The Dolphins opened the 1995 regular season with a home game
against the hated New York Jets. At first, it looked as if the
Dolphins might be willing to give the Jets a gift by allowing them to
actually win this game.
In the first half, the Dolphins gave up 4 turnovers to the Jets
that kept them in the game. However, by the end of the third quarter,
the Dolphins had asserted their superiority and pulverized the hapless
Jets into an embarrassing beating that continued even after Dan Marino sat
down at the beginning of the fourth quarter until the Dolphins had
secured a 52-14 victory over the Jets.
It was, in a word, glorious.
First Quarter
The Dolphins started the game by receiving the opening kickoff from
the Jets on the baseball diamond end of Joe Robbie stadium. The kickoff
fell short and was fielded by one of the "up" men, in this case it was
offensive tackle Billy Milner at the Dolphins 19. To Milner's credit,
he fielded the ball well and ran it back to the 30.
From the 30, the Dolphins started their first drive with a series
of short runs by Parmalee and a catch by Eric Green, but it stalled
when a Marino pass bounced off the fingertips of a streaking Irving
Fryar and fell incomplete. The Dolphins then punted 53 yards into the
endzone for a touchback.
The Jets started their first possession with two carries by Ron
Moore, but on his second carry, he fumbled the ball after being nailed
by several Dolphin defenders and the Dolphins recovered at the Jets' 30
yard line. Unfortunately, after 4 consecutive runs by Parmalee had
moved the ball to the Jets' 17, Marino threw the ball right into the
hands of Jets' linebacker Wilber Marshall. He was trying to hit Keith
Byars, but either Byars didn't make his break soon enough or was held
up. In any case, it was an easy interception for Marshall, who was
tackled immediately.
The Jets then put on their only real drive of the day, moving from
their own 14 to the Dolphins' 33 yard line on a series of short passes
and the occasional run by Ron Moore. However, after Boomer overthrew
Wayne Chrebet, the Jets were forced to settle for a 51 yard field goal
attempt that sailed wide right.
The Dolphins, unfortunately, couldn't mount anything on their next
drive, getting only one first down before Marino badly underthrew his
receiver and John Kidd punted the ball back to the Jets endzone for
another touchback.
On the Jets' subsequent drive, Bryan Cox effectively stopped the
Jets offense by stuffing Ron Moore for no gain on first down and after
Tim Bowens batted down an Esiason pass, Cox again pressured Esiason
into an incompletion on third down and the Jets punted back to Miami.
On this punt return, O.J. McDuffie showed some of the running form
that made him a sensation in his rookie year. He had a great return -
spinning, twisting and dancing down the sidelines for 24 yards before
being forced out of bounds at the Jets 35 yard line.
The Dolphins had 2 nice runs of 4 and 8 yards by Spikes, but were forced
back to the Jets 40 by a holding penalty. Then, Marino again overthrew
Irving Fryar down the sidelines, but did manage to connection with him
over the middle on third down for almost all of the necessary 15 yards.
However, the first quarter ended with the Dolphins having a 4th down
and less than 1 yard to go at the Jets 25 yard line.
The first quarter was pretty dismal for the Dolphins - Marino was
only 3 of 8 for 40 yards and 1 interception and the resulting score was
0-0.
Second Quarter
The Dolphins began the second quarter lining up to go for the first
down. On this 4th down play, the Dolphins put Billy Milner outside of
Richmond Webb and then put Eric Green next to Milner to stack the left
side of the line. They then ran Parmalee behind these guys and Bernie
got the first down with a yard to spare.
On the very next play, the Dolphins lined up at the Jets 24 yard
line and ran a sweep to the left with Parmalee. Bernie turned the corner
ahead of the nearest Jet defender, sprinted to the left sideline, then
outran the Jets' safety, diving the last 3 yards into the endzone for
the Dolphins' first touchdown. It was an excellent run by Parmalee,
who showed his speed and quickness to the outside. And it gave the
Dolphins a 7-0 lead.
On the subsequent kickoff, Dexter Carter took the kick at the 3
yard line for the Jets and ran to his right, but was met with a ferocious
hit by Robert Wilson at the Dolphins 17 yard line and fumbled the ball
away. The Dolphins recovered the ball at the 17 and began the next series
with a quick pass over the middle to O.J. McDuffie, who broke a tackle and
made it down to the Jets 5. Then, after Parmalee was stuffed on first
down, Marino hit a falling Irving Fryar in the back of the endzone on second
down for the second Miami touchdown of the game.
The subsequent kickoff was fielded by the Jets at the 9 and run out
to about 27 yard line. At this point, the Dolphins defensive line
started to put lots of pressure on Esiason, with Jeff Cross, Marco
Coleman and Trace Armstrong all getting to him frequently. Only his
experience prevented a number of sacks on this series and the Jets
finally punted the ball away from their own 42 to the Dolphins 7 yard
line, where they managed to down the ball with good coverage.
On the Dolphins first play after the punt, Bernie Parmalee was hit
hard after a short gain and he fumbled the ball, which was picked up by
Jets' defensive tackle Matt Brock and run in for a touchdown, reducing
the Dolphins lead to 14-7. The funniest part of this play was
watching Dan Marino attempt to tackle Brock.
On the Jets kickoff, McDuffie returned the ball 33 yards to the
Dolphins 45 and then caught a pass on the first play for 12 more yards.
However, on the very next play, Bernie Parmalee again fumbled the ball
after a hit and the Jets took over at their own 45. However, after
they could only manage to get to the Miami 37, Boomer tossed 2
incompletions, one of which was almost picked off by Troy Vincent, and
the Jets were forced to punt once again.
The punt was another touchback and Miami started at their own 20,
with Keith Byars getting the first two calls, but after he dropped a
short pass over the middle, the Dolphins were forced to punt and the
Jets took over at their own 26 yard line. However, after Bowens
tackled the Jets' Adrian Murrell for a one yard loss and a blitzing
Bryan Cox knocked down Esiason at the moment he released the ball, the
Jets did manage a short completion, but were finally forced to punt.
The Dolphins took a fair catch at their own 31 and, on first down,
Marino attempted to hit Irving Fryar on a short hook pattern but threw
badly inside and was intercepted at the Dolphins 31. This was
Marino's second interception - but it was also his last.
The Jets then took the ball from the Miami 31 on two passes to the
7, where the Dolphins managed to hold them on two fine plays by the
defensive line. However, on a third and goal from the 6, Esiason hit
Charles Wilson in the right corner of the endzone behind Troy Vincent
for the Jets only offensive touchdown of the game.
The score was now 14-14, with the Dolphins basically giving the
Jets every opportunity to upset them. However, there were still
nearly 2 minutes left in the half, which is more than enough time for
Dan Marino to put the Dolphins ahead.
After the ensuing kickoff, which Spikes ran out to the 32 yard
line, Marino went to work. He started by hitting Terry Kirby with a 4
yard little dump pass that Kirby turned into a 32 yard gain with a
series of great running moves through the Jet defense. Then, after a
pass to O.J. McDuffie and a short run by Terry Kirby, Marino hit Irving
Fryar for a 23 yard gain down to the 2 yard line.
With 16 seconds left, the Dolphins tried running Terry Kirby in from
the 2, but he was stopped just shy of the goal line. Then, with 8 seconds
remaining, the Dolphins lined up in a tight running formation, but shifted
to a spread formation that confused the Jets defense, leaving Keith Byars
all alone coming out of the backfield. Marino then tossed a quick
swing pass to Byars on the left who plunged over the goal line to give the
Dolphins a 21-14 lead with just :04 left in the first half. After the
kickoff was carried out of bounds by the Jets, the half ended with the
Dolphins ahead.
The story of the first half was turnovers. Basically, The Dolphins
were doing everything they wanted to - except holding on to the ball.
They committed 4 turnovers in the first half, resulting directly in one
touchdown and indirectly in the other.
The defensive line was putting a lot of pressure on Boomer, which
showed in the Jets' performance, despite the lack of sacks.
Third Quarter
The Dolphins kicked off the ball to begin the second half, but
after the tackle by Robert Wilson and a holding penalty, the Jets were
forced to start at their own 15. They did manage to get one nice run
in and a couple of other short gains, but they were finally stopped at
their own 45 and punted back to Miami.
Miami started at their own 24, but after the only sack of the game by
the Jets, could do nothing with the ball and punted back to the Jets at
their own 42. One quick pass and one good run moved the ball back to
the Miami 45, but on 1st and 10, Chuck Klingbeil broke through the Jets
line and got a hand on Boomer. Boomer threw the ball sooner than he
should have to his right and Troy Vincent, who had his man well
covered, made a diving interception at the Dolphins 15 yard line.
Miami put Bernie Parmalee back in at this point, giving him the
ball twice in succession to start their second drive of the second
half with a 16 yard shovel pass and then a one yard run. Fryar caught
a 19 yard pass across the middle and then, after Parmalee contributed a
6 yard run to the Jets' 28, Marino hit a wide open Keith Byars in the
right flat. Byars ran the ball down into the endzone, but stepped out
at the 4 yard line.
On a first and goal from the Jets' 4, Parmalee swept right and
dove over Chris Gray into the endzone for the Dolphins' fourth
touchdown of the day. On this play, both Gray and Robert Wilson
provided excellent blocks.
With the Dolphins now up 28-14, they kicked off to Ron Carpenter at
the Jets' 10, but when Frankie Smith tackled him at the 23, he pulled a
hamstring and was removed from the game. On the next play, the
Dolphins read and covered an attempted screen very well, but Steve
Emtman was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he hit Boomer with
the crown of his helmet. This moved the ball out to the 40 and then,
after a 17 yard pass to Kyle Brady and a 4 yard draw play, the Jets had
a 1st down at the Miami 38.
However, on this play, Boomer badly overthrew his receiver and the
ball went into the waiting arms of Troy Vincent, who took off down the
left sideline for 68 yards and a touchdown, giving the Dolphins a 35-14
lead.
After the Dolphins' kickoff, the Jets took over at their own 18,
but they appeared completely deflated. They could manage only three
yards on the next three downs and punted the ball back to the Dolphins,
the ball going out of bounds at the Miami 46.
The Dolphins, even though they were ahead by 21 points, weren't done
yet. After a short gain by Spikes and a short catch by Green, had a
third and five at the 50. Marino faded back in the pocket and lofted
the ball down the left sideline, where a streaking Irving Fryar had badly
beaten his man. Fryar gathered the ball in and raced to the endzone, to
give the Dolphins a 42-14 lead.
This touchdown is significant, because it shows that the Dolphins
were not content to sit on a 35-14 lead and coast, like they might have
done in the past. Perhaps they have learned the lesson of last year.
At this point, the game was still in the third quarter, although
I'm sure both teams would have liked to have gone home. The Dolphins
kicked off to the Jets, who started at their 29, running the ball for 6
yards before the third quarter ended.
Fourth Quarter
The Jets continued to moved the ball into the fourth quarter, but
were finally stopped at their own 35 after a false start and an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Boomer Esiason for "taunting" moved
the Jets back from the Dolphins 45. They punted to the Dolphins' 29,
but the Dolphins moved back to their own 19 after a penalty for an illegal
block.
At this point, the Dolphins starting putting in their second team,
with Bernie Kosar stepping in for Marino. The Dolphins, however, went
three and out and after the punt, the Jets started at their own 48.
On the very next play, however, Trace Armstrong hit Esiason just as
he was releasing the ball and the ball sailed into the arms of Aubrey
Beavers, who took it back to the Jets' 41. This was the third
interception of Esiason on the day.
The Dolphins let Spikes carry the ball 4 times in a row, before a
series of miscues stopped them at the Jets' 7, but Pete Stoyanovich
nailed a 33 yard field goal from there to put Miami ahead 45-14.
By this point in the game, Ron Heller, Eric Green, Bernie Parmalee,
and and Keith Byars were resting and Billy Milner, Ronnie Williams, Irving
Spikes, and Robert Wilson were taking their respective places.
After the ensuing kickoff, the Jets put in Bubby Brister at
quarterback, preferring to let their starter sit out the rest of the
game. But Bubby wasn't any better than Boomer and the Jets had a few
short gains, but eventually turned the ball over on downs at their own
49 yard line.
From the Jets' 49, the Dolphins didn't do much until they got a
gift interference call on Randal Hill at the 20 yard line. I don't
think that this was a good call by the officials, because the DB was
looking back at the ball, but he did knock Hill out of bounds and that
may be what prompted it.
In any case, the Dolphins got a first down at the Jets 20, where
Spikes got the call twice in a row. After a 3 yard pickup on first
down gave the Dolphins a second and 7 at the Jets 17 yard line, Spikes
was given the ball and sprinted off left tackle, through the secondary and
into the endzone for the last Dolphins touchdown of the day. This put
the Dolphins on top, 52-14.
The Jets got one more series, with Gene Atkins picking off a Bubby
Brister desperation pass, but everyone was more than ready to go home
at that point.
The win was a departure for the Dolphins in several ways:
1. They won an opening day game by a wide margin, not by last
minute heroics like they have the last 3 years.
2. They really stomped the Jets, which they don't often do.
3. They completely buried an opposing team, which is unusual.
Usually, they take it easy after they get a 2-3 touchdown lead. Not
this time.
The only thing that bothered me about this game was the 4 turnovers.
The Dolphins won't be able to get away with making 4 turnovers next
week against the Patriots and still win. The Patriots will play much
tougher football than the Jets did today.
Still, despite committing four damaging turnovers and essentially
giving away 2 touchdowns, the Dolphins were completely dominating in
this game.
They are off to a great start.
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