Another night game, another back-and-forth, close-fought affair between the Jets and Dolphins.

But unlike last season, when the breaks went Miami's way in a season sweep, New York turned the tide, and the Jets defense made the critical stops to preserve a 31-23 victory.

The Dolphins looked flat at the start, caught off guard by the Jets' insistence on throwing the ball, and Mark Sanchez was on fire.

Early in the second quarter, Sanchez had already thrown two touchdown passes to tight end Dustin Keller, who feasted on the Dolphins secondary the way tight ends had all last season, and Miami was in a 14-0 hole.

But Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne, who seems to play his best games against the Jets, brought the Dolphins back.

Henne threw a 3-yard TD pass to Anthony Fasano, then led the Fins to a field goal at the end of the half to cut the lead to four.

In the third quarter, the game turned into a see-saw battle.

Henne hit Brandon Marshall for an 11-yard score to put Miami ahead for the first time.

But the Jets responded quickly, as Braylon Edwards -- suspended for the first quarter for his DWI violation earlier in the week -- caught a short pass from Sanchez, and when Jason Allen slipped, he was off on a 67-yard scoring jaunt.

Then the Jets defense produced the first big stop of the game, when the Dolphins had second-and-goal from the New York 2-yardline, and failed to connect on two straight passes.

Dan Carpenter kicked a field goal, followed by the Jets getting one of their own to make it a 24-20 game.

Carpenter's 50-yarder brought the Fins to within one, but Edwards made another big play on third-and-10, when Allen inexplicably stayed behind him, even though he had safety help over the top.

Edwards hauled in a 20-yard pass to keep the drive alive, and Tomlinson scored the clinching points on a 1-yard run.

Henne wasn't through though, taking just one minute and 14 seconds to drive Miami to the Jets 5-yardline. But on fourth-and-goal, his pass for Fasano was tipped in the air, and the Jets' Drew Coleman intercepted in the end zone to end the game.

Henne had his first good game of 2010, completing 26-of-44 passes for 363 yards and two TDs. More importantly, he finally found a chemistry with new acquisition Brandon Marshall, who caught 10 passes for 166 yards and a TD, and for the first time looked like the beast he had been in Denver.

Henne threw the ball so much because the Dolphins were unable to run the ball with any consistency, and the Wildcat did not produce enough big plays.

Ironically, it was the Jets' version of the Wildcat that was more successful, as Brad Smith totaled 41 yards on three carries out of the formation.

Sanchez didn't do much in the second half, but the Dolphins could not force a turnover. Allen had the best chance on a tipped pass, but it was correctly ruled incomplete.

Allen, who had gotten off to such a great start for the first two weeks, struggled Sunday. He slipped on the sod to allow Edwards to score on the 67-yard TD, then blew the coverage on the aforementioned 20-yard pickup. He also allowed Keller to beat him on New York's first TD.

The defense had no sacks, though Cameron Wake and Kendall Langford were able to pressure Sanchez for much of the game. Each dropped a potential interception on balls they tipped at the line of scrimmage.

The defense was also unable to stop the Jets' running game in the second half, as LaDainian Tomlinson, Shonn Greene, and Smith picked up solid gains and were able to keep the chains moving.

Clearly, the Dolphins came up with their worst defensive performance of the young season, something they must improve on, as they host New England next week in another AFC East showdown.

It was a big win for the Jets, who have now beaten the Patriots and Dolphins in successive weeks to climb to the top of the division.