Miami opened its season finale by scoring the first six points of the game, but ultimately lost 32-20 to the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
The defense sparked Miami’s first goal. On the Jets’ first offensive play from scrimmage, safety Jevón Holland deflected a pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers that was caught by linebacker Tyrel Dodson, marking his second interception in the last two games and his third catch of the season.
Kicker Jason Sanders finished Miami’s ensuing drive with a 26-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 3-0 lead with 11:46 left in the first quarter. Both defenses came away with stops on their next three possessions, leading to Miami’s longest scoring streak of the game.
Starting at their own 14-yard line, Miami drove 76 yards on nine plays – including a 61-yard run by running back De’Von Achane – and ended the drive with a 28-yard field goal from Sanders to end the first quarter. .
The Jets had a strong second quarter after Miami won the first 15 minutes of action. Touchdown runs of 79 and 39 yards, both capped by passes from Rodgers, gave the Jets a 15-6 halftime lead.
Following a Miami fumble on their first drive of the second half, the Jets expanded their lead to 18-6 with a 20-yard field goal from kicker Greg Joseph to end a 10-play drive and 47 yards.
Trailing by two possessions, the Dolphins responded with a 14-play, 78-yard drive that took up 7:23 of game time. During that scoring drive, quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 5 of 7 passes for 53 yards. Achane, who finished the night with 11 carries for 121 yards (11.0 average), had the 15-yard rushing touchdown to bring the Dolphins within five of the Jets’ lead with 14:12 left in the fourth quarter.
That marked the start of a four-game possession streak in the final quarter.
After a Jets touchdown, Miami responded with another touchdown. Huntley found tight end Jonnu Smith in the end zone for a four-yard score with 5:21 left in the fourth. This gave Smith his eighth receiving touchdown of the season, which is the most tight ends in franchise history. He now holds the franchise single-season record for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end.
The Jets extended their lead once again with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that gave New York a 12-point lead with 2:30 to play.
On the night, Huntley completed 25 of 41 passes for 227 yards (61.0%), one touchdown and two interceptions, adding three carries for 16 yards (5.3 average).
Achane’s 121 rushing yards was a season high and the most he had in a game since Week 5 of the 2023 campaign. Smith led all pass catchers with a season-high nine receptions. game, for 56 yards (6.2 on average) and a score. Rookie receiver Malik Washington caught four passes for 48 yards (12.0 avg.) and added three kickoff returns for 122 yards (40.7 avg.), including a game-high 67-yard return. career in the second quarter. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle added four receptions for 44 yards (11.0 average), while wide receiver River Cracraft added a season-high four receptions for 38 yards (9.5 average).
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler ended a very productive 2024 campaign with six tackles, two quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks. Defensive tackle Calais Campbell recorded a sack of his own, while linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah added a 0.5 sack.
The Dolphins won six of their final nine games of the year, finishing the season with an 8-9 record after a 2-6 start.
