EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? The New York Jets threw their heavyweight running back at the Miami Dolphins. After Curtis Martin had rushed for 115 yards, he turned the ground game over to his backup, LaMont Jordan.
And Jordan matched Martin’s total as the Jets blew away the once-proud Miami defense in a 41-14 romp Monday night.
The Jets’ 275 yards rushing were the most by any NFL team this season. In all, they gained 472, Chad Pennington passed for three touchdowns and the defense harassed Jay Fiedler into a horrendous performance with four sacks. New York also forced three turnovers in moving into a tie atop the AFC with New England and Pittsburgh at 6-1.
“We said we have to go out and become a better team tonight,” said Martin, who is 16 yards behind Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis for sixth in career rushing with 12,467. “We have to put a dagger right in their heart, and we finished it off tonight.”
They did it with a brilliant 1-2 punch from the backfield. Martin came out after tweaking his right knee in the third quarter and the Jets didn’t miss a step with Jordan on the field.
“We always talk about being a 1-2 punch,” Martin said after his fifth 100-yard game of the year. “And you could see that from us tonight.”
Jordan, who will be a free agent after the season, got the second 100-yard game of his career. He scored on a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter; Martin had a 25-yard TD run in the third period.
“The guys up front are very focused and we’re running downhill,” said Jordan, who entered the game with 48 yards rushing, a mere 635 behind Martin, who was second in the league to Kansas City’s Priest Holmes entering the weekend. “Today we were clicking on all cylinders and to do it against a great Miami Dolphins defensive team should tell people a lot about the New York Jets offense.”
It also says a lot about how far the Dolphins (1-7) have fallen. Not only didn’t they look like the fourth-ranked defense in football, they were downright inept after Randy McMichael’s 21-yard touchdown catch tied it 7-7 with 4:35 left in the first half.
The Jets ran through and around them and Pennington passed over them with ease. New York didn’t just dominate on the line, but in the secondary and everywhere else.
“The Jets came out there and played a great game,” said linebacker Junior Seau, who was victimized on Wayne Chrebet’s 35-yard TD catch that opened the scoring. “You’ve got to hand it to them. They gave us an old-fashioned beating. I tip my hat to them, for not only what they did against us, but the whole year.
“There was no letdown by anyone in this locker room that I could see. It was just a lopsided game.”
Not throughout. It was 7-7 until Justin McCareins beat Sam Madison, who fell down, for a 27-yard scoring reception with 1:07 to go in the first half. McCareins caught the ball at the 2 and extended it into the end zone before he stepped out of bounds.
Miami couldn’t move and left 20 seconds on the clock after punting. The Jets covered 39 yards in three plays and Doug Brien made a 49-yard field goal as the half expired.
Martin’s TD run, Chris Baker’s 1-yard reception from Pennington, Brien’s 43-yard field goal and Jordan’s TD run closed out the rout.
“This is at the top of the list, there’s no doubt about it,” offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said. “I think they were in sync tonight. LaMont came in and you could still feel the energy going.
“I think Curtis’ run for the touchdown was spectacular and then LaMont duplicated it later, so it’s one of those nights where you get in the groove.”
Nobody was grooving more than the offensive line. Jordan singled them out – center Kevin Mawae, tackles Kareem McKenzie and Jason Fabini, guards Jonathan Goodwin and Pete Kendall – and Martin seconded the motion.
“I went up to the offensive linemen, each of them, before the game and said, `I need you today,'” Martin said. “And they came through.”
The Jets were particularly satisfied with their performance after losing for the first time last weekend at New England. They pulled out the “no respect” angle after that tight 13-7 defeat, but they shouldn’t have to worry about getting any respect now.
“We don’t want to make losing a habit,” Pennington said. “We made sure we bounced back.”
Notes: The Jets had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since Sept. 28, 1975, when John Riggins ran for 145 yards and Carl Garrett had 135 in a 30-24 win over Kansas City. Miami last allowed two 100-yard rushers on Oct. 29, 1989, at Buffalo, when Thurman Thomas had 148 yards and Larry Kinnebrew 121. … Jets backup guard/tackle Brent Smith hurt his left knee, and Edwards said he would be re-evaluated this week. Guard Brandon Moore was inactive (hamstring). … The 27-point margin of victory is the largest for the Jets in the series, which they lead 40-37-1. … McMichael finished with seven catches for 87 yards. … Chrebet caught his first touchdown pass since the third game of last season.
