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 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.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis said: “The sky is the limit. This is the best bunch of guys I’ve been around. We’ve got so much talent and we have confidence in each other.”
Congratulations to @nyjets on your #Wembley victory. Good luck to #Jets and @MiamiDolphins for the rest of the season pic.twitter.com/hMMntk9gZX
— Wembley Stadium (@wembleystadium) October 4, 2015
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.
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 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.