Dolphins set franchise record with third defensive touchdown in as many weeks

The Miami Dolphins have scored a defensive touchdown in each of their last three games, setting a franchise record.

When you generally think about the Miami Dolphins and scoring points, you think about one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL, and for good reason. But do you know that when Miami defensive lineman Zach Sieler picked off this Will Levis pass against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night and returned it five yards for a touchdown, it marked the third straight game in which the Dolphins scored a defensive touchdown, which set a franchise record?

We’ll start with safety Jevon Holland’s 99-yard pick-six against quarterback Tim Boyle and the New York Jets on Black Friday, which was the worst Hail Mary attempt we’ve ever seen.

And then in Week 13 against the Washington Commanders, pass-rusher Andrew Van Ginkel took this Sam Howell screen attempt 33 yards to the house.

As Sieler weight 305 pounds, we’ll call that a #THICCSIX. Van Ginkel clocks in at about 240, and Holland weighs 210, those touchdowns do not apply. We don’t make the rules here; we just follow them.

Jets releasing Tim Boyle, signing Brett Rypien off Seahawks practice squad

The Jets are releasing Tim Boyle and signing Brett Rypien off of the Seahawks’ practice squad.

Tim Boyle was the starting quarterback for the New York Jets on Sunday versus the Atlanta Falcons, and he’ll now seek a new team. Less than 48 hours after losing to the Falcons at home, the Jets are releasing Boyle and signing Brett Rypien off the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.

Boyle started the Jets’ last two games against the Falcons and the Miami Dolphins. The fifth-year veteran completed 48 of his 77 attempts for 360 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions in his three appearances this season.

After losing Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury in Week 1, the Jets have now had three different starting quarterbacks entering Week 14. There’s a chance the Jets have a fourth different starter on Sunday versus the Houston Texans as it remains to be seen if they go back to Zach Wilson or let Trevor Siemian operate the offense.

Upon releasing Boyle, the Jets are bringing in Rypien in hopes he can provide depth at the position. Rypien was released by the Los Angeles Rams after starting in a 20-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 9, and he’s been on the Seahawks practice squad in recent weeks.

The Jets are still deciphering what to do at the quarterback position down the stretch, but one thing is for certain. Boyle won’t be making another start for the Jets this season.

Twitter reacts to Zach Wilson’s reported refusal to play for the Jets

The Jets have poisoned their quarterback situation to the point where former 2nd-overall pick Zach Wilson reportedly doesn’t want to play.

The New York Jets’ 2023 quarterback situation, ending as it did in a competitive sense a few plays into the regular season when Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tenson, is one of the worst in NFL history.

It’s bad enough at this point that Zach Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft who never quite panned out for the team, is now reluctant to return to the field for the team that drafted him — this per reports from Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.

Wilson had started a team-high nine games this season, but has been part of a merry-go-round that showed just how clueless the franchise was with any sort of backup plan for a Rodgers injury. Wilson has completed 190 of 321 passes this season for 1,944 yards, six touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 73.8. That’s not amazing by any stretch, but if you stack it up against the performances of Tom Boyle and Trevor Siemian, Rodgers’ other backups in this crazy quilt, Wilson looks like… well, Aaron Rodgers in comparison.

In their 15-8 embarrassment of a loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, Boyle completed 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards, no touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 56.7 before being benched in “favor” of Siemian, who completed five of 13 passes for 66 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, three sacks, and a passer rating of 55.3.

As for Wilson, he was benched in the Jets’ 32-6 Week 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills, and relegated to third quarterback before the Jets’ 34-13 Week 12 loss to the Miami Dolphins. In that Black Friday game, Boyle threw a 99-yard pick-six to Miami safety Jevon Holland.

So, you can understand why Wilson might have some hard feelings about the ways in which things have gone, though he hasn’t come close to looking like a functional starting quarterback in the NFL to date.

The Jets next face the Houston Texans next Sunday. Stay tuned to see who will be suiting up at the game’s most important position!

And meanwhile, you can check out the most prominent responses to this news on social media.

Could Jets go back to Zach Wilson this season?

After another quarterback benching in Week 13, could the Jets turn back to Zach Wilson yet again this season?

The Jets are right back to where they were just two weeks ago, on the heels of another disappointing offensive performance that included yet another quarterback benching. This time, it was Tim Boyle being replaced by Trevor Siemian during New York’s 13-8 Week 13 loss.

Head coach Robert Saleh didn’t give any sense after the game of which quarterback will start Week 14 against the Houston Texans. The easy answer may be Siemian as simply the next in line. But there is another consideration for Saleh: the first quarterback he benched this season.

Believe it or not, it can’t be ruled out yet that Saleh decides to go back to Zach Wilson just a few weeks after he was replaced by Boyle during Week 11’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The reason is that the Jets simply don’t have options at this point. New York was hoping for a spark with a quarterback change. The offense somehow got worse during Boyle’s two starts. Boyle is missing wide open receivers and led just one touchdown drive in two games. Boyle went 14/25 for 148 yards with an interception and was sacked once. He was benched after the interception.

Siemian didn’t fare much better when he replaced Boyle in the fourth quarter against the Falcons, going 5/13 for 66 yards and was sacked three times.

So where does that leave the Jets? Maybe Wilson is the best option going forward. At the very least, he may be the No. 2 quarterback against the Texans behind Siemian. The Jets have seen a variety of highs and lows (mostly lows) from Wilson, but those times when Wilson actually clicks, the offense can look somewhat sustainable. Wilson outplayed Patrick Mahomes in New York’s near upset of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 before a costly fumble ended their hopes.

The offense as a whole is broken. That’s been known for weeks. Injuries depleted the roster, especially up front. The Jets started their ninth different offensive line combination Sunday (Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Joe Tippmann, Wes Schweitzer, Carter Warren). That will take a toll on any offense. But it’s also hard to say now that Wilson was the entire reason the offense struggled in the first half of the season.

At this point, Saleh might as well consider Wilson for the homestretch. The Jets have to make a decision, one they’ll likely decline, on his fifth-year option this offseason — picking up the option would guarantee Wilson over $20 million in 2025 — and the more film on Wilson, the better. New York can’t go back to Boyle at this point and Siemian isn’t going to give that much more.

This is another reason why the Jets’ lack of an emergency plan behind Aaron Rodgers both in the offseason and after the injury — Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins, pre-Achilles injury, could have been had at the trade deadline — have helped lead to another wasted season. Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas likely get one more run in 2024 thanks to a returning Aaron Rodgers, but their seats will be white-hot all year.

At the very least, they’ll want the quarterback that gives them them the best chance to win. Right now, that may be Zach Wilson.

Robert Saleh not committing to quarterback yet for Week 14

Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn’t commit to a quarterback for Week 14 following the benching of Tim Boyle.

Here we go again. Just two weeks after benching Zach Wilson for Tim Boyle, the Jets are right back in a quarterback conundrum after benching Boyle in favor of Trevor Siemian during Sunday’s 13-8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Robert Saleh would not commit to a starter for Week 14 against the Houston Texans.

“I’m not there yet,” he told reporters after the game Sunday.

The offense struggled yet again and after throwing an interception midway through the second half, the Jets made the quarterback switch in the fourth quarter. This marks three seasons in a row that the Jets had four quarterbacks see playing time in a game in a season. If the Jets turn to Siemian against the Texans, it would mark the first time since 1989 the Jets had four different quarterbacks start a game in a season.

Saleh said Wilson is always an option but the sense is that Siemian would be more likely at this point. The reality is none of the options are viable and the Jets are now just riding out the season. A fifth straight loss dropped the Jets to 4-8 on the season and all but ended any hope at the playoffs and having Aaron Rodgers make a grand return this season. The Jets will try it again in 2024. The silver lining is they’ll have their first-round pick and it may end up being a top-five pick. New York currently sits 7th in the draft order but it wouldn’t take much to move up. Washington is 4th at 4-9 and they visit New York in Week 16.

The lack of a backup option at quarterback has led to the Jets wasting another season of excellent defensive play and their record is going to be even worse than last year’s 7-10.

Instant analysis as Jets lose fifth straight, likely end any chance of Aaron Rodgers return

Instant analysis as Jets lose fifth straight, likely end any chance of Aaron Rodgers return

Yet another ugly offensive performance for the New York Jets as they fail to find the end zone for the third time in the last five games. Just two field goals and a safety lit up the scoreboard for New York in their 13-8 loss in Week 13 to the Atlanta Falcons. That’s five straight losses for the Jets as they fall to 4-8 and likely ended any chance of quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning this season, let alone any hopes of a playoff spot.

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Jets made another in-game switch as Tim Boyle was benched in favor of Trevor Siemian, marking the third straight season the Jets have had four quarterbacks see action in a game.

Let’s run through some quick notes as the season is all but lost with five games left.

6 takeaways from Jets’ devastating 13-8 defeat to Falcons

Here are our six immediate takeaways from the Jets’ dismal 13-8 loss to the Falcons in Week 13.

The New York Jets failed to put an end to their losing streak as they’ve now lost five consecutive games. The latest defeat was a dismal 13-8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13, handing the Jets a 4-8 record.

Similar to most weeks, the offense was stagnant and unable to produce enough points to win. Amid the team’s five-game losing streak, this was the third game where the Jets weren’t able to find the end zone on offense.

With another loss on the docket, here are our six takeaways from the Jets’ disappointing defeat to the Falcons in Week 13.

Jets make another quarterback switch, Trevor Siemian enters game

Trevor Siemian becomes the fourth Jets quarterback to see game action in 2023

The Jets have made yet another quarterback switch. After an overthrow intended for Garrett Wilson led to an interception, Tim Boyle has been benched in favor of Trevor Siemian during Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. This is the second mid-game quarterback switch for the Jets in the past three weeks after Boyle replaced Zach Wilson in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills.

Boyle went 14 of 25 for 148 yards with an interception, leading the Jets’ offense to just six points. The Jets also had a safety but trailed the Falcons 13-8 at Boyle’s benching in the fourth quarter.

Siemian, signed to the active roster heading into Week 12, becomes the fourth quarterback to see game action for the Jets this season. It’s the third season in a row the Jets have had four quarterbacks see the field at some point (Joe Flacco, Wilson, Mike White, Chris Streveler in 2022; Wilson, White, Josh Johnson, Flacco in 2021).

6 Jets to watch in Week 13 vs. Falcons

Here are six players from the Jets to watch in the team’s Week 13 showdown against the Falcons.

The New York Jets will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13 at MetLife Stadium for the second game of a three-game homestand. The Jets have lost four consecutive games, three by 21 points or more.

After drawing his first start as a member of the Jets in Week 12 versus the Miami Dolphins, Tim Boyle will be the starting quarterback against the Falcons. The offense didn’t show any improvement with Boyle at the helm, but the Jets lack solutions at the position despite Aaron Rodgers having his 21-day window opened off injured reserve this week.

In a matchup between two teams who have question marks at the quarterback position right now, here are six players to watch from the Jets in Week 13 versus the Falcons.

The NFL’s Worst of the Week: Diontae Johnson, shotgun runs, bad Jets/Pats, Shawn Hochuli

This week’s Worst of the Week in the NFL included Diontae Johnson, Jared Goff, the Jets and Patriots, and of course, more horrible officiating!

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season.