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The Jets suffered a disheartening 20-12 defeat to the Dolphins in their home opener on Sunday afternoon. Let's break down how each unit performed.

Quarterbacks

While Sam Darnold passed for over 330 yards and a touchdown, the Jets missed several opportunities to get back into the game. There is cause for concern over Darnold's ability to see the field as he didn't anticipate a safety sitting on the route on his first interception and failed to see a couple of wide-open receivers that were open for potential big plays.

The game should slow down for Darnold as he gets more comfortable, but these were plays he was making in the preseason. However, the offensive system would have been pared down and defenses would have been less apt to try and confuse him with exotic looks and pressure packages in preseason. Ultimately, he still made plenty of plays and would have had an even bigger day if he could have fixed some correctable mistakes.

Grade: B-

(Last week: B)

Running Backs

The running game never really got going as Isaiah Crowell was held to less than three yards per touch and Bilal Powell had just six rushing yards and fumbled a handoff. There was no room to run most of the time, though. Powell made some good contributions as a pass catcher, racking up 74 yards on five catches to go along with the Jets' only touchdown.

Grade: C

(Last week: A-)

Receivers/Tight Ends

Those missed opportunities to get back into the game weren't necessarily Darnold's fault, as Terrelle Pryor took full responsibility for his end zone interception in the third quarter, Chris Herndon let him down with a bad drop and Robby Anderson lost a fumble.

Quincy Enunwa was a standout with 92 yards on seven catches, bailing Darnold out on a couple of tough catches and creating some good yardage after the catch. Pryor also had a productive day with 84 yards on four catches, but he also dropped one. Anderson and Jermaine Kearse had disappointingly quiet performances.

Herndon saw more action after an early Neal Sterling head injury, but while he caught two passes, he made several costly mistakes. Eric Tomlinson had a nice gain on a screen pass, but once again was inconsistent as a blocker.

Grade: C

(Last week: B+)

Offensive Line

As expected, the Dolphins edge rushers were a handful for the Jets offensive line, who gave up four sacks. While there weren't many plays where Jets linemen were cleanly beaten in pass protection, tackles Kelvin Beachum and Brandon Shell were driven back off their spot regularly to squeeze the pocket. And the unit as a group had issues picking up stunts.

The Jets struggled to get the running game going, too, with 13 of their 19 running plays going for two yards or less. The interior line struggled, with Spencer Long giving up too much penetration and James Carpenter missing several blocks. Brian Winters had some positive blocks but was far from mistake-free. The Jets had three false start penalties, including on consecutive plays after the Jets had driven down to the Miami 25, which killed their momentum in the fourth quarter.

Grade: C-

(Last week: B+)

Defensive Line

After a quiet first game, an active Leonard Williams had some good production this week with six tackles, including two for tackles for loss. He also had a half sack negated by a penalty. Nathan Shepherd was once again quiet, but Henry Anderson continues to make an impact as he had a first-half sack.

Steve McLendon struggled at the point of attack this week, as he was blocked out of a handful of plays, although he was in on one tackle in the backfield. Mike Pennel had a good run-stuff, but one missed tackle.

Grade: C+

(Last week: B)

Linebackers

Darron Lee failed to make the same kind of impact as last week, as he was blocked out of a few key plays and gave up a third down conversion in coverage. Avery Williamson recovered a fumble and had a quarterback hit but missed a few tackles.

The outside linebackers were an issue this week as Brandon Copeland, Jordan Jenkins and Frankie Luvu were all guilty of losing outside contain as they kept getting fooled on read option-type plays. Between them, they created some pressure, with Jenkins recording a strip-sack and Copeland sacking Ryan Tannehill twice, although one of those was negated by a penalty.

Grade: C-

(Last week: B-)

Secondary

After having recorded 12 passes defensed in Detroit, the Jets had none in Week 2. Penalties were also a major issue, as Buster Skrine and Morris Claiborne each had costly third down penalties to negate sacks. Skrine also had a face mask penalty, got beaten for a touchdown and missed a few tackles.

Claiborne got lucky when he was burned on a deep ball but gave up a few plays where he was playing too far off. Trumaine Johnson wasn't really tested, though.

Jamal Adams had a nice first half, highlighted by a strip sack, but made a few mistakes in the second half. He appeared to be at fault on the blown coverage that enabled Miami to run out the clock. Doug Middleton was beaten for a touchdown in coverage.

Grade: C

(Last week: B-)

Special Teams

After a near-flawless first game, the special teams unit predictably regressed to the mean. Charone Peake had a costly penalty and the Dolphins controlled field position for long periods, especially in the first half.

Punter Lachlan Edwards had pretty good numbers, but the Jets were outgained in the return game by 82 yards to four. Kicker Jason Myers missed an extra point that could have been crucial, although he redeemed himself somewhat by nailing a 55-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Grade: C-

(Last week: A)

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