The weather didn't quite fit the holiday, with the cool Miami rain bogging down both passing offenses in the 1st half. Chad Pennington visibly struggled with gripping the ball, which led to inconsistent throws that were repeatedly off-the-mark. Joey Harrington also contributed a sub-par performance, and had about as much rhythm as these guys.
Neither team made any kind of scoring push in the 1st half, with a botched field goal attempt by the Jets the only real "action".
During halftime, Dolphins coach Nick Saban made a switch at quarterback and elected to hand the reigns to untested third year pro Cleo Lemon. Lemon took advantage of this opportunity and provided the spark that the Dolphin's offense desperately needed. By the start of the 4th quarter he had connected for his first career touchdown pass, and given his team more momentum. By all appearances, Lemon was effectively souring the Jets chances, but Pennington responded by leading a touch
down drive of his own to get the Jets back in front with a connection to Jerricho Cotchery. The ensuing Dolphins drive was thwarted, but a bouncing punt hit a Jets player, leading to the game's first turnover--and a Dolphins scoring opportunity. Olindo Mare hit a field goal and notched the game at 10 a piece.So far, the only thing this game didn't have yet was an unexpected hero. As was the case in prior games, most notably in 2000 with Jumbo Elliot, someone who would commonly been considered a "non-star" has stepped up and made the right play at the right time. This trend continued when Jets Speedster "Neon" Leon Washington took a routine swing pass and raced down the sideline, igniting his team with a 64 yard gain.
The rookie's scamper set the table for a game winning 30 yard field goal by Mike Nugent, extending the Jets playoff dreams and putting a football-sized lump of coal in the stockings of the Dolphins and their fans.As for the Jets, their present has been bought. The wrapping paper is on tight. Now all they have to do is tie the bow.
