Jets' offense looks much the same with Tim Boyle in rout by Miami Dolphins
Christian Wilkins of the Miami Dolphins sacks Tim Boyle of the New York Jets during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The NFL’s first Black Friday game produced another dark day for the Jets — and another humiliating moment.
The quarterback change from Zach Wilson to Tim Boyle did nothing to alter the offense’s fate, but it did set the stage for the quintessential play that summed up this sorry Jets season.
Boyle launched a Hail Mary pass with two seconds left in the first half that Dolphins safety Jevon Holland picked off at the 1 and returned 99 yards untouched for the touchdown. That could only happen to the Jets.
The embarrassing play was just part of another embarrassing loss. The Jets dropped their fourth straight game, falling to the Dolphins, 34-13, at MetLife Stadium.
“I’m not like a hopeless positive person,” Garrett Wilson said. “It [stinks]. Everything about this season has been tough. No one said it’s going to be easy. But nothing’s been easy.”
The season started with playoff expectations and Super Bowl dreams for the Jets when Aaron Rodgers was healthy, but four plays into the season, he wasn't healthy anymore.They dropped to 4-7 and are heading toward their 13th consecutive season without making the playoffs.
“I don’t look too far ahead,” Sauce Gardner said. “We got more urgent things we got to stay focused on.”
Such as winning a game. Or staying competitive. The Jets have lost their last two games by 47 points.
This ugly performance also featured defensive lineman Micheal Clemons being ejected in the third quarter for making contact with an official. It seemed to be incidental as it came during a skirmish after the extra point that put the Dolphins up by three touchdowns. Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson also was ejected for throwing a punch.
The Jets totaled 159 yards of offense with Boyle running it —- four more than last week against Buffalo — and scored a garbage-time touchdown against the AFC East-leading Dolphins (8-3).
“We got to try to erase this one and figure out how the hell we’re going to make sure this doesn’t spiral downwards any more than it already is,” Tyler Conklin said. “We got six games. It’s an opportunity go try to win six. We got to figure some things out.”
Boyle, who made his first NFL start since Jan. 2, 2022, completed 27 of 38 passes for 179 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked seven times. Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 44 yards and recorded his first touchdown pass since Week 2, a 1-yarder with 4:37 remaining that made it 27-13.
Tua Tagovailoa was 21-for-30 for 243 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Raheem Mostert rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a 34-yarder that capped the scoring. Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 114 yards and Tyreek Hill caught nine passes for 102 yards, including a 7-yarder for a touchdown.
The Jets trailed 17-6 at halftime, and their lone score was a defensive touchdown. Brandin Echols picked off Tagovailoa’s first-down pass and returned it 30 yards for the touchdown with 58 seconds left to make it 10-6 (the usually reliable Greg Zuerlein missed the extra point).
Suddenly the Jets had life, even more so when D.J. Reed intercepted Tagovailoa before going out of bounds at the Jets' 49 with two seconds to go.
Their life was gone quickly after one of the most improbable yet predictable plays anyone will see this season.
Boyle’s last-second heave went the other way for a pick-6, with Holland zig-zagging to avoid tacklers. It stomped on whatever momentum the Jets thought they had and demoralized them.
“Let’s throw it at the end zone and see what happens,” Wilson said. “It goes so wrong, man. It goes so wrong. That’s one of them things where I feel like it can describe a lot of things.”
Robert Saleh took responsibility for calling the Hail Mary rather than taking a knee. Breece Hall said he “was surprised” by the decision. The Jets were trying to be aggressive, which is hard to fault considering how everything has gone for this team.
“I didn’t feel like I got enough on it, but just trying to give our guys a chance,” Boyle said. “I’ve never really seen or been a part of anything like that.”
Few have.
“Just a very unfortunate play at the end of the half when we felt like we had captured momentum,” Saleh said. “It took away the momentum that we built.”
The Dolphins’ lead grew to two touchdowns on the first series of the second half when Jason Sanders kicked a 54-yard field goal to make it 20-6. They added to that when Mostert scored on a 13-yard run five seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Jets' offense finally got something going on the next series. Boyle led a 17-play drive that ended with him being picked off for the second time on a batted pass in the red zone. This time it didn’t result in any crushing return.
The damage already had been done.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Jets trailed 10-6 with two seconds left in the first half when Tim Boyle tried a Hail Mary pass from his 49-yard line. The Dolphins’ Jevon Holland intercepted it at the 1-yard line and weaved through the entire Jets offense en route to a 99-yard return for a touchdown that made the score 17-6 at halftime.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
