Breece Hall gained 197 yards from scrimmage and fellow rookie Sauce Gardner made two critical plays as the New York Jets pounded the Miami Dolphins 40-17 on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.
Hall carried 18 times for 97 yards and caught two passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
The young Jets (3-2) also got 210 passing yards from second-year quarterback Zach Wilson, who is 2-0 this season after starting the season on the injured list.
New York also snapped a four-game losing streak against AFC East rival Miami.
The Dolphins (3-2), who have lost two straight games, played without their top quarterbacks — Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater — both due to concussion protocol. Bridgewater started Sunday but left after just one play as he was hit by Gardner, causing a safety.
Third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, a rookie seventh-round pick who had never taken a snap before Sunday, took over and completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards and one interception.
New York took a 12-0 lead with the safety (Bridgewater was called for intentional grounding from the end zone), Greg Zuerlein’s 34-yard field goal and Michael Carter’s 1-yard run to start the second quarter.
That TD was set up by Wilson’s 79-yard swing pass to Hall, who dragged safety Brandon Jones for the final 20. Jones held on to Hall’s left leg, finally getting him down at the goal line.
With 9:55 left in the second quarter, Miami got on the board on Raheem Mostert’s 12-yard run.
New York stretched its lead to 19-7 on Wilson’s 5-yard diving run with 2:38 left before halftime. That score was set up by Gardner’s first career interception.
Miami answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard sneak by tight end Durham Smythe with just four seconds left before halftime.
The Dolphins cut their deficit to 19-17 with a 46-yard Jason Sanders field goal, the only points in the third quarter.
But after Sanders missed a 54-yard attempt wide right, the Jets drove for Carter’s second 1-yard TD run. That gave New York a 26-17 lead with 9:22 left.
The Jets poured it on from there, scoring on a 5-yard run by Hall and a 15-yard end around from Braxton Berrios. The TD by Hall was set up by Carl Lawson’s strip-sack, recovered by Quinnen Williams.
–Field Level Media