MIAMI — Bilal Powell rushed for 76 yards on 21 carries and he completed a 30-yard halfback option pass at a critical moment in the Jets’ 20-7 win over the Dolphins Sunday at Sun Life Stadium. But it was a play he made on which he did not touch the ball that made the biggest impact in the game.
The Jets were tied with the Dolphins, 7-7, late in the first half and faced a third-and-goal from the Miami 7-yard line with 9 seconds remaining before halftime. The play called for a quarterback keeper by Jets rookie Geno Smith.
Powell stoned defensive end Cameron Wake, the Dolphins best defensive player, with a punishing block to seal him off to the right of Smith’s running lane. That in itself would have been enough to be called a textbook-perfect play, but Powell was not finished.
Powell wheeled around after putting Wake to the ground and saw Smith was caught up at the goal line trying to wrestle his way into the end zone with Miami’s best linebacker, Dannell Ellerbe, preventing him from breaking the plane. And, before the whistle could be blown signaling the stop of forward progress, Powell plowed into Smith and Ellerbe and blew them both into the end zone.
That made it 14-7 Jets with 3 seconds remaining in the half, sent the team’s sideline into a frenzy, and the Jets would never lose the lead as they finished up the season 8-8.
“Our whole mind-set here was to come down here and not get denied, so when I saw Geno get stood up, I was like, ‘Extra help,’ ’’ said Powell, who rarely speaks to reporters out of shyness. “I was on Wake and I looked up and saw Geno go past me and he kind of got stood up and his momentum stopped a little bit. So I tried to give him an extra push. It wasn’t too much, but it was enough to get him [in the end zone] through.’’
“Bilal is just such a good football player and so underrated with such a big heart,’’ Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Man, he just produces. We lost our big horse [Chris Ivory to a hip injury early in the game] and Bilal stepped it up like he always does.’’
His effort on the play, arguably the biggest of the day, surprised no one on the Jets considering how dependable and durable Powell has been.
Receiver David Nelson said Powell’s play symbolized the entire team.
“That’s the makeup of this team,’’ Nelson said. “We don’t have a lot of stars, no Pro Bowl guys except for a couple alternates. We have a bunch of guys who love the game, respect the game and play the right way, and Bilal is a testament to that.’’
The flashiest play Powell made was the halfback-option pass he threw to tight end Jeff Cumberland in the fourth quarter. It set up a Nick Folk field goal that sealed the win.
“Trust me, I did a lot of practicing this week,’’ Powell said. “I can’t even count on both hands and feet how many times we practiced that [pass]. My hat goes off to the offensive coaching staff for having enough trust in me at that critical time in the game to even call that play up.’’
Powell said the last time he completed a pass was in high school.
“We’ll see what the future holds with that situation,’’ he said. “That’s Geno’s job to keep, trust me.’’