The New York Jets took care of business Monday night and defeated the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in rain-soaked Miami.  The gritty performance positions the Jets one game closer to a playoff berth.

It wasn’t pretty and it sure wasn’t a classic game that these two teams have played in the past, but it counts all the same.  I love the way Mangini has this team playing, but Nick Saban also contributed to this Jets win.

The decision to bench Joey Harrington with Cleo Lemon to start the second half was strange.  It’s not like Lemon is going to challenge for the starting job next year.  I’m sure the other AFC teams with vested interest in this game were all scratching their heads.  In fairness, Lemon didn’t embarrass himself out there and actually had the Dolphins leading 7-3 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Still, the move had the feel of a preseason game.  In any event, the Dolphins have found their third string quarterback of the future.

The Jets also had a tough time stopping the run.  Ronnie Brown had 110 yards rushing on only 18 carries.  Brown was coming off an injury, but why didn’t they feed him the ball more?  Who knows?  Thank you, Nick Saban for abandoning the run in critical situations like the 4th and 1 at the Jet 7 with 2:13 remaing in the fourth quarter and opting instead for the tying field goal. 

But the Jets did make plays when they needed it.  Chad Pennington converted on three critical third down plays in the fourth quarter culminating in a 32 yard TD pass to Jericho Cotchery to give the Jets a 10-7 lead.  During this 11 play 80 yard drive, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser continually ripped Pennington on his lack of arm strength.  Hey guys, he’s had questions about his arm since he was drafted in 2000.  Combine that with the two shoulder surgeries over the last year and his lack of zip isn’t ground-breaking news.  In fact, it’s the first thing commentators question after every bad pass.  

Annoying.

With the score tied at 10-10, Leon Washington made the play of the game when he took a screen pass from Pennington with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter and rumbled 64 yards to the Dolphin 16.  The Jets milked the clock and with 14 seconds left in the game, Mike Nugent drilled a 30 yard field goal to give the Jets the victory.

There are scenarios that would send the Jets to the playoffs should the unthinkable occur and the Jets lose to Oakland, but I don’t want to think of them.  The Raiders gave up after the first game of the season and it is unfathomable for me to believe that a 2-13 team that has to travel 3,000 miles to play their last game on New Year’s Eve has any intention of putting up a good fight.

Another ugly win and the Jets are going to the playoffs.

And that’s a beautiful thing.

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