SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 17, 2011
Darrelle Revis returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and the New York Jets’ defense shut down the visiting Miami Dolphins 24-6 to snap their three-game losing streak Monday night.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 201 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to keep Miami (0-5) winless.
Matt Moore, starting at quarterback for the injured Chad Henne, twice failed to connect with Brandon Marshall in the end zone in the early stages of the AFC East contest.
Moore, on one occasion thinking that Marshall would cut to the outside, threw a pass that went right into the hands of Revis, who returned it the length of the field to give New York a 7-3 lead and the Jets never trailed again.
Marshall, who predicted he’d be ejected from the game earlier in the week, then dropped a pass from Moore in the end zone and the Dolphins had to settle for Dan Carpenter’s second short field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6.
New York (3-3) finally got its struggling offense on track late in the second quarter and Sanchez capped a long drive with a 5-yard plunge into the end zone to give the Jets a 14-6 lead at the break.
The Jets increased the lead to a 17-6 on a 28-yard field by Nick Folk in the third quarter.
Sanchez and the Jets put the game away with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes early in the fourth quarter.
Despite their obvious communication problems, the Moore-to-Marshall combination was the bulk of Miami’s offense. Marshall finished with six receptions for 109 yards. On one long pass play, Marshall lost his balance and fell out of bounds on the way to a sure touchdown.
Miami remains a leading contender in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, the prize for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. The Dolphins are one of three winless teams in the NFL.
Dolphins running back Reggie Bush ran for 71 yards on 10 carries before leaving the game with a neck injury. Moore finished 16 for 34 passing for 204 yards and two interceptions.