MetLife Stadium wasn’t exactly a tundra Sunday. It was a brisk, chilly day in East Rutherford, N.J. when the Miami Dolphins faced the New York Jets with a temperature of 41 degrees at kickoff.
In the past that has been cold enough to throw Hawaii-native Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins off their game. That wasn’t the case in the Week 14 matchup, though.
The Dolphins dominated in every aspect on their way to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. From there, they leaned on their ground game and defense to cruise to a 34-10 win. Miami hammered its way to 239 rushing yards and held the Jets to 207 yards of offense and three turnovers.
“That’s a formula to win games in December,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. “I think December football is unique and special because you kind of know what’s coming. So, there’s not too many hidden bells and whistles.
“Going into this season, we felt like we have a strength in the offensive line unit. You knew that the Jets were going to come in and try to stop the run. Just to be able to have that type of success on the ground, that’s December football and that’s how you win. Being able to execute when they know it’s coming is what you’re trying to work towards the whole season.”
De’Von Achane racked up 92 rushing yards and a touchdown on only seven carries before he exited the game with a rib injury. The Dolphins offense instead turned to Jaylen Wright, who had a career day with 107 rushing yards and his first ever touchdown. Rookie Ollie Gordon II also got in on the action with a touchdown of his own.
CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP#ProBowlVote@ffvmousvon_ 😤 pic.twitter.com/LLvJfKGrar
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 7, 2025
Tagovailoa wasn’t asked to do much. After completing his first eight passes of the game, including a 3-yard touchdown to Jaylen Waddle, the Dolphins were content to let the run game carry them to victory. Tagovailoa finished with 127 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
Defensively, the Dolphins kept the Jets from converting a first down until the final two minutes of the first half. New York converted only one of 12 third down tries and turned the ball over three times.
The Dolphins will likely need to follow a similar recipe against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While it’s still a week away, early forecasts are expecting temperatures in the 30s at Acrisure Stadium for Monday Night Football.
“It’s football,” Tagovailoa said. “Whether it’s hot, whether it’s cold, you got to go out there and you got to play.”
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins finally have ‘formula to win games in December’
