Dolphins claw way back with Wildcat
MIAMI - With 10 seconds left and the game on the line, the Miami Dolphins went with the Wildcat.
It worked again.
Running back Ronnie Brown took the snap and scored on a 2-yard keeper up the middle on third down, and Miami came from behind three times in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Jets, 31-27, last night.
New receiver Braylon Edwards gave the Jets a big boost, and two fake punts fooled the Dolphins. But they gained 110 yards with the Wildcat.
Starting from its 30-yard line with 5:05 left and trailing, 27-24, Miami drove 70 yards in 13 plays for the winning score. The march included four Wildcat plays for 25 yards, and Brown fell into the end zone on the last with 6 seconds to go.
The Dolphins (2-3) climbed back into the AFC East race after losing their first three games. The Jets (3-2) fell into a tie with the Patriots for first place and have lost two straight.
The lead changed hands five times in the fourth quarter.
In only his second NFL start, the Dolphins’ Chad Henne completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He threw deep to Ted Ginn Jr. for a 53-yard score to give Miami a 24-20 lead with 10:10 left.
“Teddy ran a great route and they gave us the coverage we wanted,’’ Henne said.
The Jets kept answering with Edwards, acquired in a trade with Cleveland a week ago. He caught one scoring pass and set up New York’s other two touchdowns.
The Jets also fooled Miami with fake punts twice to set up a TD and a field goal.
Jets rookie Mark Sanchez was 12 of 24 for 172 yards and benefited immediately from the addition of Edwards, who caught a 3-yard scoring pass to cap his first series with the Jets.
In the fourth quarter, Edwards made a leaping 34-yard catch on third and 21 to put the ball at the 1, setting up Thomas Jones’s score on the next play for a 20-17 lead.
After Will Allen was called for interference on Edwards in the fourth quarter, the 49-yard penalty giving the Jets the ball at the 3, Jones scored on the next play for a 27-24 lead with 5:12 left.
The Dolphins answered with their winning drive.
“They played us hard but I think our guys had the determination inside,’’ Henne said.
