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Mason Taylor 1
Mason Taylor 1
On the surface, 5 receptions for 62 yards sounds like a decent day's work but not a crazy set of metrics for an NFL tight end.
But add 2 touchdown catches and a 20-yard grab. Four first downs. Two third-down conversions and a fourth-down chain-mover. And let's not forget a little cherry on top in the form of a toes-hinged 2-point conversion catch that put your team at least within striking distance of a late tie game.
Where to start with Taylor? How about with the touchdown grabs? After scoring one TD, at Cincinnati last season, in his first 17 pro games, the second-year second-rounder doubled that amount in about 50 minutes of clock time Sunday. His first TD catch was a leaping grab from Geno Smith in the right end zone over the close coverage of Dolphins corner Jason Marshall to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the first period.
Taylor never had a chance on his second target as rookie S Michael Taaffe jumped the coverage for an interception. But Taylor was undeterred in making his fourth-down catch to set up the missed field goal by Jason Sanders, then his 11- and 20-yard catches to set up 10 points on two fourth-quarter scoring drives.
Isaiah 1
Isaiah 1
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Finally, Taylor went to the left side of the end zone with another leaping grab with 3:24 to play, then added his 2-point catch just behind the right pylon ─ and repaid Taaffe in coverage on both plays ─ to narrow the Jets' deficit to 3 points.
All of which led to a series of recent-history items with Taylor as the common denominator. He became:
■ the first Jet with 2 touchdown catches in a game since WR Davante Adams at Jacksonville in 2024.
■ the first Jet to catch 2 TD passes in a home game since WR Garrett Wilson vs. Houston earlier in 2024.
■ the first Jets TE to catch 2 TDs in a game since C.J. Uzomah vs. Detroit in 2022.
Add his "deuce" to the mix and the unusual effectiveness of Taylor's receiving game increases. He's only the fifth TE in franchise history to score 14-plus points in a game, and only the second to do so by including a 2-point conversion (keeping in mind that 2-pointers didn't exist from 1971-93). The list of those Jets TEs:
||||||
Jets TE Year, Gm, Opp Yds-Rec-TD Points 2-Pt Convs
Richard Caster 1972, Gm 2, vs BAL 6-204-3 18 0
Mickey Shuler 1985, Gm 11, vs TB 7-84-3 18 0
Johnny Mitchell 1993, Gm 4, vs. PHI 7-146-3 18 0
Ryan Griffin 2019, Gm 7, @ JAX 4-66-2 14 1
Mason Taylor 2026, Gm 7, vs MIA 5-66-2 14 1
Despite the TE trivia, Taylor reminded vs. the Dolphins that he's an important cog in the still-developing offensive machine. Despite injuries that cost him 6 games at the end of last year and the beginning of this season and his muted first 2 games this season, he has 369 career receiving yards, fifth-most by a Jets TE through 18 career games since the 1970 merger.
Equally significant, Taylor, at 22 years, 170 days of age, the youngest TE in franchise history with 2-plus receiving TDs in a game.
HC Aaron Glenn kept it in perspective when asked about Taylor and rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. (5-115-1) against Miami. "Those guys played a great game," Glenn said. "We all can do a lot better in some areas, but they made plays when necessary. We all fought to the end, but it just wasn't enough."
With performances like that coming together, soon, perhaps Sunday against the Raiders at MetLife, it will be enough.