Let's start with the good news.
The Jets won 23-20 in overtime in Miami on Sunday, coming back from an early 10-point deficit to win a game that they simply couldn't afford to lose with the 49ers, Texans and Patriots on the slate in three of the next four games.
The NFL is a league that doesn't care much for long-term memories, which is fitting given the concussion issue, and the victory matters much more than the path you took to get it.
So whenever you're done sifting through the rest of the takeaways from the game, few of which reflect well on the Jets, you're advised to remember that the game ended with the Jets on top. That means they are 2-1 and, amazingly enough, sitting in first place in the AFC East after three weeks of the season.
Plenty of other things matter when you actually take stock of where the Jets stand at this point in the season, but, as Bill Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are. Right now, the Jets' record says that they've beaten two divisional opponents and held serve against the teams you'd expect them to beat.
You don't look askance at such things in the NFL, where winning even the games you're "supposed" to win can be a gruesome slog and losing nobly just means that you lost. That's something to keep in mind as we check out the rest of the good, bad and ugly from the win over the Dolphins.
UGLY: We really feel sorry for the Dolphins and Jets because they are going to have to watch film of this game while the rest of us can live the rest of our lives without ever viewing any of it again.
UGLY and SCARY: You know things are bad when you're wishing for a torn MCL because it is less damaging in the long term than a torn ACL. We'll find out Monday what kind of damage Darrelle Revis actually did to his knee, but it didn't look good and the Jets without Revis are a cringeworthy group.
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GOOD: Not everyone was awful on Sunday with Santonio Holmes standing out as a player worthy of praise after he finally showed why he has a big contract to be a dynamic receiver. He left a few plays out on the field, but his nine catches for 147 yards (and a handful of drawn penalties) were absolutely crucial to the victory.
BAD: Mark Sanchez has had worse games -- just last week in Pittsburgh for example -- but it's hard to think of a game where he missed more wide open receivers down the field than he did on Sunday. Hitting one of those passes likely means the Jets win in regulation, but Sanchez kept misfiring to keep the Dolphins in the contest.
BAD: Rex Ryan loves to brag about his defense's ranking in the stats, but they didn't pass the eye test on a day that will grade out well enough statistically. Ryan Tannehill isn't good, but he made plays when he needed to make them and the running game was able to keep the chains moving against a defense that has surprisingly lacked aggression through three weeks.
GOOD: The fake punt run for a first down by Tim Tebow was a gutsy move given the downside, but it seemed to finally snap the Jets out of slumber that had lasted the entire first half. We've been waiting to see when the team would actually make use of Tebow as something other than honey to attract flies and that was a good time to break the seal.
BAD: So why not use him near the goal line? The Jets botched two possessions on the doorstep of the end zone and didn't one just use Tebow to run the ball in hopes that the Dolphins defense couldn't stop it. If he's on the team, he should be used in the moments when his skill set is most applicable and that includes being inside the other team's 5-yard line.
UGLY: Seriously, this Revis injury could wipe out any good feelings left about the team if the news from his MRI isn't good. Kyle Wilson is many things, but a starting cornerback isn't one of them.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
