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Jet-propelled

Testaverde's five TDs help New York overcome a 30-7 fourth-quarter deficit in a 40-37 win.

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 24, 2000

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- John Hall's 40-yard field goal in overtime completed the greatest comeback in Jets history as New York beat the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime.

The Jets took over first place in the AFC East by a game over the Dolphins.

Vinny Testaverde threw four touchdowns in a wild fourth quarter as the Jets rallied to tie it at 37.

With the Jets trailing 30-7 entering the quarter, Testaverde threw touchdowns of 13 yards to Laveranues Coles and 1 yard to Germain Wiggins. Hall hit a 34-yard field goal with 5:43 left to cut the deficit to 30-23, then Testaverde connected with Wayne Chrebet on a 24-yard pass play to tie it at 30.

Miami's Jay Fiedler connected with Leslie Shepherd on a 46-yard scoring play with 3:33 to play. Testaverde then tied the score again when he threw a 3-yard pass to tackle Jumbo Elliott, who had entered the game as an eligible receiver, with 42 seconds left. It was Elliott's first catch and touchdown in 13 seasons.

Testaverde had a lot of help from the New York defense, which held the Dolphins to one first down in the fourth quarter, and the Miami defense, which committed numerous penalties to extend New York drives.

Until the fourth quarter, it was all Miami.

Fiedler threw a 42-yard touchdown to Shepherd and Lamar Smith had touchdown runs of 68 and 3 yards as the Dolphins took a 17-0 lead and were up by 23 after three quarters.

Both teams entered 5-1, tied for first in the division, one game ahead of Indianapolis.

But it was the Dolphins, who have thrived on defense and stumbled on offense, who piled up 207 yards on offense in the first quarter, including 113 yards from Fiedler on 7-of-10 passing. Olindo Mare added three field goals for Miami, which scored on its first three possessions and led 17-0 after the first quarter.

The Miami defense, which had allowed 51 points and three touchdowns all season, held the Jets without a first down on their first five possessions. They finally converted a third-and-1 with 6:56 left in the half on a 4-yard run by Richie Anderson. Curtis Martin ran for 34 yards on the next play, but a penalty and a 6-yard loss pushed New York out of field goal range.

The Jets finally scored on a 10-yard pass from Testaverde to Chrebet with 53 seconds left in the half.

Mare countered with a 44-yard field goal with two seconds left to make it 23-7 at halftime.

Smith's 3-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds left in the third quarter made it 30-7.

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Gary Shelton