After Further Review: Jets-Dolphins Officiating

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Dolphins 11-102 (leading to four Jets first downs)
Jets 5-105 (leading to three Dolphins first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

We already covered this on yesterday's Saucy Nuggets, but 100 yards for both teams is pretty rare. It happened on thanksgiving day last year but that was an overtime game. The last time both teams reached the 100-yard mark in regulation was in the 2020 opener between the Saints and Bucs.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Connor McGovern false start. Snapped the ball too late.
  • Tyler Conklin false start. Slight flinch.

Dolphins Penalties

  • Tyreek Hill illegal formation penalty. Lined up on the line of scrimmage with Durham Smythe already on the line.
  • Terron Armstead holding on Carl Lawson. Clear grab to prevent a sack as he came around the edge. Armstead left the game after this play.
  • Melvin Ingram facemask on tackle in the backfield. Clearly grabbed Breece Hall's facemask as he made the tackle.
  • Raekwon Davis facemask to negate sack on the next play. Again there was a clear grab on the facemask in the tackle.
  • Nik Needham illegal hands to the face on a Hall run. Had his hand on the side of Tyler Conklin's helmet initially and then moved it under the facemask.
  • Greg Little false start. A tiny flinch right before the snap, well spotted by the officials.
  • Delay of game. The ball was snapped well after the clock turned to zero.
  • Davis facemask penalty on Hall's touchdown. Ultimately a moot point as Hall was initially marked short but the booth corrected this as Robert Saleh was deciding between 1st-and-goal at the 2-and-a-half yard line or 2nd-and-goal at the one.
  • Illegal formation on the final offensive play. This was called on Brandon Shell because he was uncovered on the edge, but really it was Myles Gaskin's fault because he lined up out wide but off the line.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Sauce Gardner pass interference. Gardner recovered to a good position here but located the ball late and did extend his arm to impede the receiver's progress to make a play on the ball. If he got his head turned a beat sooner, he probably gets away with this.
  • DJ Reed pass interference. This one initially looked harsh because it was such a wide throw compared with where Tyreek Hill ended up. However, Reed did slow him up with a slight grab without which he could have made a play on the ball.
  • Deuce Carter pass interference. Initially this looked like a clean contest by Carter, but then the replay shows that he grabs low as he contests high. Again, he was in a good position, which always gives you a chance to get away with contact such as this.

All three calls were arguably correct, although in each case it was something you would hope to get away with and to get flagged on all three was unfortunate. These three plays gave Miami 95 yards - they otherwise only had 200.

Dolphins Penalties

  • Intentional grounding in the end zone on Teddy Bridgewater. This was a bad call as he appeared to be looking to get the ball to his outlet, Raheem Mostert, to his left, but the jarring hit affected the throw. In any case it landed right next to another eligible receiver in Durham Smythe. The other issue is whether this should have been a fumble or incomplete pass. This one is almost too close to call. The hit is right as he releases the throw, but he does propel it forward. Does he retain enough control to add forward impetus with the ball (one finger on the ball would be adequate) or is it an empty hand? Ultimately, it's so close, you're going to end up with the call on the field stands, which was incomplete with the grounding aspect not reviewable.
  • Kader Kohou pass interference. This was originally called on Jerome Baker, who was also nearby, but this was corrected in the official gamebook. Kohou grabbed Garrett Wilson right before the ball arrived on a slant route.
  • Connor Williams unnecessary roughness. Threw a slap and then headbutted John Franklin-Myers when he reacted. This could perhaps have been offsetting penalties, but for once they seemed to correctly identify the instigator.

Notable no-calls etc

Despite combining for over 200 penalty yards, the teams could easily have had a few more things flagged.

Here were some of the notable missed calls, controversial moments or review situations:

  • DJ Reed landed well out of bounds on his spectacular one-handed interception, but it warrants a mention anyway.
  • Jerome Baker never got his head turned on the deep ball to Conklin that hit him in the helmet. However, there was no contact before the ball arrived so it was correct to not flag this.
  • There were no penalties called on the play where the officials blew it dead and Connor Williams and Quinnen Williams scrapped with the Dolphins center ending up getting thrown to the ground. This could have been a key penalty on 3rd-and-7 had it gone against the Jets.
  • Mostert was correctly ruled out of bounds despite originally having been awarded a touchdown right before halftime. However, the ball was spotted on the half-yard line when it probably should have been just outside the one. Miami sneaked it for the touchdown on the next snap.
  • On that play, there was a question as to whether the quarterback's gesticulations while the tight end went under center to take the snap could constitute an illegal shift. Yes, it could...but in this case, Skylar Thompson crucially kept both feet completely rooted to the ground.
  • There definitely appeared to be a jersey grab on the back shoulder throw to Corey Davis on 4th-and-2.
  • Elijah Moore made a spectacular stretching grab with his toes at the sideline, but they were just on the white so the incomplete call was correct.

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...