NFL Old School Game of the Week: Jets Nip Dolphins in Battle for 1st Place in AFC East

 

Jets tight end Jerome Barkum catches what would be the game-winning touchdown pass.

First place in the AFC East division was on the line when the Miami Dolphins traveled to Shea Stadium to take on the New York Jets during Week 12 of the 1981 NFL season.

The Dolphins came into the game with a 7-3-1 record under head coach Don Shula who was in his 12th season as the Miami head coach, but his first without quarterback Bob Griese, who had retired following the 1980 season and was replaced by second-year quarterback David Woodley.

Woodley's role was that of game manager as the strength of the Dolphins was their running game which featured tailback Tony Nathan and fullback Andra Franklin plus their defense nicknamed the "Killer Bees" as five of the 11 Miami starters had the first letter of their last name start with the letter "B" as Miami was looking for its ninth season of at least 10 wins and seventh trip to the postseason since Shula became head coach.

While a game with first place up for grabs in late November was nothing new for the Dolphins, it was a new feeling for the Jets who came into the came with a 6-4-1 record as New York was hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1969.

The Jets were led by head coach Walt Michaels, who was in his fifth season as the New York head coach and had directed the Jets back from the dead after a 0-3 start to the 1981 season.

Like the Dolphins, the Jets' strength was on defense with a defensive line that was nicknamed the "New York Sack Exchange" which featured Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam as the Jets would lead the league in quarterback sacks.

On offense, the Jets had Richard Todd at quarterback, who was in his seventh season in New York having taking over for Joe Namath following the 1976 season and rookie Freeman McNeil at running back.

If the Jets could knock off the Dolphins, they would be tied with Miami for 1st place in the AFC East division with New York holding the tiebreaker as the Jets would be 1-0-1 in their two meetings over the Dolphins(The two teams played to a 28-28 tie in Week 5).

 After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Jets were able to drive 72 yards in 12 plays to set up a 29-yard field goal by Pat Leahy to give New York a 3-0 lead with 3:15 to go in the first quarter.

The Jets would force a three-and-out by the Dolphins to get the ball back at their 41-yard-line as the New York offense would drive to the Miami 25-yard-line when a quarterback sack by Miami linebacker Earnest Rhone leading the Jets to settle for a 49-yard field goal by Leahy which increased New York's lead to 6-0 early in the second quarter.

The "New York Sack Exchange" held the Dolphins to 187 yards of total offense.

The Dolphins would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line when Woodley would complete three straight passes that picked up 21 yards which were followed by three straight running plays that totaled 14 yards to put Miami at the New York 45-yard-line.

From there, Woodley would a 14-yard pass to running back Tony Nathan which was followed by a 14-yard pass to Duriel Harris that put the Dolphins at the Jets' 17-yard-line.

Two plays later on 3rd & 7, Woodley would scramble for 10 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Jets' four-yard-line when Woodley pitched the ball to Nathan who was able to punch it in for the touchdown that with the extra point to give the Dolphins a 7-6 lead with 4:56 to go in the second quarter.

The "Killer Bees" would make its presence felt on the Jets' ensuing drive as linebacker A.J. Duhe knocked the ball loose from McNeil, leading to a recovery by fellow linebacker Don Gordon to give Miami the ball at the New York 33-yard-line.

However, the Miami offense would go backwards as tight end Ronnie Lee lost five yards on a short pass on 2nd down followed by a quarterback sack by Salaam to force the Dolphins to punt the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 12-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Todd would be sacked in the end zone by Gordon for a safety which increased the Dolphins' lead to 9-6 and gave them the ball back following a free kick by the Jets as Miami would begin its next possession at its 49-yard-line with 1:55 left in the first half.

A six-yard run by Eddie Hill put the Dolphins in Jets territory which was followed by an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 4 when a eight-yard pass to Nathan which coupled with a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Klecko gave Miami a 1st down at the New York 22-yard-line.

The "New York Sack Exchange" would strike again as Gastineau sacked Woodley for a seven-yard loss which lead the Dolphins to settle for a 46-yard field goal by Uwe von Schamann that increased the Miami lead to 12-6 as the first half came to an end.

The third quarter would be a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until McNeil fumbled the football after a hit by Dolphins defensive end Doug Betters leading to a recovery by nose tackle Bob Baumhower at the Miami 48-yard-line, only for Miami to give the ball right back to the Jets as Woodley was intercepted by New York linebacker Stan Blinka whose 15-yard return gave New York the ball at the Miami 47-yard-line.

The Jets would drive to the Dolphins' 18-yard-line until another quarterback sack by Rhone for a 10-yard-loss led to another field goal by Leahy, this one from 45 yards out to cut the Miami lead in half to 12-9 just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter.

After both teams went three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, the Dolphins got the ball at their 20-yard-line with 10:31 to go in the fourth quarter as Miami would hold the ball for over seven minutes as they ran the ball 11 straight times for 75 yards.

A 26-yard run by Woodley to begin the drive and a 20-yard run by Franklin were the biggest plays of the drive which culminated with a 23-yard field goal by von Schmann which increased the Dolphins lead to 15-9 with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter.

Following a 16-yard return by Bruce Harper on the ensuing kickoff, the Jets would take over at their 23-yard-line with exactly three minutes left in regulation for New York to drive down the field for a potential game-winning touchdown.

Quarterback Richard Todd would complete seven of 10 passes for 74 yards on the Jets' 11-play, 77-yard game-winning touchdown drive.

McNeil would touch the ball on the next two plays as he caught a swing pass for eight yards to start the drive followed by a three-yard run to give the Jets a 1st down at the New York 34-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

A two-yard pass to Harper and an incomplete pass set up 3rd & 8 when Todd fired a pass over the middle for running back Scott Diekering for nine yards to give the Jets a 1st down at their 45-yard-line.

That is when Todd completed passes of 18 yards to Wesley Walker and 12 yards to Lam Jones to put the Jets at the Dolphins' 25-yard-line with less than a minute to go.

After an incomplete pass, Todd would hit Jones for 14 yards and another 1st down at the 11-yard-line as Todd took a shot at the end zone as his 1st down pass fell incomplete to set up 2nd & 10.

That is when Todd threw a pass over the middle that was caught by tight end Jerome Barkum in the end zone which tied the game at 15 with 16 seconds to go in regulation.

Leahy would come on to kick the go-ahead extra point as the Dolphins can not pull off a miracle in the final seconds as the Jets came away with the 16-15 win and tie them with Miami for 1st place in the AFC East with a 7-4-1 record with New York holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins.

The Jets would remain in 1st place for two more weeks until a loss a 27-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks coupled with a Miami 24-14 win over the New England Patriots put the Dolphins back in 1st place with an one-game lead.

The Dolphins would end the season with a 11-4-1 record finishing just one game ahead of the Jets who finished with a 10-5-1, to give Miami the AFC East title while New York earned a Wild Card spot to give the Jets their first playoff berth since 1969.

Both teams would be one-and-done in the playoffs as the Jets lost 31-27 to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Game while the Dolphins would lose the "Epic in Miami", a 41-38 overtime defeat to the San Diego Chargers.

While the Jets did not finish the season in 1st place in the AFC East, their 1981 season was start of a eight-year period which featured five winning seasons and four playoff appearances, including a trip to the 1982 AFC Championship Game.