Dolphins-Jets Week 15 Halftime Observations

Checking out the key moments from the first half of the Miami Dolphins game against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium

Here's what caught our eye during the first half of the Miami Dolphins'Week 14 game against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium.

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which obviously was led by wide receiver Tyreek Hill out with his ankle injury and joined on the sideline by cornerback Xavien Howard and safety Jevon Holland.

-- Also declared inactive was OLB Jason Pierre-Paul, along with the two players ruled out Friday, guard Robert Hunt and safety DeShon Elliott. Skylar Thompson was designated as the emergency third quarterback.

-- The Dolphins did have active offensive linemen Terron Armstead and Liam Eichenberg, both listed as questionable Friday, as well as rookie running back De'Von Achane.

FIRST QUARTER

-- For the first time since Week 3, the Dolphins lose the coin toss and the Jets defer.

-- The Dolphins start on offense with Eichenberg indeed starting at center and open with two screens to Jaylen Waddle, who fakes out CB D.J. Reed in the open field to turn a short gain into a 13-yard pick-up.

-- The run on the drive goes nowhere as Mostert is dropped after a 1-yard gain.

-- Tua has a nice 23-yard completion downfield to Waddle on second-and-9 from the 47, but Austin Jackson is flagged for a blatant holding penalty when he's caught holding a jersey. Making matters worse, Waddle goes straight into the medical tent after sustaining an upper-body injury on the play.

-- Achane does some really tough run-after-catch work after yet another screen pass on third-and-18, but he's stopped at midfield, 6 yards short of the first-down marker and the Dolphins punt.

-- The Jets got a first down on its drive, but this was about Bradley Chubb and some quick redemption (click on the Five Biggest Storylines story below).

-- On a second-and-5 run play, Chubb meets Breece Hall in the backfield and drops him for a 1-yard loss.

-- After the Jets got their first down, the Dolphins took advantage of a breakdown on the Jets line that allowed Zach Sieler to come in free and Zach Wilson was drilled by Chubb, knocking the ball loose and Sieler recovered it at the Jets 1-yard line.

-- On his third attempt, Raheem Mostert scored from 2 yards out to set two Dolphins team records, most rushing touchdowns and most overall touchdowns in a season. More importantly, the Dolphins had a quick 7-0 lead.

-- The Jets got another first down on their next possession, but it again ended with a sudden-change play.

-- The highlight for the defense on the drive including Andrew Van Ginkel breaking up a pass intended for tight end Tyler Conklin and a third-down pass break-up by veteran cornerback Eli Apple, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch against Tennessee.

-- The Jets' attempt at a fake punt on fourth-and-4 went nowhere, and it was Christian Wilkins who led the charge to stuff up-back Ashtyn Davis and drop him for a 1-yard loss.

-- The Dolphins then steadily moved downfield with short but steady gains, but the drive stalled after some sloppy mistakes.

-- The first came when Robbie Chosen was flagged for lining up offside, negating an Achane run that would have given Miami a first-and-goal.

-- And on the last play of the first quarter, Mostert was flagged for a false start to turn a third-and-10 into a third-and-15.

SECOND QUARTER

-- After a 10-yard completion to Waddle made it fourth-and-5, the Dolphins made a good move in attempting to draw the Jets offsides to get an easy first down. When that failed, all it cost was turning a 32-yard Jason Sanders field goal attempt into one from 37 yards and he nailed it to make it 10-0.

-- The Jets went nowhere on their next possession and it again was Chubb in the spotlight as he badly beat former first-round pick Mekhi Becton off the snap and was on Wilson almost as soon as the QB dropped back for a 10-yard sack.

-- A nifty 12-yard punt return by Braxton Berrios set up the Dolphins at the Jets 49 to start their next drive.

-- The Dolphins couldn't take advantage of the great field position when Tua was sacked on third-and-3 from the Jets 42 by Quinnen Williams. This was a coverage sack because the line held up before Williams broke free from Lester Cotton.

-- It was another dominant defensive series after the Jets began the drive at their 9, highlighted by pressure causing an incompletion on second down and Zach Sieler sacking Wilson on third-and-7 after he hesitated in the pocket.

-- No more dink-and-dunking, Tua goes up top to Waddle, great route, great route, and just like it's a 60-yard touchdown and the Dolphins now lead 17-0.

-- The next Jets drive features more Dolphins pressure on Wilson, including Cameron Goode forcing an incompletion and Emmanuel Ogbah getting a sack.

-- The Jets got a first down when Apple was flagged for illegal contact on third down and should have gotten another one with the same penalty on Kader Kohou, but the refs picked up that second flag by contending that Wilson was outside the pocket at the time of the infraction, which the replay showed clearly was not the case.

-- The Dolphins put together a long drive at the end of the half, helped by a personal foul on safety Tony Adams.

-- There also was a third-and-6 conversion on a great throw by Tua to the sideline to Braxton Berrios for a 12-yard gain on third-and-6.

-- The Dolphins did catch a break when linebacker Quincy Williams dropped an easy interception when he stepped in front of Cedrick Wilson Jr. in the flat.

-- Tua had another great throw on third-and-7 with a 19-yard hook-up with Waddle on a slant before Mostert gained 12 yards on the next play and then finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 24-0.

-- The first half ended with some short completions by Trevor Siemian, who entered the game with Wilson walking into the locker room with a trainer.

-- The half, of course, couldn't end without another Dolphins sack, another one by Chubb.

-- The numbers at the half showed the Dolphins not only with a 24-0 lead but with a 197-4 advantage in total yards.

Dolphins-Jets Week 15 Five Biggest Storylines