The last game in Jason Taylor’s 15-year NFL career could have been his career in microcosm.

It involved both the Dolphins and the Jets, two of the three NFL teams he played for, in the stadium he called home for 13 seasons. It involved pounds of defense broken up by specks of offense, just like so many Dolphins teams during Taylor’s career and just as Taylor made cameo appearances on offense during 2005 and ’06.

And a defensive end and a linebacker came up with the game-turning plays.

Those plays didn’t belong to Taylor, although he did help force one and possibly two of them. Two interceptions by defensive end Randy Starks and one by linebacker Marvin Mitchell set up three Dan Carpenter field goals, one a 58-yarder, the difference in a 19-17 Dolphins win that had a three-pronged effect:

It knocked the Jets out of playoff contention; it ended the Dolphins season at 6-10, but with a win, unlike last season’s 38-7 stomping at New England; and it sent Taylor into retirement on a high note.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t come out [Sunday] and stink it up the way we did last year,” Yeremiah Bell said. “That’s one thing, as a leader on this team, I made sure to tell the guys. The way we went out last year was embarrassing. That stayed with me the whole offseason. And we wanted to make sure we sent J.T. out the right way.”

Taylor went out literally on a high — he rode off the field on the shoulders of teammates, including defensive linemen Kendall Langford and Paul Soliai, a gesture suggested by linebacker Kevin Burnett early last week.

Taylor said: “Don Shula deserves to be carried off the field. Dan Marino deserves to be carried off the field. Zach Thomas deserves to be carried off the field. I don’t deserve that.”

Taylor, the NFL record-holder for career fumble-return touchdowns and once spoken of as an actor, almost got the complete Hollywood finish. The Dolphins led 19-10 with 2:32 left when a Mark Sanchez pass got batted to Jets offensive guard Matt Slauson, who was quickly upended and fumbled. Taylor picked up the ball, dropped it, picked it up again and ran the ball into the end zone. A full-on dogpile engulfed Taylor.

Upon review, however, replays clearly showed Slauson’s left forearm hit the ground just as the ball came out, thus making him down by contact.

“In our minds, it did hold up,” Bell said. “You saw the way we celebrated, guys coming off the bench, jumping in the end zone; that was enough for us.”

The Jets turned their second chance into a drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown catch by former Dolphins draft bust Patrick Turner with 1:15 left. But Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Dolphins sent Taylor out on offense for the kneel downs, allowing him to be on the field as the game ended.

The Dolphins managed only 210 yards of offense, and Matt Moore threw for only 135 yards with two interceptions on 22-of-32 passing. But Sanchez threw three interceptions in going 21 of 32 for 207 yards.

The Dolphins scored their only touchdown on a 21-play, 94-yard drive that drained 12:29 from the clock spanning the third and fourth quarters. The drive set franchise records for number of plays and time elapsed. Moore hit wide receiver Davone Bess — who later left the game with a knee injury — four times and completed five third-down throws, including a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Charles Clay.
“He was uncovered at first, and I kind of sped up the snap to get the ball to him right now, and they did a nice job adjusting,” Moore said. “It was late, but they kind of got me ... what do I do? [Clay] did a nice job recognizing that he wasn’t going to get the ball instantly and kind of continued his route.”

That gave the Dolphins a 13-10 lead. But Jets coach Rex Ryan said, “Their three interceptions, obviously, were back-breakers.”

As in comedy and knockdown punches, it’s often about timing.

An interception by Jets safety Brodney Pool gave New York the ball at its 45-yard line with 25 seconds left in the first half, with the Jets holding a 10-3 lead. A 10-point halftime lead was two first downs away. Instead, Starks’ first interception was two plays away.

“It was a double-team,” Starks said. “I just followed the quarterback, and he threw it. I just jumped up and was fortunate enough to make the play.”

After an incomplete pass, Carpenter bombed his 58-yarder as the half expired.

Starks’ second interception came as Sanchez tried to escape Taylor’s grasp. With nobody in front of him, Starks turned to look behind him, stumbled and fell on his stomach at the Jets’ 25 after an 18-yard return. Starks remained on the ground for a few seconds, laughing at himself as teammates later gave him friendly guff on the sideline as Carpenter made a 40-yard field goal for a 16-10 lead.

The Jets responded by driving to the Dolphins’ 10 with 3:10 remaining. On third-and-6, Taylor’s quick inside rush on left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson forced Sanchez, who was about to get his feet set at the 20, to backpedal to the 22 and throw off-balance for Shonn Greene. Mitchell, playing in place of the injured Karlos Dansby, intercepted the off-target pass and returned it 55 yards. That led to another field goal and a 19-10 lead.
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