A not-so-pretty win is still a win, and the New York Jets will take it.
The Jets’ offense was flat for a quarter and a half, and the special teams group made an early blunder, but the defense stood stout throughout – and scored – until Mark Sanchez got things going on his side of the ball in New York’s 24-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins Monday night.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak to bring the Jets (3-3) back to .500, while Miami fell to 0-5 on the year. New York will host the San Diego Chargers Sunday before going on the bye week, and the Dolphins are slated to host the Denver Broncos.
“It feels good, feels great, just getting a win at home, in front of our friends and family, good for this team,” Sanchez said. “It’s just we needed. We’re back on track.”
New York didn’t get its initial first down until late in the second quarter. The Jets, however, went on to move the chains 13 times. Sanchez finished the game 14-for-25 for 201 yards with a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.
“I was really proud of the way the offensive line protected the quarterback,” Jets coach Rex Ryan told the New York media after the game. “Mark [Sanchez] stayed in there for a couple of those big plays. He hung in there and made some huge throws down the field.”
Miami was immediately on scoring ground and about to go up at least 6-0 in the first quarter after recovering its own kickoff following a Dan Carpenter field goal, but Darrelle Revis flipped the field when he intercepted Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore at the goal line and took it the other way for six.
Revis had another pick later in the game and made a big play on a Moore pass during the Dolphins’ first red zone trip to keep Brandon Marshall from grabbing a would-be touchdown.
That was huge,” Ryan said of the pick-6. “Anytime you can turn a red zone interception into points, that's a huge play. That was a great matchup between Brandon [Marshall] and Darrelle. The kid's a heck of a receiver. It was a great matchup, and I thought Revis did a tremendous job, especially in the red zone for us.”
Sanchez scored New York’s other touchdown on a quarterback draw.
Moore went 16-for-34 for 204 yards and the two picks, and Dolphins running back Reggie Bush amassed 71 yards on 10 carries, including a 36-yard scamper. Teammate Daniel Thomas picked up 47 yards on 15 attempts.
Shonn Greene led the Jets on the ground with 74 yards on 21 attempts, and teammate LaDainian Tomlinson had seven rushes for 25 yards.
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