It took the Jets (5-12) a quarter to get warm, but they never looked back once they did in their 32-20 win over the Dolphins (8-9) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The Green & White forced 3 turnovers, scored 15 points and three players hit career milestones in the second frame that catapulted the home team over its division rival and sunk the Dolphins’ chances for a postseason berth.
“All the work that’s been put in by those men in that locker room and all the adversity they had to face on and off this field and everything they’ve been through, it’s really cool to have that moment,” interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said. He added: “This is an opportunity just to celebrate this team and finishing it the right way was big, for all of us.”
The Jets’ first score, and lead, came from Aaron Rodgers’ 500th regular-season touchdown pass. Rodgers, who finished the game with 274 yards and a season-high 4 passing touchdowns, climbed the pocket with pressure from the outside and found TE Tyler Conklin wide open in the middle of the end zone. That was Conklin’s fourth TD of the season, a career high.
“It was kind of like an old school red-zone touchdown, like we did for so long in Green Bay, where kind of play breaks down, move up in the pocket guys keep working,” Rodgers said after the game. “It was fun to get Conk that one. Conk is one of the good guys on this team, one of the guys you can count on. He’s a natural leader, and from Day 1, he made me feel really welcome. You need your best players to be your best people, and he’s definitely one of them.”
