MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins’ easiest road to the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and the AFC East title was defeating the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins’ 30-0 shellacking of the Jets, their first shutout since 2020, ensures they’re taking the easy road.

The Dolphins were playing without a number of key starters, most notably wide receiver Tyreek Hill (left ankle), cornerback Xavien Howard (hip), safeties Jevon Holland (knees) and DeShon Elliott (concussion) and right guard Rob Hunt (hamstring).

Before turning the page to Miami’s crucial season-ending trio of against Dallas, at Baltimore and against Buffalo, here are some more takeaways from Sunday.

Tyreek 2K

Hill, of course, was inactive due to a left ankle injury so he stayed at 1,542 yards receiving through 14 games. His 1,542 yards receiving led the league entering Sunday’s game and were third-most through 13 games in NFL history.

Hill now needs to average 153 yards per game to reach his goal of a NFL-record 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

Sunday marked the first game Hill has missed as a Dolphins player, a span of 33 games including the playoffs. — Chris Perkins

Mostert establishes record marks

Running back Raheem Mostert established a franchise record for touchdowns and rushing touchdowns in the first quarter with his 2-yard run. It was Mostert’s 19th touchdown, eclipsing the mark previously held by wide receiver Mark Clayton (18 touchdowns in 1984).

It was also Mostert’s 17th rushing touchdown, eclipsing running back Ricky Williams’ 16 in 2002.

Mostert entered the game No. 2 in the league in rushing with 924 yards. He ended with 42 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.

Dolphins stop fake punt attempt thanks to Wilkins, Davis

The Jets attempted a fake punt in the first quarter but the Dolphins were onto with defensive linemen Raekwon Davis and Christian Wilkins making the tackle on safety Ashtyn Davis after his one-yard loss on fourth and four from the Jets’ 42-yard line. Miami converted that play into a 37-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders and a 10-0 lead.

Big plays continue

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle had a 60-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, adding to Miami’s impressive list of big plays.

Miami entered Sunday’s game with a league-leading 10 plays of 50 or more yards. The next closest teams – San Francisco, had six when play began Sunday.

OL shuffle goes deeper, and they’re still effective

Miami’s offensive line opened the game without right guard Rob Hunt (hamstring) and in the second quarter it lost right tackle Austin Jackson to the oblique injury that made him questionable for the game during the week. Kendall Lamm filled in for Jackson.

So the Dolphins finished the game with center Liam Eichenberg, left guard Lester Cotton, right guard Robert Jones, left tackle Terron Armstead and Lamm at right tackle.

In case you forgot, Eichenberg, Cotton, Jones and Lamm are all backups.

The starting offensive line of Eichenberg, Cotton, Jones, Armstead and Jackson was the Dolphins’ 10th starting offensive line combination of the year.

And although the Dolphins gave up three sacks and Miami only rushed for 77 yards the offensive line did a decent job.

Dolphins take the correct injury approach

Coach Mike McDaniel had some tough injury decisions Sunday but he made the right call by sidelining wide receiver Tyreek Hill (left ankle), safety Jevon Holland (knees), cornerback Xavien Howard (hip) and right guard Rob Hunt (hamstring).

The most important thing is having those players available for the three-game finish that starts next week against Dallas, at Baltimore and against Buffalo.

McDaniel was gambling the Dolphins would be good enough to defeat the Jets without those key players and he was right. Sunday’s injury decision allows the Dolphins to be as healthy as possible heading into the most important three-game stretch of the brief McDaniel era.

McDaniel the humanitarian

McDaniel showed another way he isn’t your typical NFL coach on Sunday.

Early in the fourth quarter Jets defensive lineman Solomon Thomas went down to a knee near the Dolphins’ goal line on a Raheem Mostert run to the Jets 1-yard line. Jets edge rusher Will McDonald was also down.

McDaniel walked down the field to see Thomas, who was on the San Francisco 49ers when McDaniel was there. Thomas was the No. 3 pick of the draft in 2017, McDaniel’s first year with the 49ers. Thomas and McDaniel were in San Francisco together for four years, before Thomas went to the Raiders.

Thomas, coincidentally, was also a high school teammate of Dolphins center Connor Williams.

Not many NFL coaches check on rival players, and it seemed the first time McDaniel has done so as the Dolphins’ head coach.

Ramsey shadows Garrett Wilson, and shuts him down

All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey showed why he’s a baller as he shut down Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, and put on a clinic in blanket coverage in the process.

Wilson ended with three receptions for 29 yards and no touchdowns. He was targeted just four times. Wilson had no receptions and, more impressiely, no targets in the first half.

Jets backup quarterback Trevor Siemian threw at Garrett Wilson early in the third quarter but Ramsey broke up the play.

Ramsey, usually the left cornerback, traveled with Wilson on Sunday. Wilson’s only escape was when he lined up in the slot. This was the first time Ramsey has shadowed a wide receiver as a member of the Dolphins.

Defensive touchdown streak ends, but defense dominates

Miami’s defense almost scored a touchdown Sunday, which would have extended it streak for four consecutive games, but it didn’t happen.

However, the Dolphins’ defense set up the first touchdown of the game when  edge rusher Bradley Chubb and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins combined on a strip-sack of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. Defensive lineman Zach Sieler recovered the fumble at the Jets 4-yard line and returned it three yards to the 1-yard line. Running back Raheem Mostert scored for the 7-0 lead.

Miami entered Sunday’s game with a pick-six (interception return for a touchdown) in three consecutive games, started by Holland’s 99-yard pick-six at the New York Jets shortly before halftime.

Defensive pressure has been consistent

Miami’s defense recorded its first shutout since 2020 (also against the Jets) and just as impressively the Dolphins had six sacks and 14 quarterback hits.

Miami entered the game with a league-leading 98 quarterback hits and its 42 sacks were tied for third-most in the league.

Defensive linean Christian Wilkins was the team leader in sacks (7.5) entering the game followed by defensive lineman Zach Sieler and edge rusher Bradley Chubb (6.5 apiece), and linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (4.5) and Andrew Van Ginkel (4.0). Edge rusher Jalean Phillips (6.5 sacks) is out for the season with an Achilles injury.

Chubb ended with 3.0 sacks, Sieler had one and Wilkins, and linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel, Duke Riley and Emmanel Ogbah each had a half-sack.

Only one other time have the Dolphins so dominantly swept the Jets

Miami getting two wins against the Jets this season by a net point differential of 51 (34-13 and 30-0) is second in the category of the most dominant sweep of the Jets all-time, behind only the 1975 results, where Miami annihilated the Jets 43-0 at Shea Stadium and then 27-7 at the Orange Bowl, for a 63-point net. However, this is the first time Miami has won both games by at least 21 points.
The next-most decisive sweeps came in 2020 (41 points) and 1983 (38). — Steve Svekis

Miami’s December rout of the Jets in Miami Gardens was unprecedented

The Dolphins opened as a 13.5-point favorite against the Jets last Sunday. Miami covering that spread was a first in the history of games played between the teams in Miami Gardens after November. Previously, the Dolphins had never beaten the Jets by double-digits in their 14 games played in December or January at Hard Rock Stadium, with the most decisive Dolphins win coming the first time they played at HRS, in 1987, with the Dolphins winning by nine points, 37-28.

Dolphins extended their NFL-second-best active turnover streak

As Miami grabbed four takeaways against the Jets, it extended their streak of games with at least one takeaway to eight games. That puts them with the second-longest active streak, behind the incredible run of the Indianapolis Colts, who have 19 consecutive such games. It is also the most turnovers in a five-game stretch (13) since the same number in 2016.

Dolphins are one sack from tying the club mark

After a half-dozen sacks Sunday, Miami had 48 sacks, one back of the franchise record set in 1983 and then matched in 2005.

Raheem Mostert didn’t just set a mark for touchdowns

With his 16 touches against the Jets, Mostert set a career high with 221 for a season, besting his 212 of last year. Still, even though he is almost 32 years old, he looks really fresh, probably aided by only having 753 career touches.

Now that they have their 10th win, what is possible for Miami?

The Dolphins now are one win from their best record in past 15 years (11-5 in 2008), two from the best mark since 1990’s 12-4 and a sweep from 13-4, a record better that any Dolphins season since 1984’s 14-2 Super Bowl team.

On deck: Dallas Cowboys, Hard Rock Stadium, 4:25 p.m., Sunday

The Cowboys, led by MVP-candidate quarterback Dak Prescott, return to a stadium where Dallas has never lost, going 3-0 with an average score of 30-15. … Dallas, whose offense has scored 31.8 points per game on artificial surfaces this season, has seen that unit limited to 17.7 points per contest played on grass, losing two of those three games and only beating the one-win Carolina Panthers.