Dolphins-Jets Week 12 Complete Observations

Checking out the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 34-13 victory in their Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium

Here's what caught our eye during the Miami Dolphins' 34-13 victory in their Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday:

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which was led by rookie running back De'Von Achane, who aggravated his knee injury early in his return against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.

-- Also inactive was guard Robert Jones (knee injury), along with WR Robbie Chosen, CB Eli Apple, and WR Chase Claypool, along with Skylar Thompson again serving as the emergency third quarterback.

-- Wide receiver Braxton Berrios (hamstring), guard Robert Hunt (hamstring) and tight end Durham Smythe (ankle) all were active after missing the Raiders game with injuries.

FIRST QUARTER

--The Dolphins, as they seem to do every game, won the coin toss and elected to defer.

-- The Jets got a first down on their initial drive when Zach Sieler jumped offside on third-and-2, but that was it. It should be noted that Tim Boyle completed a pass that would have gained the first down anyway.

-- Jaelan Phillips easily shed the block of right tackle Max Mitchell on an ensuing second-and-10 and dropped Breece Hall for a 2-yard loss that set up a third-and-12 that the Jets (not shockingly) wouldn't able to convert.

-- Even with Hunt active, it was Liam Eichenberg who again got the start at right guard.

-- Eichenberg was involved on the Dolphins' first offensive play after Raheem Mostert was dropped for a 4-yard loss because he was on the receiving end of a head butt that got the Dolphins a free 15 yards.

-- Stop us if you've ever heard this one before, but Tyreek Hill made an opponent for trying to cover him one-on-one when he got behind D.J. Reed for a 35-yard completion.

-- Hill later converted a third-and-2 when he took a quick throw from Hill and gained 17 yards to the Jets 12.

-- Tua got a nasty gash on his right biceps after scrambling for 1 yard on third-and-3 from the 5.

-- Tua threw a perfect soft lob in the right corner of the end zone on fourth down over CB Sauce Garnder, but Hill dropped the ball.

-- Failing on fourth down here was not a big deal for the Dolphins because the chances of the Jets offense marching 95 yards for a touchdown are pretty darn slim.

-- And so it was that the Dolphins defense pitched a three-and-out, with Phillips almost getting a safety on first down when he had Boyle in his grasp in the end zone before the quarterback just tossed the ball in the direction of a receiver.

-- The Dolphins got the ball back at their own 44 to start their next drive and Jeff Wilson Jr. got the carries on this one.

-- The best one was a 14-yard gain over right guard thanks to a nice lead block from fullback Alec Ingold.

-- The Dolphins had a third-and-1 from the Jets 20, but again chose to throw for it, except that linebacker C.J. Mosley sniffed out a short throw to Durham Smythe and caused an incompletion.

-- On fourth down, Mike McDaniel decided to take the points and Jason Sanders gave Miami a 3-0 lead with a 38-yard field goal.

-- On the first play of the next drive, Breece Hall dropped a pitch from Boyle on a run and the result was a 5-yard loss.

-- For good measure, the first quarter ended with a false-start penalty on the Jets' inept offense, setting up a third-and-15 to start the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

-- After stopping the Jets again on third down, the Dolphins got the ball back and started at their own 40 after a nifty 18-yard punt return by Braxton Berrios.

-- The Dolphins converted three third-down situations on the drive, all on Tua completions. The last was a 20-yarder to Jaylen Waddle that snuck in between defenders.

-- Props to the offensive line for giving Tua good to great protection on every throw.

-- On second-and-goal from the 7, Hill lined up in the backfield and was too much for safety Jordan Whitehead after catching a quick throw from Tua, and the result was a touchdown that made it 10-0 for the Dolphins.

-- The Dolphins again forced a three-and-out after Phillips batted a pass on first down and Christian Wilkins sacked Boyle on third-and-3.

-- That was sack number 5.5 for Wilkins, setting a career high in a contract year (good timing!).

-- The Dolphins had to punt for the first time the next time they had the ball after Tua was sacked for a 9-yard loss when his receivers didn't get open quickly and Michael Clemons and Solomon Thomas got to him.

-- That came two plays after a quick 13-yard completion at the numbers to Waddle, one of the Dolphins' go-to plays.

-- It was yet another stop for the Dolphins defense around the two-minute warning, with Kader Kohou dropping Hall for no gain on a third-and-1 from the Jets 31.

-- The Dolphins got the ball back with 1:05 left and the Jets got some life on the first play when Tua lofted an outside throw to Braxton Berrios but Brandin Echols stepped in front to make the easy pick and return it for a 30-yard touchdown. The missed PAT left the score 10-6.

-- On the ensuing kickoff, Andrew Van Ginkel was flagged for holding to negate a nifty return by Berrios.

-- Tua came back with three consecutive completions, but he then was picked off again, this time by D.J. Reed at the Jets 49 with 2 seconds left.

-- And the Jevon Holland picked off Tom Boyle's Hail Mary at tne end of the half and he zigzagged his way to the end zone for a crazy 99-yard touchdown that restored the Dolphins lead to 17-6 and probably ended the game.

THIRD QUARTER

-- The Dolphins got the ball to start the second half and all it took was a long completion to Waddle to get into field goal range.

-- That 32-yard pick-up came when Waddle got behind Sauce Gardner in one-on-one coverage on a play where the Dolphins would have gotten a first down anyway because the Jets were flagged for illegal use of hands.

-- On third-and-4 from the Jets 30, though, Tua was forced to step up in the pocket and was sacked.

-- Sanders then hit his longest field goal of the season, nailed a 54-yard kick that made it 20-6.

-- The Dolphins, as usual, got a three-and-out on their next defensive series, thanks in large part to Wilkins' second sack of the game when he failed to bit on a mediocre play fake and got right to Boyle on a naked bootleg.

-- The punt wasn't pretty for the Dolphins, as Berrios dropped the punt (he did recover) and Julian Hill was flagged for holding.

-- Because of the holding penalty, the Dolphins began their next possession backed up at their own 8, but they embarked on a soul-breaking drive that consumed the next 9:03.

-- The Dolphins converted five third-down situations on the drive, three of which came on Tua passes to Hill (one was a shovel pass) and another on a key facemask penalty.

-- The facemask against C.J. Mosley came on third-and-10 from midfield when Raheem Mostert caught a swing pass from Tua and was met in the backfield. Instead of having to punt, the Dolphins had a first down at the Jets 35-yard line.

-- The quarter ended with a 16-yard hook-up between Tua and Hill on third-and-3.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- On the very first play of the quarter, Mostert found a hole on the right side of the line thanks to blocks by River Cracraft and Julian Hill and scored from 13 yards out to make it 27-6.

-- After running 22 offensive plays the entire game, the Jets then had the ball for 17 offensive plays on a drive that ended with a pick for the Dolphins but not before disaster struck for the Miami defense.

-- The drive included three sacks, by Jaelan Phillips, by Emmanuel Ogbah and Raekwon Davis, and by Zach Sieler.

-- The Dolphins continued to shut out the Jets on third down, but they converted two fourth-down situations to extend the drive.

-- And then on a second-and-5 from the Dolphins 24, a 1-yard completion to Breece Hall ended with Phillips staying on the field after sustaining an Achilles injury. After Coach Mike McDaniel and Phillips' teammates came onto the field to show their support, Phillips was carted off the field with what looked like a serious injury.

-- The drive ended when Xavien Howard got his hands on a Boyle pass intended for Hall and Jerome Baker got the carom for his second pick of the season.

-- The Dolphins gave the ball right back, though, because three plays later there was bad QB-back exchange between Tua and Darrynton Evans and the Jets recovered at the Miami 35.

-- The Jets cashed in on the turnover when Boyle threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to make it 27-13.

-- New York then went for an onside kick, but Duke Riley grabbed the ball for the Dolphins at the New York 46.

-- The Dolphins then gave the ball to Mostert four straight times, and he gained a first down with a 7-yard run to the left on third-and-5 and then score on a 34-yard run again through the right side — another good block by Cracraft — to make it 34-13.

-- The Jets got two first downs (both on third-down conversions) on their final drive, but it ended with a 6-yard completion on fourth-and-14.

-- The drive featured two more sacks for the Dolphins defense, by Ogbah and by Da'Shawn Hand.

-- The game ended with one kneel-down by Mike White, playing at MetLife Stadium for the first time since joining the Dolphins in the offseason.

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