Dolphins–Jets rivalry
The Dolphins–Jets rivalry is a rivalry between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets in the National Football League. The teams both play in the American Football Conference East Division, and play two scheduled games each season as a result. They have often competed for divisional supremacy, and have played a number of classic games. Currently, the Jets lead the series 55–53–1, while the Dolphins have won the lone postseason meeting, defeating the Jets in the 1982 AFC Championship.
History
The Jets and Dolphins were established in 1960 and 1966 respectively; both as members of the American Football League. After the AFL–NFL merger in 1970 the Dolphins and the Jets were placed in the AFC East, guaranteeing that they would meet twice a year annually. The rivalry has stayed intense through the years as both teams are always competitive against one another no matter what the standings indicate. The rivalry also keeps a high intensity because of the large amount of transplanted New York Jets fans that retire to South Florida.Prior to the New England Patriots rise to dominance in the early 2000s, the Jets and Dolphins regularly contested for the AFC East title. Upon the Dolphins' joining of the AFL in 1966, the Jets were laying the seeds for their 1968 Super Bowl III victory. After the Jets Super Bowl victory in 1968, the Dolphins began their ascension to the top of the NFL, culminating back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1972 and 1973. The 1972 season also saw Miami finish with a 17–0 record; the only NFL team to finish the regular season and post-season without a loss or tie.
1966–69: AFL Days
When the Dolphins joined the AFL in 1966, the Jets were ascending the ranks of the AFL powerhouses on the arm of quarterback Joe Namath. The Jets won the first eight contests against the Dolphins beginning with the very first meeting, a 19-14 Jets win in Miami's second game of the Dolphins' existence.1970–77: Dolphins' Dominance
When the Dolphins finally posted their first winning record in 1970, injuries plagued Namath and the Jets stumbled to a 4–10 record. Due to Namath's inability to consistently stay healthy, the Jets never posted a record above.500 in the 1970s. Meanwhile, the Dolphins quickly surged to the NFL's elite after the AFL–NFL merger, peaking with the only undefeated season in NFL History in 1972 and back-to-back Super Bowl wins in Super Bowls VII and VIII.The Dolphins went 14–2 against the Jets during these seasons.
Late 1970s and 1980s
The 1978 season began a string of Jets success against the Dolphins that ran into the early 1980s. Entering the 1980 season, the Dolphins were aiming toward another playoff run, while the Jets were struggling. The Jets won a total of only four games. Two of those games were wins over Miami: 17–14 in New York on October 27, and 24–17 in Miami on December 20. Miami went on to finish with an 8–8 record, but it was the season sweep by the Jets that largely cost them their chances of a playoff berth.The mid-1980s saw both teams become simultaneously competitive for the first time, beginning with a battle for the AFC East in 1981. That season also saw the only tie in the series, a 28–28 stalemate in Miami. The game lead tied or changed on every score; in the first half Jet leads of 7–0 and 14–7 were answered by Miami touchdowns. Miami took a 21–14 lead in the third but in the fourth touchdowns by Wesley Walker and a Richard Todd pass to Bobby Jones offset a Don Strock touchdown to Nat Moore. In overtime neither team could advance the ball, ending the game deadlocked. Todd finished with 310 passing yards and four touchdowns to Strock's 279 yards and two scores.
The tie became crucial in the final standings; had the Jets won the game, combined with their 16–15 home victory during the season, they would have clinched the division on a tiebreaker. Instead, Miami won the division by one game. Still, the Jets' 10–5–1 record allowed them to clinch their first postseason berth in twelve seasons. but they lost to the Bills in the Wild Card round, 31–27, while Miami lost a 41-38 overtime epic to the Chargers.
With the conclusion of the 1981 season the Jets had won seven of the previous eight meetings with the Dolphins with the one tie. Miami, however, returned to the rivalry's fore in 1982, a season that saw the apex of the rivalry, coming in the 1982 AFC Championship on January 23, 1983, more appropriately known as "The." After the Dolphins swept the Jets during the strike-shortened regular season. O'Brien threw for 479 yards and four touchdown passes all to wide receiver Wesley Walker, including one with no time left on the clock to force overtime, and then the game clincher in overtime for the win, 51–45. To this day, it is the highest scoring game between the teams. The win propelled the Jets to a team-record nine-game winning streak, and an NFL-leading 10–1 record, when the teams met again on November 24 on Monday Night Football. However, Marino and the Dolphins got revenge with a blowout win at home. Dan Marino completed 29 of 36 passes for 288 yards and four touchdown passes, while Dolphins running back Lorenzo Hampton rushed for 148 yards on 19 carries and two scores, one being a 50-yard touchdown run. As for the Jets, they could only manage three points, as the Dolphins defeated the Jets 45–3. The game also reflected a swift change in momentum for the Jets, who lost their final five games of 1986 to finish with a 10–6 record, but managed to still back into a playoff berth. They eventually fell to the Cleveland Browns in a double-overtime Divisional round loss.
Dan Marino made history in 1988; on October 23 he joined a very elite club, becoming one of the few quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 500 yards, completing 35 of 60 passes for a career-high 521 yards. However, he also threw five interceptions; three of them were to rookie Jets cornerback Erik McMillan, who returned one of them 55 yards for a touchdown. The Jets were ahead the entire game, including 30–10 at halftime, and despite a Dolphins rally the Jets won 44–30. The game, however, was overshadowed in the Jets locker room, for days earlier defensive end Mark Gastineau announced he was retiring from football to be with his girlfriend Brigitte Nielsen, who claimed to be suffering cancer in the uterus.
In the rematch on November 27 the Dolphins fell behind 24–14 at the half but Marino exploded in the third quarter with two touchdowns to Mark Clayton and an 80-yard score to Ferrell Edmunds for a 34–24 Miami lead. Pat Ryan had started the game for the Jets, throwing for 341 yards and two touchdowns, but in the fourth quarter Ken O'Brien came in and wiped out Miami's lead with scores to Mickey Shuler and Wesley Walker and a 38–34 Jets win.
The two teams met in yet another high-scoring affair on September 24, 1989 in Miami, the Jets looking for their first win at 0–2 while Miami was 1–1. Throwing for 427 yards and three touchdowns, Dan Marino raced the Dolphins to a 30–19 lead after three quarters, but again Ken O'Brien whipped the Jets to the win with two touchdown passes and a Johnny Hector rushing score in the fourth, ending a 40–33 Jets win. The Jets, however, lost five of their next six games when they hosted the 5–4 Dolphins on November 12. This time it was Marino leading a comeback; down 20–3 in the second quarter, Marino erupted with three touchdown passes while Sammie Smith added a two-yard rushing score and the Dolphins defense limited the Jets to one fourth-quarter field goal and a 31–23 Miami win.
1990s
The teams met in the season finale on December 22, 1991 a winner-take-all game for the final wild card spot in the playoffs. It was a seesaw battle, and the Dolphins took the lead 20–17 with 44 seconds remaining. When the Jets got the ball back, they drove down the field and tied the game to force overtime on Raul Allegre's 44-yard field goal. Allegre came through for the Jets once again in OT with a 30-yard field goal, sending the Jets to the playoffs, and sending the Dolphins home.In 1994, the Jets found themselves one game back of the Dolphins for the AFC East division lead heading into their November 27 match at the Meadowlands. In a game with first place on the line, the Jets held a 24–6 lead, outplaying the Dolphins for three quarters. However, Marino led the Dolphins back with two touchdowns, cutting the score to 24–21. Marino got the ball one last time and drove the Dolphins down the field to within the Jets' five-yard line. With thirty seconds left, and the clock continuing to wind down, Marino motioned that he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock and send out the field goal unit to tie the game. Instead, Marino took the snap from center and fired the ball in the corner of the end zone past Aaron Glenn to Mark Ingram. It was Ingram's fourth touchdown catch of the game, which tied a club record with former Dolphins wide receiver Paul Warfield. The touchdown gave the Dolphins a 28–24 victory, and Miami went on to win the division. This game is famous in NFL history known as "The Fake Spike Game" but the fake spike play itself is also known as the Clock Play. The Jets went into a spiral after that play, losing all of their remaining games. Indeed, the game marked the beginning of a period of ignominy for the Jets as they compiled a record of 4–33 from that game to the end of the 1996 season.
One of the more bitter losses for the Jets in 1996 was at Miami in Week 3. The Dolphins clawed to the Jets 5-yard line and tried for the touchdown on 4th and goal, but Aaron Glenn picked off the pass in the end zone and ran 100 yards for the touchdown. Later Neil O'Donnell connected with ex-Oiler Webster Slaughter on a 35-yard score, but after this score Marino went 74 yards to Stanley Pritchett for the touchdown. After Karim Abdul-Jabbar tied the score the Dolphins took over, scoring two touchdowns marred by a missed Joe Nedney PAT and a botched 2-point try. The Jets despite being down 33–14 in the fourth kept fighting as Jeff Graham caught a long touchdown pass; later the Jets forced a Dolphins fumble but were pinned 4th and goal at the 29; O'Donnell threw deep and Keyshawn Johnson out-jumped the entire Dolphins defense to catch the touchdown. But the Dolphins iced it on a Nedney field goal for a 36–27 final. O'Donnell finished with 325 passing yards and three touchdowns.
After 1996, the Jets made several changes to turn things around, the most significant of which was the hiring of Bill Parcells from the Patriots. The turnaround was immediate; when the Jets hosted the Dolphins on October 12 they were 4-2 with the Dolphins 3–2. Marino led the Dolphins to a 31–20 win. On November 9 at Miami Glenn Foley had replaced starter Neil O'Donnell under center for New York; he threw for 322 yards, a touchdown, and a pick in a 24–17 Dolphins win. The two teams finished the season both 9–7 while New England won the division at 10–6; the Dolphins won the divisional tiebreaker being 4–4 in division games and the Jets 2–6 and thus earned the last wildcard playoff spot.
By 1998 the Jets were a serious division contender. Both teams were 9–4 on December 13, 1998 when they met on Sunday Night Football with the division lead, and possibly the division title, on the line. The Jets led 14-10 when Jets defender Chad Cascadden picked up a Marino fumble and returned it for a touchdown with just under two minutes to play to put the Jets ahead, 21–10. The Dolphins were able to score a quick touchdown to come close, but it was not enough, and the Jets won, 21–16, and they went on to win their first post-merger division title the following Saturday at Buffalo. The Dolphins made the playoffs as the fourth seed and hosted the Bills in the Wildcard round; they defeated the Bills 24–17 before falling at Denver 38–3. The Jets defeated the AFC Central champion Jaguars, 34–24, but fell to Denver in the AFC Championship Game.
The teams' 1999 season marked Marino's last against the Jets. On December 12 at Giants Stadium the 8–4 Dolphins fell to the 4–8 Jets, 28–20; Marino was intercepted twice and benched for Damon Huard. Two weeks later on December 27 the Dolphins, now 9–5, hosted the 6–8 Jets. The Dolphins were trying to clinch a playoff spot, while the Jets, who started their season 1–6, had won five out of their last seven. The Jets did not make it easy for the Dolphins. Lucas completed 11 of 23 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Marino put on one of his last great performances, completing 29 of 52 passes for 322 yards and three touchdown passes, but also three interceptions. It was the last of Marino's NFL regular season record 63 career games with 300 yards passing. The Jets came away with a 38–31 victory, with two long Lucas touchdowns sealing the game. The Jets finished the season 8–8, while the Dolphins finished the season 9–7 and made it to the second round of the playoffs; after defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 20–17, they lost handily to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 62–7.
Marino retired six weeks later; he compiled a 17–13 record against the Jets and 72 touchdown throws, the most for Marino against any opponent.
2000s
The Jets and Dolphins started the 2000 season 5–1 when they met on October 23, 2000, to determine control of the AFC East. What looked to be an exciting match between two of the top teams in the NFL at the time was anything but for the first three quarters. The Dolphins held 30–7 at the end of the third quarter. Vinny Testaverde threw three interceptions, running back Curtis Martin was limited to 30 yards on the ground, and the Jets offense could only manage two first downs in the first half. Meanwhile, running back Lamar Smith scored two touchdowns for the Dolphins on his way to 155 rushing yards for the night. However, the Jets came back in the fourth quarter with touchdowns from Testaverde to Laveranues Coles, Jermaine Wiggins, Wayne Chrebet and cut the lead to 30–20. After a field goal by John Hall, Testaverde fired a touchdown pass to Wayne Chrebet to tie the game at 30 with 3:55 left. It took only two plays for Miami to respond. Jay Fiedler threw a touchdown pass to Leslie Shepherd to retake the lead, 37–30. Testaverde drove the Jets down field and, with 42 seconds left, found eligible offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott on a three-yard touchdown to tie the game at 37 and sent it to overtime. In the fourth quarter, Testaverde was 18 for 26 for 235 yards and four touchdowns, and the offense converted twenty first downs in the quarter, after managing just five beforehand. The Jets won in overtime, 40–37. The game came to be known as The Monday Night Miracle. When Monday Night Football celebrated its 500th telecast in 2002, fans picked the game as the greatest in the series' history. It was also the largest comeback from a fourth quarter deficit in NFL history. Despite the win, and a subsequent victory later in the season in Miami, the Jets failed to make the playoffs while the Dolphins won the division.2002 was the tightest AFC East race in the division's history. Miami ended their losing streak to the Jets with a 30–3 rout at Miami on September 22; the next week the Jets finally benched Vinny Testaverde early in a loss to the Jaguars and Chad Pennington took over under center; when the Jets hosted Miami on November 10 Pennington led the Jets to a 13–10 win; Ray Lucas started for the Dolphins but a late rally failed. The Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots entered the final week of the season all with a chance to win the AFC East; the Dolphins had a 9–6 record, while the Patriots and Jets were 8–7. The Dolphins and Patriots met in Foxborough in what was essentially an elimination game, while the Jets played the Green Bay Packers later in the afternoon. The Dolphins simply needed to win the game to win the division, while the Jets needed a Patriots victory coupled with their own. The Patriots came back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, and won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. News of the Patriots' victory sent the crowd at the Meadowlands into celebration. The Jets, meanwhile, played a close first half with Green Bay before opening the game up in the second half for a 42–17 victory and the AFC East championship.
Both games in 2006 were tight contests that came down to the wire. The season was surprising for both teams; the Dolphins were considered a serious playoff contender in the preseason, but stumbled to a 6–10 record, while the Jets were considered to be in a rebuilding stage, yet managed to go 10–6 and reach the playoffs. On October 15, 2006, the Jets opened up a 20–3 lead with less than 13 minutes to play at home. Miami did not give up, though, as touchdowns by Chambers and Ronnie Brown cut the margin to three. The Dolphins got the ball one last time and got in field goal range for kicker Olindo Mare to attempt a 51-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to tie the game but it was wide right, preserving a 20–17 Jets win.
The teams met again on Christmas night that season. The Jets were 8–6 and in the position to clinch a playoff berth with victories in their final two games. A rainy field kept both offenses quiet for most of the night. All of the scoring happened in the final 17:25 of the game. Miami hit a game-tying field goal with 2:09 remaining to make the score 10–10. However, Chad Pennington threw a short pass to Leon Washington, which he turned into a 64-yard gain. Four plays later, Jets kicker Mike Nugent hit a 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to give the Jets a 13–10 win.
On August 7, 2008 the Jets acquired quarterback Brett Favre from the Packers. Favre's acquisition made Chad Pennington expendable, and he was subsequently released from the team. Pennington immediately signed with the Dolphins and became their starting quarterback. Favre made his debut for the Jets against Pennington and the Dolphins in Miami on September 7. Favre threw two touchdown passes for the Jets, while Pennington attempted to rally the Dolphins in the fourth quarter, reaching the Jets' red zone with under a minute to play, before throwing an interception in the end zone to end a 20–14 Jets win. The teams met again in the season finale at the Meadowlands with the division title at stake in what was essentially an elimination game. Pennington out-dueled Favre in leading his Dolphins to a 24–17 win and the team's first AFC East crown since 2000. The loss led the Jets to fire coach Eric Mangini.
The Dolphins in 2009 authored their first sweep of the Jets since 2003, winning 31–27 in Miami and 30–25 in The Meadowlands; in the latter game Ted Ginn Jr., who had been demoted to special teams weeks earlier, ran back two kick-returns for touchdowns, accounting for 201 return yards. Both wins came with a reliance on the power-running Wildcat formation—notable because new Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who panned the formation in post-match interviews, then used the formation to re-ignite his team's playoff run.
2010s
On April 20, 2010, longtime Dolphin Jason Taylor signed with the Jets. Taylor was known for making derogatory comments about the Jets during his tenure in Miami.On December 12, 2010, strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi was caught by CBS Sports cameras as he tripped Dolphins player Nolan Carroll as he ran along the sideline on a kick return. He was fined $25,000 by the Jets and suspended for the rest of the season; the suspension became indefinite after it was discovered that he had instructed inactive Jets players to line up along the sideline so as to potentially impede opposing players. Later on December 30, the Jets were fined $100,000 by the NFL for violating league rules in this incident.
In 2011, the Jets defeated the Dolphins on October 17 at the New Meadowlands, but a 19–17 loss in Miami in Week 17 left the Jets at 8–8 and out of the 2011 playoffs. The Week 17 game was notable for Miami as it was the last game for longtime Dolphin and ex-Jet Jason Taylor, and 400th victory in Dolphins franchise history. An apparent Jets fumble in the final three minutes inside their own 20 was picked up by Taylor and run into the end zone but the score was called back.
Shortly after the 2011 season ended, the Jets hired former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano as Offensive Coordinator who was fired during the 2011 season. In his first game against his former team on September 23, 2012, Sparano saw the Jets fall behind, 10–3, at the half before LaRon Landry intercepted Dolphins rookie Ryan Tannehill and scored in the third. The Jets raced to a 20–17 lead but the Dolphins tied the game on Dan Carpenter's 41-yard field goal. In overtime Carpenter missed a 48-yarder, then the Dolphins blocked a Nick Folk attempt, but the play was nullified when the Dolphins called timeout before the snap. Folk drilled a 33-yard field goal for the 23–20 Jets win.
On December 28, 2014, Jets quarterback Geno Smith posted a perfect passer rating en route to leading the Jets to a 37–24 win over the Dolphins.
After splitting the regular season series five consecutive seasons, the Jets swept the Dolphins in 2015. Following a 27–14 Jets win at Wembley Stadium in London, a Dolphins home game, the Dolphins fired head coach Joe Philbin and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. overseas. During the rematch, which the Jets won 38–20, the Dolphins managed only twelve rushing yards while New York's defense forced Ryan Tannehill into two fumbles.
The Dolphins got their own season sweep over the Jets in 2016. They won 27–23 at Miami with the help of a 96-yard Kenyan Drake kick-return score in the fourth quarter. In the rematch, the Dolphins intercepted the Jets three times and getting four touchdowns from quarterback Matt Moore, in a 34–13 win. The win helped Miami make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
On November 3, 2019, former Dolphins coach Adam Gase faced his previous team as head coach of the Jets. Both teams were at that point at the bottom of the AFC in terms of win-loss records, with Miami entering the game at 0–7 and New York one game ahead at 1–6. Miami won this game to earn its first win of the year, thanks to three touchdown passes from former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.