Where analysts rank 8-3 Dolphins in AFC. Plus Holland’s pick-six reaction, ‘Houdini’ Hill and more

Thoughts and observations from the Miami Dolphins’ 34-13 win over to the New York Jets on Black Friday at MetLife Stadium:

▪ They have been referred to by many this season as “Greatest Show on Surf,” an homage to the 1999 St. Louis Rams of “Greatest Show on Turf” lore. 14-time Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez pregame Friday called them “the Harlem Globetrotters on the football field.” And this is before even talking about the defense that now has arguably the most dangerous secondaries with a still-getting-healthy Jalen Ramsey opposite Xavien Howard.

But are the now 8-3 Dolphins making a case to be the front-runner in the AFC?

Former NFL offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth on Amazon Prime’s pregame show said he ranked the Dolphins third in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.

“I think the Chiefs are still one in my mind and the Ravens two,” Whitworth said, “but this Dolphins team to me, it’s about the defensive side of the football field. When Jalen Ramsey joined this team the last three weeks, they’ve gone from 21st to 12th on defense. He has three picks. They’ve had five turnovers. Most games, that’s gonna be the key if they want to move up that ranking.”

Gonzalez agreed with Whitworth in ranking the Dolphins third in the AFC, citing a narrative that has been discussed in depth nationally about the Dolphins’ performance against top-tier teams.

Miami’s three losses this season are to the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Chiefs — teams with a combined 22-9 record. All three losses were also on the road.

The eight wins are against teams who are a combined 26-58 and only one team with a .500 record entering this week — the 5-5 Denver Broncos who Miami beat 70-20.

Miami has three more games against sub-.500 teams upcoming — at the Washington Commanders and home games against the Tennessee Titans and Jets — before ending the season with three playoff-caliber teams in the Cowboys, Ravens and Bills.

“Everybody knows it. Everybody talks about it. They really haven’t beaten anybody this year,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve beaten everybody they’re supposed to beat who’s below .500. Every other winning team that they played are the three times they have lost. So I don’t know how good this team can be. They’re exciting. They’re fun to watch, but I think it’s gonna tell us a lot the last three games of the season.”

▪ Mike McDaniel continues to receive national praise. Some quick highlights from Friday...

Veteran play-by-play man Al Michaels called McDaniel “quirky, authentic and fun” — three adjectives that are commonplace for the second-year head coach.

Gonzalez said that although McDaniel looks like someone who would work with “a gaming company” or be a “YouTuber,” he praised McDaniel for being innovative. “I love how he’s so self-deprecating. I love how he doesn’t take himself so serious, and I think that is something infectious throughout that locker room. You can just see the way these guys play — they’re always having a good time. I love the Mike McDaniel thing.”

▪ A hectic final minute-plus of the first half that seemingly had all the momentum going in the Jets’ favor ultimately had the Jevon Holland and the Dolphins leaving the field with the last laugh.

What happened: Tagovailoa threw two interceptions — the first a pick-six to the Jets’ Brandin Echols with 65 seconds left and then one to New York’s D.J. Reed with two ticks left on the clock that should have had the Jets going into the locker room down by just four points, 10-6.

Should have being the key words.

Instead, Holland intercepted Jets quarterback Tim Boyle’s Hail Mary attempt at the 1-yard line before weaving and bobbing his way across the field for a 99-yard touchdown to give Miami a 17-6 lead at halftime. Holland ran 129.1 yards to get to the end zone, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

“You think, ‘OK, the Jets are coming back,’” Richard Sherman said on Amazon Prime’s halftime show. “You know what the offense does to reward them? They throw a pick-six with no time left. You can’t make this up. You want to tell your defense you hate them? Throw a touchdown to the other team with two seconds left.”

Added Michaels: “If there is ever a play that embodies a season, this is it for the New York Jets.”

Fittingly enough for the Jets, the play comes on Black Friday 11 years after Mark Sanchez’s “Butt Fumble” play on Thanksgiving 2012.

McDaniel was so excited following the interception that he sprinted to the tunnel after the Holland interception and watched the extra-point attempt near the end zone.

“He caught the ball and relied on his instincts,” McDaniel said. “He’s a great player who hasn’t gotten his hands on the ball up to this point, but has been playing unbelievable. We needed it and he knew what time it was, so he made sure to finish the play, which was awesome.”

Safe to say this play will probably get some love on Hard Knocks.

▪ Prior to Friday’s game, former star receiver Steve Smith made a not-so-bold prediction about Tyreek Hill.

“His Houdini-ness, I expect it to be on high alert,” Smith said on NFL Network.

Hill was playing through pain in his right hand, which he told sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung was still swollen after being hurt last week, and through a left foot injury that occurred after his first catch on Friday.

But that didn’t stop the star receiver from having yet another magical outing.

Hill ended the game against the Jets with nine catches for 114 yards and one touchdown.

Through 11 games, he has 1,336 receiving yards, keeping him on pace to potentially be the first player in NFL history to get 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

His second-quarter touchdown, a 7-yard catch in the flat after being lined up in the backfield, was his 10th of the season. He is the first Dolphins player since Mike Wallace in 2014 to have double-digit receiving touchdowns in a season. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, it was the fifth touchdown catch this season by a receiver lined up in the backfield.

Hill tossed the football to his wife, Keeta Vaccaro Hill, in the stands and blew her a kiss after the touchdown.

Hops off field after first catch, 35 yards down left sideline on third down on Miami’s opening drive. Left foot. Returns to field three plays later ... and takes a screen for 17 yards on third down to move the chains.

▪ While Hill understandably gets most of the love and recognition among Dolphins receivers, Jaylen Waddle had one of his best game of the season on Friday.

Waddle caught eight passes for 102 yards for his second 100-yard game of the season. This included a 20-yard catch on third down on the left side of the field with three Jets defenders around him that set up Hill’s touchdown and a 32 yard over-the-shoulder grab down the right sideline on Miami’s first drive of the second half.

▪ Good for running back Jeff Wilson Jr. making the most of his opportunity on Friday with Devon Achane out and Salvon Ahmed on injured reserve. Wilson, who entered the Jets game with just 29 rushing yards on seven carries, had 56 yards on 11 carries as well as three catches for 17 yards while serving as Miami’s No. 2 running back behind Raheem Mostert.

Mostert, meanwhile, had 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He now has an NFL-leading 13 rushing touchdowns and 15 total touchdowns this season.

▪ You have to feel for linebacker Jaelan Phillips, who left on the game on a cart with an Achilles injury in the fourth quarter. Phillips was having a dominant game (four tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits) in the midst of a dominant year (6.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits). We’ll wait for an official update on the severity of his injury, but it didn’t look good and he was visibly upset as he was carted off the field.

▪ Christian Wilkins, playing in a contract year, certainly made a case on Friday for his upcoming payday. The defensive tackle had two sacks against the Jets and now has a career-high 6.5 sacks on the season. He also has at least one quarterback hurry in second consecutive games and nine of 11 overall in 2023.

▪ In addition to Wilkins, some quick-hit milestones achieved by Dolphins players on Friday: Tagovailoa is now fourth all-time in career passing yards in Dolphins history. Tagovailoa has also thrown a touchdown in 20 consecutive games, the second-most in franchise history (Dan Marino has the record at 30 consecutive games). ... Waddle on Friday broke the franchise record for most receiving yards in the first three seasons of a career. He has 3,062 receiving yards in his Dolphins career. Jarvis Landry had the previous record, at 3,051 yards.

▪ With the Dolphins-Jets game being the first Black Friday game in NFL history, players from both teams were asked how long to keep Thanksgiving leftovers. Waddle said “two days.” Edge rusher Bradley Chubb said leftovers are good until Sunday. Tagovailoa, meanwhile, didn’t give a definitive end date, simply saying “after Thanksgiving, that’s when the food really tastes the best.”

No disagreement there, Tua.