Jets make last-minute stand to stop Dolphins

MIAMI - The Jets staved off the Dolphins' last gasp on fourth-and-4 from the 5-yard line, sending them to a scrappy 31-23 victory last night at Sun Life Stadium.

With 27 seconds left, the Jets' Drew Coleman picked off Chad Henne's deflected pass that was intended for tight end Anthony Fasano in the end zone.

"It was a dogfight,'' Rex Ryan said, "and I'm happy just to be on the winning side this time.''

LaDainian Tomlinson's 2-yard run with 1:55 left extended the Jets' lead to eight, and Gang Green hung on.

Braylon Edwards, who was benched for the entire first quarter as a disciplinary action for Tuesday's early-morning DWI arrest, had a 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Jets (2-1) a four-point lead.

Mark Sanchez completed 15 of 28 attempts for 256 yards and threw three touchdown passes for the second consecutive week, the first time he's done that in his 20 career starts.

Tight end Dustin Keller caught a pair of first-half touchdown passes, igniting a Jets offense that amassed 403 yards and racked up 20 first downs, getting it done for the second straight week. The Jets' 12-play, 80-yard drive finished by Tomlinson's score was a big-time answer, responding just when they needed it most.

"This gives us a little momentum,'' former Dolphin Jason Taylor said. "Our goal was to come down here and get a win regardless of all the fanfare, and all the stuff that was going on outside of true football.''

Henne completed 26 of 44 for 363 yards and two TDs, with one interception. With All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis out with a tight hamstring, the Jets had problems with wide receiver Brandon Marshall. He had 10 catches for 166 yards and a score.

In the final minutes, the Jets might have had butterflies the size of pterodactyls swarming through the pits of their stomachs, given the eerily similar scenario that was unfolding.

When the Jets took on the Dolphins here in prime time almost exactly a year ago, they found themselves in a see-saw affair. The Jets surrendered three fourth-quarter leads in a game that wasn't decided until the closing seconds, when the Dolphins yanked the Jets' hearts out on Ronnie Brown's touchdown run.

But even with that on their minds, they found a way to get it done this time with 70,481 mostly orange-clad fans screaming their heads off.

"To be honest, I thought about it,'' Ryan said. "There's no question I thought about it. I was like, 'Aw, you've got to be kidding me.' ''

After Miami (2-1) seized the momentum on Marshall's first touchdown as a Dolphin, on a 11-yard third-quarter pass from Henne, Edwards made an impression the very first time he was targeted.

Edwards caught a simple hitch from Sanchez along the left sideline, spun on cornerback Jason Allen to leave him looking silly, and hit the afterburners. He raced 67 yards to give the Jets to a 21-17 lead with 8:41 left in the third. They entered the fourth quarter up 21-20.

Fighting off the hostile early-game atmosphere, the Jets started in solid fashion. They sent a message to Miami that they were starting this divisional matchup by picking up where they left off last week against the Patriots. They marched 72 yards in 10 plays.

Sanchez hooked up with Keller for the TD, connecting with the tight end on second-and-9 from Miami's 24. Keller beat safety Yeremiah Bell on an out-and-up and Sanchez found him just behind the front right pylon for a 7-0 lead with 9:17 left in the first quarter.

Keller and Sanchez again made sweet music together two drives later. The Jets were backed up at their own 10 but put together another nice package of plays, and they got into scoring position, aided by an unnecessary-roughness penalty.

At the Dolphins' 12, Sanchez dropped back and looked for Keller over the middle. Keller beat Bell and linebacker Bobby Carpenter for his second touchdown of the game and third in the last two games.

Miami shaved the Jets' 14-point cushion in half behind a nine-play, 76-yard drive. Henne hit Fasano, who ran a curl route and boxed out Eric Smith, on first-and-goal from the 3, making it 14-7 with 9:13 left in the second quarter.

Dan Carpenter's 45-yard field goal trimmed the Jets' advantage to 14-10 with 1:02 left in the half. Nick Folk's 61-yard attempt was blocked as the half ended.