The Dolphins lost running back De’Von Achane to a rib injury in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Jets, but their rushing attack didn’t miss a beat without him.
Miami rolled up 239 rushing yards and cruised to a 34-10 win at MetLife Stadium. It is the fourth straight win for the Dolphins and they are now 6-7 heading into a Week 15 date with the Steelers.
Achane managed to run seven times for 92 yards and a score before leaving the game. Jaylen Wright picked up the baton with 24 carries for 107 yards and a score while rookie Ollie Gordon also found the end zone as the Jets couldn’t find an answer on defense all game.
The victory is the first for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in eight starts in temperatures under 46 degrees and he is now 7-0 against the Jets in his career. He threw a touchdown to Jaylen Waddle to open the scoring and then pretty much just handed the ball off for the rest of the afternoon. Former Jet Zach Wilson ran out the clock in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins scored two touchdowns on their first eight offensive plays and then turned a Tyrod Taylor interception into a third score in the first quarter. Taylor left the game with a groin injury a short time later, which led to Brady Cook’s regular season debut and the undrafted rookie struggled to move the offense for most of the afternoon.
Cook was 14-of-30 for 163 yards and a pair of interceptions. He was picked off by cornerback Rasul Douglas in the end zone to end a promising drive late in the first half and threw another to Ethan Bonner in the end zone in the final moments of the game. Justin Fields was not active on Sunday due to knee soreness and the coming days will bring word on what the Jets plan to do at quarterback against the Jaguars next Sunday.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said this week that his team is playing the Jets not the weather and they are handling both just fine through 30 minutes of play at MetLife Stadium.
The Dolphins scored touchdowns the first three times they had the ball and held the Jets without a first down for most of the first half of Sunday’s game. The result is a 24-7 halftime lead for a team riding a three-game winning streak.
De’Von Achane had one of those three touchdowns, but he left the game in the second quarter with a rib injury. The Jets had a serious injury of their own when quarterback Tyrod Taylor departed with a groin injury. Undrafted rookie Brady Cook took over as the quarterback — Justin Fields is out with a knee injury — and threw an interception late in the half to kill the Jets’ best offensive scoring chance.
The only Jets points came on a 78-yard punt return by Isaiah Williams and one of their two first downs came on a pass interference penalty by Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. They get the ball to start the second half, but a 17-point deficit may be too much to overcome given the circumstances.
The Dolphins have a comfortable lead over the Jets, but they have lost a key player to an injury.
Running back De’Von Achane went to the locker room in the second quarter. He has a rib injury and the Dolphins are calling him questionable to return.
The Dolphins may not need Achane to close out another win, however. Riley Patterson hit a field goal shortly after Achane left the game and the Dolphins lead the Jets 24-7 with less than two minutes to play in the first half.
Achane has seven carries for 92 yards and a touchdown to go with one catch for 13 yards on Sunday.
The Dolphins have won three straight games and they are well on their way to a fourth.
Running back Jaylen Wright ran for a two-yard score with 3:39 left in the first quarter to put the Dolphins up 21-0 on the Jets. The score was set up by an interception by linebacker Tyrel Dodson that gave the Dolphins the ball inside the 30-yard line.
The Jets returned to the field with a new quarterback. Rookie Brady Cook made his NFL debut with a handoff to running back Breece Hall after Tyrod Taylor went to the locker room with a groin injury.
Justin Fields is inactive with a knee injury, so it could be Cook the rest of the way in what’s shaping up to be a long day for the Jets.
The chilly weather in New Jersey was no problem for the Dolphins on their first offensive possession.
It took them four plays to cover 69 yards and take a 7-0 lead over the Jets. The touchdown came on a three-yard Tua Tagovailoa throw to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Tagovailoa delivered the pass despite taking a hit from behind by Jets defensive lineman Jowon Briggs.
The Dolphins got a 21-yard run from Waddle on an end around and running back De’Von Achane went for 39 yards on the next play to set up the touchdown.
Miami is 0-7 in games started by Tagovailoa that kicked off with the temperature under 46 degrees, but they’ve never lost to the Jets with the quarterback in the lineup.
