Dolphins cap rally vs. Jets with late field goal to stay in postseason hunt

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Wide receiver Greg Salas scored on a 20-yard end-around for his first NFL touchdown, giving the New York Jets a 7-0 lead over the Miami Dolphins after one quarter at a half-empty MetLife Stadium on Monday night.

Salas took the handoff from Geno Smith, zipped around the left end and was untouched until Miami's R.J. Stanford tried to trip him up at the 2-yard line, but Salas got in midway through the opening quarter.

Chris Johnson set up the play with an impressive 47-yard run -- his longest as a member of the Jets -- in which he made two Dolphins miss tackles as he zigged and zagged past them at the line of scrimmage before being caught at the 20.

Miami had a chance to get on the scoreboard, but Caleb Sturgis was wide left on a 43-yard attempt with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.

Ryan Tannehill got the ball to the Jets 22 with a 10-yard quarterback keeper up the middle, but lost 8 yards on Kenrick Ellis' first sack. After Jarvis Landry's 5-yard catch, Tannehill couldn't connect again with Landry as Sheldon Richardson and Quinton Coples put pressure on the Dolphins quarterback.

The Jets (2-9) are playing on Monday night for the second straight week after being routed 38-3 by the Buffalo Bills at Detroit's Ford Field in a game that was moved because of a lake-effect storm that dumped 7 feet of snow on western New York.

The Dolphins (6-5) are looking to keep pace in the AFC playoff hunt after falling to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 39-36 last week. Miami is 40-40 overall in Monday night games.

The Jets turned back to Smith as their starting quarterback after Michael Vick was under center the last three games. Smith has thrown for 1,459 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He threw interceptions on three straight possessions in his last start, against the Bills, before being replaced by Vick.

New York introduced the offense before the game -- but didn't announce Smith's name.

The teams have met 12 previous times on Monday Night Football, with the Jets winning seven -- including the 'Monday Night Miracle' in which New York scored 30 points in the fourth quarter before beating Miami 40-37 in overtime in October 2000. Wide receiver Wayne Chrebet, who caught two TD passes in that game, is being inducted into the Jets' Ring of Honor at halftime along with late former owner Leon Hess.

Despite the planned halftime festivities, heavy rains and the Jets' lousy record kept many fans away as several good tickets remained.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://ift.tt/1mCdQ6Q