NFL Recap (Miami-NY Jets)
Posted: Sun October 4, 1998 at 6:15 p.m. EDT
NY JETS 20, MIAMI 9
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The law of averages finally
sided with the New York
Jets against quarterback Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins.
The defense, victimized so many times by Marino's late heroics, held
the Dolphins to 55 total yards over the first three-and-a-half quarters,
while running back Curtis
Martin keyed the offense with 108 yards and a touchdown to propel the
Jets to a 20-9 win, knocking Miami from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Marino, who entered the game with 7,699 yards and 67 touchdowns for
his career against the Jets (2-2), was held to 121 yards and one score on
13-of-31 passes. Miami (3-1) was constantly stuffed and frustrated by the
Jets' defense until Marino led a desperate 74-yard drive that ended in his
two-yard scoring toss to tight end Troy Drayton with 5:42 to
play.
"On first and second downs, they were bringing their safeties up to
the line of scrimmage, making it very difficult to run the ball," said
Marino. "They just played a lot better than us; we knew what they were
going to do, we just did not do our jobs."
"We got a win against a divisional team and we are 2-2 in the
division," said Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn. "That is
more important than stopping whoever the quarterback was. It doesn't
matter what has happened in the past we won this game."
But New York stomped the life from the Dolphins with an 11-play,
68-yard drive that consumed almost the next five minutes. Martin had an
11-yard run on that drive, which culminated with a 25-yard field goal by John Hall with 48 seconds
to play.
The Jets, who have recorded both their victories against AFC East
opponents, snapped a four-game losing streak to Miami and held the Dolphins
to their lowest point total in the 63-game series since a 23-7 victory in
1985.
"I would not have liked to be 1-3 obviously," noted Jets coach Bill
Parcells. "It was kind of a defensive battle out there for a while. I
thought our defense played well out there, as well as it has in a long
while. We made a couple of plays offensively and defensively."
After catching just one pass in the first three games, 34-year-old Keith Byars was used
extensively out of the backfield and caught six passes for 71 yards. He
became the all-time receptions leader among running backs and has 591 over
a 13-year career.
"It feels good," said Byars. "It is a long time coming and I have a
lot of people to thank for that. Actually the quarterback on the other
sideline helped me get here and it would have been just as nice if he could
have thrown it to me.
Dolphins running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar was
held to 16 yards on nine carries as the Dolphins failed to convert their
first 10 third-down attempts.
Both teams played solid defense in the opening quarter as there were
three first downs in the first six possessions. But Miami was able to get
a 46-yard field goal from Olindo Mare in the final
minute of the first quarter, capping a seven-play, 33-yard drive.
The Jets, however, caught a huge break on the ensuing kickoff. Leon Johnson had a 37-yard
return to the New York 40, but a clipping penalty on Dolphins running back
Bernie Parmalee moved
the ball to the Miami 45.
Martin was invovled on eight of the 10 plays on the drive, highlighted
by a four-yard gain on 3rd-and-3 where he broke a tackle before getting the
needed yards. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde capped the
drive with a 10-yard pass to Keyshawn Johnson as the
two executed a fade route to the deep right corner of the end zone, where
the 6-3 Johnson looked the ball into his arms over 5-9 cornerback Terrell Buckley.
"He is a great back and that is why the Jets brought him in," said
Dolphins linebacker Zac Thomas about Martin. "He's been playing well and
did a real good job today. We are 3-1 and that is nothing to panic over.
We were not going to go undefeated, this is the NFL, everyone loses. You
just can't make a habit of it."
New York extended the lead to 10-3 on a 47-yard field goal by Hall
with 22 seconds left in the first half. That drive was kept alive by a
26-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Patrick Surtain, who
negated an interception by safety Brian Walker on the play.
In the second half, cornerback Victor Green picked off a
pass by Marino at the Miami 43. After two passes from Testaverde to
Johnson netted 16 yards, Testaverde scrambled five yards and hit Keith
Byars on a rollout to his right for 16 yards on a 4th-and-1, giving the
Jets the ball at the Miami 6. Martin burst in from five yards on a draw
play on third down, pushing the lead to 17-3 with 3:33 left in the third
quarter.
Miami had just three first downs and 43 yards in the first half and
did not have a first down in the second half until a pass interference call
on rookie defensive back Kevin Williams gave the
Dolphins a 1st-and-10 at their own 32.
Marino finally got untracked, hitting Oronde Gadsden for 25 yards to
the New York 32 and connecting with Parmalee with a 20-yard pass over the
middle on a 3rd-and-10. The two hooked up again for an 11-yard pass on
4th-and-10 to the New York 1 before Marino used a play-action fake to find
Drayton all alone in the left side of the end zone.
But Mare tried to run in the extra point for a two-point conversion,
only to be swarmed well short of the goal line.
Testaverde, starting his second straight game for the injured Glenn Foley, completed
19-of-32 passes for 185 yards as the Jets outgained Miami, 289-153 overall
and 117-34 on the ground.
"The offensive line did a great a job," said Martin, who has 252 yards
in his last two games. "The Dolphins have been doing a great job of
stopping the rush. They did a great job of allowing me to run up the
middle. We knew coming into the game that to beat Miami you had to control
the ball. We knew that meant having some kind of ground game today."
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