NY Jets power past Dolphins
(October 5 2015)
One year on from their last trip the Miami Dolphins found the Wembley tables had turned as they were brushed aside 27-14 by the New York Jets in London.
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The Dolphins, 38-14 winners over the Oakland Raiders here 12 months ago, were outplayed on both sides of the ball by the Jets in front of another sell-out crowd of 83,986 under the arch.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 218 yards and one score while Chris Ivory rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown, and New York hung on despite Jarvis Landry's almost single-handed attempts to make a game of it in the fourth quarter.
It was the 12th NFL game to be played at Wembley in nine years - and the first of three this season - rounding off a week in which Chancellor George Osborne outlined his ambition to have a team permanently based in the capital within five years following more talks with the league.
The Dolphins were making their third trip to Wembley but this was not one for them to write home about.
They arrived facing questions over a 1-2 start - well below par following an expensive off-season which included a US dollar 114million contract for defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh - and will board the plane home with coach Joe Philbin's future in question.
From the moment the game kicked off, Miami appeared disjointed against a New York team eager to prove they are no longer the Same Old Jets.
Joe Namath's former team have followed a path of frustration over recent years but easily outclassed Miami - and things might have been worse for the Dolphins.
Back-up quarterback Fitzpatrick, starting in place of the injured Geno Smith, missed a string of wide-open receivers - mistakes which kept the game competitive longer than it might have otherwise been.
On the Jets' first drive, Fitzpatrick picked out Brandon Marshall with a 58-yard pass and Ivory rumbled into the end zone two plays later.
New York added two more field goals before the Dolphins were handed a lifeline by two big penalties against the Jets - gifting Miami 58 yards on back-to-back pass interference calls, including one against star cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill capitalised with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jake Stoneburner
But despite Fitzpatrick's often wayward throws, the Jets responded before half-time with another score through Eric Decker to lead 20-7 at the break.
Wembley has become accustomed to lop-sided games and this one appeared over as a contest on the first drive of the second half, capped by Zac Stacy's two-yard run to score.
But after the Jets missed a field goal, Miami found some rhythm in the fourth quarter, with Landry's 28-yard punt return giving them great field position before Kenny Stills caught a 10-yard touchdown pass to cut the gap.
Landry then led another charge, returning a punt for 25 yards and later pounding his way to the four-yard line.
He thought he had a touchdown with 6:12 to go, only for it to be called back on a penalty, and when Revis picked off Tannehill in the end zone moments later, Miami's fate was sealed.
The defeat means Miami have now been beaten by both New York teams in London - they lost 13-10 to the Giants in the first Wembley game in 2007
Whether or not the Jets are equipped to emulate those Giants and go on to Super Bowl glory in the same season remains to be seen.