NFL Old School Game of the Week: O'Brien Comes Off The Bench To Lead Jets To Win over Dolphins in Shootout

Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes in leading the Jets a comeback win over the Miami Dolphins.

Many NFL fans remember the classic quarterback duel between Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and New York Jets Ken O'Brien in week 3 of the 1986 NFL season in which the two quarterbacks combined to throw for 927 yards and 10 touchdown passes as O'Brien's Jets came out on top 51-45 in overtime(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here:https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-jets-win.html).

However that would not be the last time the two quarterbacks engaged in a shootout.

Two years later, Marino would throw for 521 yards and three touchdown but also threw five interceptions as the Dolphins fell to the Jets 44-30 as O'Brien threw for three touchdowns in the New York victory.

Five weeks later, the Dolphins were set to travel to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets in Week 13 with many fans hoping for another duel between Marino and O'Brien.

However, O'Brien would not be on the bench as Jets head coach Joe Walton had turned to backup quarterback Pat Ryan in hopes of giving the New York offense a spark as the team entered the Miami game on a three-game losing streak to fall to 5-6-1.

Ryan had started the previous week but had lead the Jets to just six points in a 9-6 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Still, Ryan got the start as the Jets hosted the Dolphins who came into the game with a 5-7 record, hoping to avoid only the second losing season in head coach Don Shula's career with the first coming in 1976 as Miami finished with a 6-8 record.

While Marino was still playing at a high level, the same could not be said for the defense or running game which ranked near the bottom of the league, thus putting more pressure on Marino to lead the Dolphins as they entered their game with the Jets also on a three-game losing streak.

Something had to give as both teams desperately needed a win and keep their slim playoff chances alive.

The Jets got the ball at their 20-yard-line to start the game and rode the right arm of Ryan to drive 80 yards in 12 plays as Ryan completed six of eight passes for 68 yards on the drive that was capped off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to veteran wide receiver Wesley Walker, who had caught a 35-yard pass earlier on the drive, to give New York a 7-0 lead with 9:21 left in the first quarter.

The Dolphins would also begin their initial possession of the game at their 20-yard-line and like the Jets would drive 80 yards primarily through the air as Marino completed five of nine passes for 58 yards on a 13-play drive that culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Marino to Fred Banks to tie the game 7-7 with 4:56 to go in the first quarter.

The Jets would get the ball back at their nine-yard-line when after an incomplete pass on the first play of the drive, ran the ball three straight times picking up 15 yards until Ryan connected with Al Toon for 14 yards, then again for 29 yards to put New York at the Miami 33-yard-line.

Another completion to Toon, this time for 10 yards, and two runs by Freeman McNeil for nine yards had the Jets at the Dolphins' 14-yard-line as the second quarter began when Ryan was intercepted by Dolphins cornerback William Judson to give the ball back to Miami at its 16-yard-line.

The Dolphins would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 38-yard-line as New York ran the ball four straight times for a total of 23 yards to drive to the Dolphins' 39-yard-line.

From there, the Jets went back to the air as Ryan would complete five of his next seven passes for 42 yards with the last pass being a 14-yard touchdown to tight end Mickey Shuler to give New York a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Pat Ryan completed 27 of 43 passes for 341 yards and threw two touchdown passes.

Following a Miami three-and-out, the Jets got the ball at their 39-yard-line and quickly drove down the field as Ryan connected with Shuler for nine yards to start the drive which was followed by an 18-yard run by Johnny Hector and then a 16-yard pass from Ryan to  Toon to put New York at the Miami 18-yard-line.

That is when the Dolphins' defense showed signs of life as they held the Jets to six yards on the next three plays, forcing New York to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Pat Leahy which increased the Jets' lead to 17-7 with 2:40 left in the second quarter.

The Dolphins would take over at their 26-yard-line with all three timeouts in their pocket and over two and a half minutes to drive down the field and pick up some points before halftime.

After the first two plays picked up four yards, Marino tried to go deep on 3rd & 6 and fired a long pass for Duper that fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Jets cornerback James Hasty which resulted in a 32-yard gain and a 1st down for the Dolphins at the New York 38-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

An one-yard run by Jim Jensen and two incomplete passes forced a 4th & 9 at the Jets' 37-yard-line when Shula decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.

Shula would get more than the 1st down as Marino fired a 37-yard touchdown pass to Banks, who had streaked down the left sideline to make the touchdown catch to bring the Dolphins to within a field goal at 17-14 with 88 seconds to go in the first half.

The Jets would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line with 1:23 left in the first half and two timeouts which gave them plenty of time to pick up some points as the Jets offense had driven down the field on all four of their possessions thus far in the game.

The drive began with a modest three-yard pass from Ryan to Toon which was followed by a 18-yard pass to Shuler then a 20-yard pass to Toon to put the Jets at the Miami 35-yard-line.

That is when Ryan went deep for Walker who made the catch at the Miami six-yard-line for a 29-yard gain that became a 32-yard gain as Dolphins linebacker Mark Brown was called for roughing the passer as he hit Ryan in the jaw with a elbow that led to Brown being ejected from the game.

Ryan stayed on the ground for a minute but got up and was able to hand the ball off to McNeil who ran it in for a three-yard touchdown with eight seconds left in the half to increase the Jets' lead to 24-14.

The Dolphins would return the ensuing kickoff to their 48-yard-line to end the first half to end the first half with Miami trailing 24-14 as their defense had allowed 21 1st downs and 346 yards of total offense.

If the Dolphins were going to come back and win the game, they would need Marino, who had completed only six of 19 passes for 95 yards in the first half to step up his game.

Miami got the ball to start the second half as they took over at their 38-yard-line and proceeded to drive to the Jets' 31-yard-line when Marino connected with Clayton for a 31-yard touchdown to bring the Dolphins to within three points at 24-21 with 11:13 remaining in the third quarter.

Dan Marino completed 17 of 35 passes for 353 yards and threw five touchdowns.

The Jets took over at their 28-yard-line only to give right back to the Dolphins after just one play when running back Roger Vick fumbled the football after a hit by Miami nose tackle Brian Sochia, which was recovered by linebacker Rick Graf at the New York 25-yard-line.

After two plays picked zero yards, Marino fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Clayton to give the Dolphins their first lead of the game at 27-24 with 10:04 remaining in the third quarter as kicker Fuad Reveiz would miss the extra point.

Then after forcing the Jets to punt for the first time in the game, the Dolphins had the ball at their 20-yard-line when Marino completed a short pass over the middle to tight end Ferrell Edmunds, who managed to outrun the New York defense for a 80-yard touchdown to increase the Dolphins' lead to 34-24 as Miami had scored three touchdowns in a span of three minutes and 29 seconds.

The Jets would keep the ball out of Marino's hands for the next five minutes as they drove 37 yards in 11 plays until they were forced to punt from the Miami 39-yard-line

By this time, Ryan was still feeling groggy from the hit he took to his jaw late in the first half as he struggled to stay in the game.

He ultimately told O'Brien "I'm feeling a little funny. Hang loose" meaning that O'Brien might have come into the game.

Having scored three straight touchdowns, the Dolphins offense was clicking and they looked to continue that trend as they took over at their 15-yard-line with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

After an one-yard run to start the drive, Marino connected with Banks again, this time for 27 yards and another 1st down at the Miami 43-yard-line.

On the next play, Marino threw another short pass to Edmunds, who once again turned upfield and looked to outrun the Jets defense again for another touchdown.

But New York strong safety Rich Miano would pop the ball loose from Edmunds at the end of his 37-yard reception, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Hasty, who returned the fumble 17 yards to the Jets' 37-yard-line.

When the Jets' offense came back onto the field, O'Brien joined them as he took over for the injured Ryan at quarterback.

Despite nursing a sore shoulder, O'Brien came out firing as he completed a 11-yard pass to Shuler to start the drive, then hit Toon for 30 yards for a New York 1st down at the Miami 22-yard-line.

Then, O'Brien handed the ball off to McNeil, who ran for 10 yards and another 1st down, which was followed by a Hector run up the middle for no gain as the Jets sat at the Miami 12-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.

O'Brien would scramble for five yards on the first play of the fourth quarter then would connect with Shuler for a seven-yard touchdown to bring the Jets to within three points at 34-31 just 51 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Jets wide receiver Al Toon caught 14 passes for 181 yards.

Miami would drive from its 28-yard-line to the New York 48-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 26-yard-line with 11:06 remaining in regulation.

The drive began on the ground as McNeil took a handoff from O'Brien and ran around the right side for 13 yards and a 1st down at the New York 39-yard-line.

A five-yard run by Hector and an incomplete pass would lead to a 3rd & 5 where O'Brien connected with Toon for 13 yards and another Jets 1st down at the Miami 43-yard-line.

O'Brien would then an incomplete pass on 1st down which was followed by an nine-yard run by Vick to set up 3rd & 1 where the Dolphins drew an illegal use of hands penalty to give New York a 1st down at the Miami 29-yard-line.

A 12-yard run by McNeil gave the Jets another 1st down at the Dolphins' 17-yard-line when an illegal procedure penalty push the Jets back five yards to the Miami 22-yard-line.

McNeil got four of the five yards back on a 1st down run to set up 2nd & 11 when O'Brien fired a 18-yard touchdown pass to Walker to give New York a 38-34 lead with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins would begin its ensuing possession at their 31-yard-line as Marino completed passes of 16 yards to Clayton and 15 yards to running back Ron Davenport to push the Miami offense to the New York 38-yard-line.

However, after a three-yard run by Davenport and two straight incomplete passes, the Dolphins were faced with a 4th & 7 at the New York 35-yard-line with just about four minutes to go.

Like he had done late in the first half, Shula decided to go for the 1st down but this time the gamble did not pay off as Marino's pass intended for Banks fell incomplete giving the Jets the ball at their 35-yard-line with 3:58 to go in the game, hoping to pick up some 1st downs and run out the clock.

The drive began with a four-yard run by McNeil, followed by a seven-yard run by Hector for a New York 1st down at its 46-yard-line as Miami called its first timeout of the second half with 3:03 remaining.

An one-yard run by McNeil and an incomplete pass set up a critical 3rd & 9 when O'Brien found Toon for a 13-yard completion to give the Jets a 1st down at the Dolphins' 40-yard-line as Miami called its third and final timeout with 2:36 to go.

McNeil would run for three yards on 1st down on the last play before the two-minute warning which was followed by two straight runs by Hector that picked up seven yards and another 1st down at the Dolphins' 30-yard-line, allowing the Jets to take a knee twice to seal the 38-34 victory for New York.

The Dolphins would finish the season with a 6-10 record which was the worst record for a single season in Shula's legendary 33-year career as a NFL head coach as he retired following the 1995 NFL season as the all-time wins leader with 347 career wins.

As for the Jets, they would go back to Ryan as the starting quarterback for their game the next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, which they lost 38-34 before going back to O'Brien who came off the bench in the next-to-last game of the regular season and led New York to a 34-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts and a 27-21 win over the New York Giants to finish the season with a 8-7-1 record but not good enough to make the playoffs.

O'Brien would retake the starting quarterback job for the 1989 season, which included another shootout win over the Dolphins in week 3 as the Jets won that game 40-33 and held on to the starting job until the 1992 season when he was replaced by Browning Nagle.

O'Brien would retire from the NFL following the 1993 season which he spent with the Philadelphia Eagles as he started four games but losing in place of an injured Randall Cunningham.