East Rutherford, N.J. » Ted Ginn Jr. was angry, his ego bruised by an embarrassing benching.
The Miami receiver took out his frustration on the New York Jets, returning two long kickoffs for touchdowns in the third quarter, and the Dolphins' defense held on for a 30-25 victory Sunday.
"Not being in that starting lineup hurt me deep down inside," Ginn said. "I just wanted to make plays. You don't always have to be a starter to make plays."
Benched in favor of rookie Brian Hartline, Ginn made all the difference on special teams by returning kickoffs of 100 and 101 yards for scores. He also became the first player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same quarter since Green Bay's Travis Williams in 1967, according to STATS LLC.
"To be who I am and to have played as many games as I have as a starter, I had to do things on the other end to keep me confident," the 2007 first-round draft pick said. "Being a pro, you understand things happen. I got my mind right."
He also helped Miami sweep the two regular-season games against the Jets in the teams' second meeting in 20 days.
"We're responsible for the loss," said Jets special teams ace Wallace Wright. "That killed us. If they didn't run back those two kickoffs, it's over."
Maybe so, especially when the Jets' defense shut down the Dolphins' wildcat formation and held Miami to just 104 yards of total offense compared to New York's 378.
"Sometimes things just don't make sense," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "Statistically, this game isn't going to look close."
Miami's second-ranked running attack rushed for just 52 yards, and Chad Henne was 12-for-21 for 112 yards and a late TD to Joey Haynos.
"They're a great team," Jets linebacker Bart Scott said sarcastically. "They'll probably contend for the Super Bowl."
It was one more shot in a tense rivalry reignited by a big heap of trash talk from both sides. It was ramped up after Jets linebacker Calvin Pace called the Dolphins' wildcat "nonsense" after Miami's 31-27 win Oct. 12. The bad feelings were evident even before the game, when the Jets' Kerry Rhodes and a few Dolphins players got into a shoving match during warmups.
| Miami | 0 | 3 | 21 | 6 | -- | 30 |
| N.Y. Jets | 0 | 3 | 16 | 6 | -- | 25 |
Second Quarter
NYJ » FG Feely 23, 12:20.
Mia » FG Carpenter 48, 1:55.
Third Quarter
NYJ » FG Feely 55, 10:24.
Mia » Ginn Jr. 100 kickoff return (Carpenter kick), 10:10.
Mia » Taylor 48 fumble return (Carpenter kick), 7:32.
NYJ » Sanchez 1 run (Feely kick), 3:26.
Mia » Ginn Jr. 101 kickoff return (Carpenter kick), 3:09.
NYJ » Edwards 19 pass from Sanchez (pass failed), 1:35.
Fourth Quarter
Mia » Haynos 5 pass from Henne (pass failed), 8:48.
NYJ » Keller 16 pass from Sanchez (pass failed), 5:52.
Attendance » 77,531.
Mia NYJ
| First downs | 10 | 23 |
| Total Net Yards | 104 | 378 |
| Rushes-yards | 23-52 | 40-127 |
| Passing | 52 | 251 |
| Punt Returns | 4-19 | 5-45 |
| Kickoff Returns | 6-299 | 5-115 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 12-22-0 | 20-35-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 6-60 | 2-14 |
| Punts | 7-51.7 | 7-36.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-25 | 6-40 |
| Time of Possession | 25:54 | 34:06 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing » Miami, Brown 11-27, Williams 8-27, Polite 1-3, Henne 3-(minus 5). N.Y. Jets, Jones 27-102, Greene 8-18, Sanchez 4-6, Cotchery 1-1.
Passing » Miami, Henne 12-21-0-112, Brown 0-1-0-0. N.Y. Jets, Sanchez 20-35-0-265.
Receiving » Miami, Bess 4-18, Williams 2-41, Haynos 2-20, Fasano 2-16, Camarillo 1-15, Brown 1-2. N.Y. Jets, Keller 8-76, Edwards 4-74, Cotchery 3-70, Clowney 3-16, Jones 1-28, Richardson 1-1.
