Geno Smith’s Perfect Game vs Miami - 20/25, 358 Yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs

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All Passing Plays Broken Down

2nd and 3 at MIA 36 (12:50) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to E.Decker pushed ob at MIA 29 for 7 yards (J.Wilson).

Dolphins are giving a Cover-1 Man look. A simple play, Geno rolls out to the right and has only two reads- Decker on the comeback and Kerley on the corner. Decker’s completely covered as Geno is looking at him, but Geno manages to look off the CB by quickly turning his head to Kerley and turning back, uncovering Decker and putting it in a spot unreachable by the out of position CB.

3rd and 2 at MIA 21 (11:36) G.Smith sacked at MIA 27 for -6 yards (R.Starks).

Backup center Dalton Freeman is beat immediately off the snap by Randy Starks. No chance for Geno, he’s hit as he reaches the end of his dropback.

1st and 10 at NYJ 22 (6:07) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep right to C.Owusu to MIA 42 for 36 yards (J.Wilson).

Dolphins disguise themselves at the line but go into a Cover-3 zone after the snap. Brent Grimes is at the bottom of the screen, and is held up momentarily by the Play-Action, while Chris Owusu begins his deep post from his position as the outermost WR on the left side. Because Grimes gets held up, he’s playing catchup throughout the process of the throw and has his back turned the entire time to Geno, who throws it over him. This actually should be a contested throw (but not a dangerous one) but Owusu takes one small step nearing the end of his route to slow down Grimes before jumping up and making a super athletic catch. It’s a good play by Geno, but a better play by Owusu.

2nd and 8 at MIA 40 (4:53) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short left to Z.Sudfeld to MIA 34 for 6 yards (C.Finnegan).

The Dolphins are in a Cover-1 Man, blitzing 5. Geno takes a quick look over to the Phillip Wheeler on the right side after the snap because of what he sees pre-snap, with Wheeler and DB Jimmy Wilson both over Jeremy Kerley. He hits his backfoot at the end of his step just as Sudfeld is breaking inside, and this is when he should be taking his throw- he ends up throwing it a step late allowing Finnegan to close all the way in on Sudfeld.

2nd and 11 at NYJ 8 (15:00) G.Smith pass short left to E.Decker to NYJ 13 for 5 yards (C.Finnegan).

Again, Cover-2 Look, Cover-1 coverage with the Dolphins bringing everyone close to the line. It’s a simple play, this time Geno throws the curl right on time as he hits his backfoot on the dropback but Finnegan’s able to get Decker down immediately. It does look like Geno throws this ball a bit to the outside to try to get Decker to turn as he catches, but Decker inches back to the ball instead.

3rd and 6 at NYJ 13 (14:22) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Amaro to NYJ 19 for 6 yards (J.Wilson).

Dolphins are in Cover-2 Zone, blitzing. Both outside WRs on this play are doing deep comebacks and are covered while Geno’s still in the pocket. The pocket collapses when Dion Jordan blitzes and Powell’s only able to slow him down, forcing Geno to step up and then begin to run. He makes a really intuitive play when he sees Jelani Jenkins move off of Jace Amaro and more towards Geno’s running path by passing it to Amaro in that short window. The announcers called this a risky throw, but it’s perfectly timed and is well outside of any potential danger here. This play again highlights Geno’s ability to work outside of the play design.

1st and 10 at NYJ 21 (10:38) (Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to NYJ 24 for 3 yards (E.Mitchell).

Dolphins are in a Cover-3 zone. The Jets run another rollout, this time with Kerley running a corner route and Owusu doing a poorly sold whip. Geno has a small window to throw when Jimmy Wilson backs up to cover the underside of the Corner but Geno doesn’t recognize that opening, whereas someone like Rodgers would.

3rd and 3 at NYJ 28 (9:25) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Amaro to NYJ 45 for 17 yards (J.Kovacs).

Dolphins are in Cover-2 man. Geno’s first read is on Amaro and he hits him in stride on the throw. Nothing special on Geno’s part, but this throw is really made by Amaro just bulldozing Jimmy Wilson out of the way before his break.

2nd and 7 at NYJ 48 (8:12) G.Smith pass deep left to E.Decker to MIA 12 for 40 yards (C.Finnegan).

Dolphins are in Cover-1 man, blitzing six players. Geno does a good job making a really quick read and decision just as he hits his backfoot on the dropback, throwing it immediately down the field for Decker who’s got two steps on his man. Geno doesn’t throw a perfect ball though, Decker’s forced to slow down just a bit in order to catch this and keep Finnegan from having any chance of making a play on the ball. If it’s thrown a little further ahead, Decker’s still running and makes it to the endzone. Like the last deep throw, this one is made a bit more by the receiver than the QB- but this time the QB did make a much better throw.

2nd and 6 at MIA 8 (6:50) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to C.Ivory for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN. N.Folk extra point is GOOD, Center-T.Purdum, Holder-R.Quigley.

Miami is in what looks like Cover-1 man. Geno make his reads from the center to the right and finds Ivory wide open. A good play call, but Geno does realize that no one follows Ivory when he goes into motion, and that no player goes his direction after the snap.

2nd and 7 at NYJ 34 (4:58) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to E.Decker (K.Misi). PENALTY on MIA-C.Wake, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at NYJ 34 - No Play.

Dolphins are in Cover-2 Zone and rushing four. After coming out of the play action, Geno begins to read the left side of the field where Decker and Kerley are both breaking on In routes of different depths. Geno’s forced out of the pocket by the incoming pressure from Randy Starks through (what should be) the double team of Freeman and Aboushi. He’s also facing pressure from the outside on Vernon so he can’t step into the space behind the center and LG. He rolls out and gives a decent throw to Decker for a throw made on the run across his body.

3rd and 5 at MIA 46 (3:49) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short middle to J.Kerley (K.Misi). Penalty on NYJ-J.Kerley, Illegal Motion, declined.

This looks like some kind of Cover-1 man with the safety Jordan Kovacs being given the duty of double covering Kerley over the top, that or he’s confused as to what his role is. They’re blitzing every non-defensive back on the field. Geno drops back with some decent protection and finds his first read immediately open after his break but can’t get the ball over the line because of a tip. Not a lot to get from this play.

1st and 10 at NYJ 18 (:38) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short left to C.Johnson to NYJ 15 for -3 yards (J.Jenkins).

This play occurs at the absolute end of the half and is the final play, you rarely see the Jets actually try to move the ball down the field with less than a minute on the clock. They go for a delayed screen but it’s found out by Jenkins.

3rd and 4 at NYJ 26 (11:46) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep left to E.Decker for 74 yards, TOUCHDOWN. N.Folk extra point is GOOD, Center-T.Purdum, Holder-R.Quigley.

3rd and 4 and only a few yards off from the Jets 20. Dolphins just swung momentum hard with a 97 yard touchdown run by Lamar Miller. They’re not even pretending they want to ease off, they want that momentum going so they run a Cover-0 and everyone who isn’t manned up is blitzing. Geno has minimal time to make a decision because there are more blitzers than players blocking (6 v 5) and a free Cameron Wake rushing from the left side unblocked. Finnegan gets incredibly physical with Decker at the line, literally jumped at him, and Decker not only gets through it but manages to actually get Finnegan off balance. From there, Geno knows theres no safety help and he goes immediately for the deep route while under pressure. It’s a perfect throw, Decker doesn’t slow down at all for this ball and it lands softly in his arms as he runs to the endzone.

More Plays on next page.