​The Miami Dolphins Are Somehow a Football Team Again

Remember way back when? You know, October 15? Gas cost a little over two dollars a gallon, we were caught in the throes of a heinous election cycle, penguins loved each other, and the Miami Dolphins were a hopeless, hapless 1-4 team in Year One of a three-year rebuild.

Well, at least two of those things have changed. One of those is that the second-place Dolphins are now on a three-game win streak. (And let us not speak of the penguins ever again.)

True NFL rivalries are rare, but the Dolphins' rivalry with the New York Jets is one of the best. You can throw out the record books, not because opposing players carry an eternal grudge against one another—but because they're division rivals, frequently in playoff contention at the others' expense. And they somehow find the strangest and most wonderful ways to lose to each other.

That tradition continued 22 days later—today—when the Dolphins nullified Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's second-straight fourth-quarter comeback with the following kickoff return:

Kenyan Drake with the 96 yard #Dolphins kickoff TD! NINETY-SIX YARDS #FinsUp https://t.co/R6yzByW1fP
— Audible Sports (@AudibleSports) November 6, 2016

But before Kenyan Drake sealed the win, the Dolphins played 54-and-a-half minutes of some very telling football.

Telling, because tailback Jay Ajayi continued his rampage across the NFL. His 24 carries for 111 yards and a score brings him up to 646 yards and six touchdowns on the season—on just 109 carries. This puts his per-carry average is a whopping 5.9 yards.

Telling, because Ryan Tannehill completed 17-of-28 passes with a touchdown and no picks against a Jets defense filled with well-paid stars. He averaged just 5.3 yards per attempt, but with Ajayi running like this, the Dolphins only need Tannehill to protect the ball and make a handful of plays.

Telling, because the defense generated three sacks, two picks, and three fumbles in a game that was always going to favor whoever made fewer mistakes. (See: overpaid defenses and two chronically error-prone QBs.)

The Dolphins are certainly a flawed team, and first-time head coach Adam Gase has plenty left to do. But today they drew up a blueprint for how they can continue to gut out wins over the season's second half.

No, the Jets aren't particularly good, and no, Drake won't be able to run back a touchdown every single game. But this team is worlds better than the hapless, directionless doormat we saw over the first five weeks of the year.

They can't catch the New England Patriots at this point, but they can push towards an AFC Wild Card spot. Moreover, they have an identity now—and a direction: up.