Jets 20 Dolphins 6: Into the Win Column

The Jets have their first win of 2016. They will not join the 2008 Lions as the only winless teams in recent NFL history as some pundits predicted, and they will never be in serious danger of doing so. The Jets beat the Dolphins 20-6 today at MetLife Stadium, and the score probably understates the way the Jets dominated their rival from Florida. If not for a cosmetic touchdown on the last play of the game, the defense would have pitched a shutout. What went right? Let’s discuss it.

The Good

Demario Davis: Davis might have been the worst Jet through two weeks, but he might have been the best player on the field in Week 3. He was all over the place, shooting gaps, flying to the ball, making plays in coverage. This wasn’t just an improvement over the first two games. For this afternoon, Davis was the player the Jets always hoped he would develop into during his first stint. He finished with 12 tackles, and this week’s tackle output was much closer to telling the story than was his monster statistical game in Buffalo two weeks ago. I think we are probably too deep into his career to have hopes he has turned a corner, but a stellar afternoon derserves praise.

Jamal Adams: The rookie did a bit of everything. If you need to cover a tight end one on one, Adams is there. If your corner gets lost tracking a deep pass and you need somebody to break it up, Adams is there. If you need a sack, Adams is there. His impact on this defense right now seems like it goes well beyond what you see on the stat sheet.

Darryl Roberts: Roberts seemed to be getting extending playing time, and he made the most of it. He was solid in coverage, read the ball in the air well, and made a number of tackles to minimize gains.

Steve McLendon: On the first watch, I thought McLendon did a nice job anchoring the line and winning his assignments.

Terrence Brooks: He had a pair of interceptions. The first came when he read a fake punt. It’s a good day when you record an interception in two separate phases of the game.

David Bass: He recorded a sack in his Jets debut, and it felt like he was constantly in the backfield.

Josh McCown: McCown obviously isn’t that great of a quarterback, but every now and then he has a big game in him. He was generally locked in today and on time with his throws while spreading the ball around. Whenever you average over 10 yards per attempt, it is an excellent day at the office.

Robby Anderson: Anderson’s 69 yard touchdown in the second quarter broke this game open, and it was all about him smoking Alterraun Verner at the line of scrimmage. Anderson could have had a monster statistical day had McCown not underthrown him on an earlier deep shot to the end zone where there was a window.

Lachlan Edwards: He had several booming punts in this game and averaged 46 on the day.

The Bad

Brandon Shell: Shell earned plenty of praise for his work on Khalil Mack last week, but he fell back to earth today. He had responsibility for two sacks and probably should have been called for a holding penalty that he got away with. Through his early career, the Jets have offered a lot of help to Shell in their scheme. I wonder whether the need to send Dakota Dozier help today might have left Shell with more than he could handle.

Morris Claiborne: I don’t think this will look like a horrible day on the stat sheet, but it easily could have been. He seemed to get a little lost on the ball Adams broke up, and he was also beaten in the end zone on a throw that was only late because Jay Cutler was pressured.

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I don’t know that today’s game means all is well for the Jets, but with all of the negativity surrounding this team, it is going to feel nice to have a victory week ahead.