The Jets have gotten three first downs from Tim Tebow on fake punts this season, but his presence as personal punt protector worked against them in the first quarter on Sunday.
Tebow blocked to his left with Robert Malone punting from near his own end zone, missing the hard-charging Dolphins defensive back Jimmy Wilson. Wilson blocked Malone’s punt and defensive end Olivier Vernon recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. It was the second big special teams play for the Dolphins on Sunday, they previously recovered an onside kick, and a big boost on a day when they might be playing without quarterback Ryan Tannehill the rest of the way.
Wilson had a big play just before the punt as well. He blitzed on a third down and dropped Mark Sanchez for a sack that forced Malone’s ill-fated punt. The Jets offense hasn’t done much to this point in the game and things got worse on the ensuing drive when Sanchez got the ball knocked out by cornerback Nolan Carroll and defensive tackle Paul Soliai snagged it for an interception.
The Dolphins lead 10-0 with just under two minutes to play in the quarter.