but Andre Branch called for the worst horsecollar penalty ever. This new rule of anything on the back of the jersey thing is dumb.
• Touchdown Jets. Matt Forte for 31 yards. Jets 10-7.
• Tannehill to Jarvis Landry for 11 yards.
• Ajayi for seven yards. Now 5 carries for 19 yards. 181 yards from history.
• That was a fun first quarter.
• Ajayi with the 5-yard run for a first down. 176.
• Jarvis Landry with the incomplete pass. Bad throw, but an interesting play and one the team could use again later this year.
• Tannehill to Damien Williams for 19 yards. Now at Jets 9-yard line. Gorgeous throw.
• Ajayi for no gain.
• TOUCHDOWN! Tannehill to Jones for one-yard! Dolphins 14-10.
• Dolphins defense making Matt Forte look like Jay Ajayi.
• Dolphins hold on third-and-goal with a Ndamukong Suh pass deflection.
• Field Goal. Jets. Dolphins 14-13.
• Jelani Jenkins is in the locker room with a hand injury and is in the concussion protocol now.
• Sheldon Richardson called for unnecessary roughness after tackling Ajayi. Shoves Ajayi’s head. Another 15 free yards for Miami.
• Tannehill to Kenny Stills for 11 yards.
• Ajayi for 2.
• Williams for 1-yard loss.
• Tannehill pressured and throws it away. Now 7-for-9 on the day for 78 yards and a touchdown.
• Matt Darr on to punt. First punt of the game comes on the 6th possession between the two teams.
• Punt was muffed, but the Jets recover.
• FUMBLE! Andre Branch with the strip sack. Jets recover.
• Jets punt. Flag calls it back and re-punt. Jakeem Grant takes the re-kick 57-yards for the touchdown. But, a Kenyan Drake block in the back calls it back.
• Dolphins trying to move down field for a score before halftime.
• Penalties and sack end any chance for the drive after five plays. Miami lets clock run out.
• End of half.

Second half Thoughts/Reactions

• Dolphins to get ball to start second half.
• DeVante Parker picks up four yards on a pass from Tannehill, followed by a wheel route catch and run from Kenyan Drake for the first down.
• Ajayi for 2.
• Ajayi loses 2.
• Tannehill with tons of time, but no one able to get open. Incomplete as he tries to squeeze it to Landry low.
• Dolphins punting.
• Dolphins defense forces the 3-and-out with a good pass breakup from Kiko Alonso.
• Ajayi getting going now. Has runs of no gain, 4-yards, 12-yards, and 12-yards on the drive.
• Field Goal. Dolphins 33 yards. 17-13.
• INTERCEPTION! Jordan Phillips with the pick....and the hurdle! That’s a big man jumping over other men.

• Fist pump nullified by a penalty. Trying it again.
• Field Goal. Dolphins 29 yards. 20-13.
• Dolphins defense gets a stop on third-down, but Michael Thomas called for holding and the Jets get a first down.
• Now a pass interference call on Byron Maxwell and unnecessary roughness on Jordan Phillips - who was being shoved to the ground in front of Ryan Fitzpatrick and somehow is called for it. Phillips penalty accepted.
• Fitzpatrick lines up for the play, but then takes a knee and signals the refs that something is not right. Seem to be a knee injury. Bryce Petty coming in.
• Heading to the fourth quarter.
• Field goal. Jets 28 yards. Miami 20-16.
• Tannehill is getting beaten up right now. Seems like he is picking himself up off the ground every pass attempt.
• Dominique Jones with a 17-yard reception. He and Gray have been great options with the injuries to Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims.
• Wow. A Leonte Carroo sighting. Tannhill overthrows him deep.
• Touchdown. Jets. Should be called back for Robby Anderson being down. And review does overturn it. Tony Lippett clearly touches him as he comes down.
• INTERCEPTION! Bobby McCain with the pick in the endzone on a Fitzpatrick throw to absolutely no Jets players.
• Dominique Jones has had a good game, but he just booted that third-down pass. Hit in him in the chest and he just dropped it. Matt Darr on to punt.
• And the snap is high and Darr drops it. Jets taking over at the 18 yard line.
• Touchdown. Jets. Fitzpatrick to Jalin Marshall 18 yards. Now Jets 23-20.
• TOUCHDOWN! 96-YARD KICK RETURN FROM KENYAN DRAKE! Dolphins 27-23.

• Jets were offside on the kickoff, so they had to rekick after a long back-and-forth return from Jakeem Grant. Second kick went to Drake and he went straight up the middle for the score.
• Suh just blew up the Jets’ possession. Not a play. The possession. Forte picked up three yards, then Suh tackle Powerll as he reached the line of scrimmage, then sacked Fitzpatrick for an eight yard loss and forces a punt.
• Ajayi time, and he responds with a 20-yard run.
• Ajayi is at 23 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. Against the top-ranked defense.

Immediate reactions.

That’s .500! A three-game winning streak gets Miami back to even and looking to continue to make an impression over the next few weeks. Ajayi did not make it back to the 200-yard mark, but that was always a long shot anyway. It has never been done before for a reason, and he was up against the top-ranked defense in the NFL. Overall, there were some mistakes - too many penalties, some special teams blunders, etc. - but the Dolphins were able to overcome them and keep working their way to the win. Drake made up for bringing back a Jakeem Grant special teams touchdown by returning one for himself, and winning the game with it. Suh is a monster, and he was highly effective again. Cameron Wake looks like Cameron Wake, and Ryan Tannehill was effective, moved in the pocket, and kept the team moving.

Great game for the Dolphins, and now a chance to make this an eight game season. They head to California next for two straight games on the west coast, starting with the San Diego Chargers next week.