Other than allowing a long, catch-and-run TD, the Jets' adjustments on defense in the second half enabled the team to outscore Miami by 18-7 in the narrow 28-25 loss on Sunday.
The Jets nearly flipped the script and the play of S Dane Belton -- who finished with 9 tackles, second on the team behind S Minkah Fitzpatrick -- was a big part of the turnaround.
"I feel like just the collaboration with the coaches, making sure we all are executing exactly the call, but really just to get back to the basics, get back to what we do well, flying to the ball, being detailed, just really everyone doing their job," Belton said on Monday.
Among all safeties this season, Belton ranks second in tackles (55), first in run stops (15) and tied for first in pressures (7). After allowing the Dolphins 3 TDs on their first four possessions, the Jets forced three consecutive punts including two three-and-outs.
"And I feel kind of what I said yesterday after the game," Belton said. "That's something that really lets us start from the jump, from the beginning of the game, and that's something that we're going to focus on this week. Going forward is really a fast start and being able to still finish strong as we've done, but really just getting off to that fast start is going to be important."
As they prepare for Sunday's visit by the Raiders, Belton said the success over the balance of the season rests with the players.
"No one else can change what goes on in the field except for us," he said. "So really, when you think about that, that's really the focus. We're the ones that can be able to change it. It's really just focusing on our process, the things that we got to do to get better, and really putting it on tape on Sundays."
RB Braelon Allen Makes Most of Opportunity
With RB1 Breece Hall sidelined for the past four games with a quad injury sustained in Week 3 at Detroit, Braelon Allen has made the most of his opportunity since taking over as the starter in Week 4 at Chicago.
Allen has not simply filled in, but over the stretch of four games he's compiled the second-most rush yards (357) in the NFL, surpassed only by Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving (378), plus Allen has the eighth-most yards (821) from scrimmage over that span.
Against Miami on Sunday, Allen rambled for 104 yards (6.1 per) on 17 carries and added 30 receiving yards on 6 catches. It was his second game over the century mark rushing -- he had 116 yards in the win over Cleveland.
"Braelon's done a great job," center Josh Myers said about the third-year RB and the ground game in general. "And I think just continuing in run blocking, finishing our blocks, running after the ball, and just continuing to have an aggressive mentality. But Braelon's been great, and I think he'll continue to be great."
On the Jets' first drive to start the second half, Allen ripped off runs of 25, 5 and 4 yards to get the possession -- which ended in a missed field goal -- started. On a drive that spanned the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, he had bruising runs of 7, 19, 8 and 1 yard leading to a Jason Sanders field goal.
In his four games since Week 4, Allen has had 14 carries of 10-plus yards, leading a trio that includes Buffalo's James Cook and Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs. He is the first player for the Green & White to have 100-plus scrimmage yards in his first six career starts since Clark Gaines in 1976.
D-Line Adjusted to T'Vondre Sweat's Absence
When starting DT T'Vondre Sweat left the game (and did not return) with a knee injury late in the first half, the Jets' defense compensated with a three-man rotation of Harrison Phillips (46 snaps, 71%), Jowon Briggs (48, 78%) and rookie Darrell Jackson Jr. (38, 58%) in the middle of the D-line. Sweat was forced to leave after taking 22 snaps.
"We just need to continue to suffocate things up front, and then being able to, like our coach says, gap and a half on things from a D-line perspective is something that's at a premium," Briggs said on Monday. "So just continuing to rely on that and continue to trust in our scheme."
In the first half, when Miami built a 21-7 lead, the Dolphins put together two long TD drives: 14 plays, 60 yards in 7:35; and 15 plays, 91 yards, in 8:38 to close out the half.
Speaking about the impact of Sweat's absence, Briggs said: "It impacted a lot. I mean, as we know, the type of guy Sweat is. But Coach [Aaron Glenn] does a good job of getting guys prepared. We had three of us out there and it was pretty much getting us going and continuing to go."
Defensive adjustments in the second half, holding Miami to only 7 points, helped to make the game close. The Dolphins, however, stressed the run game and rolled up 156 yards on 41 carries (3.8 per).
"It's usually like one or two things, literally one or two plays, one or two things, where it's just like, man, without that one or two things, it'd be a totally different story," Briggs said, adding: "That's something that you put that on us as players. We're out there executing the calls and missing on those little things are what's kind of shooting us in the foot sometimes."
