Jets Get the Drop on Dolphins, 26-14 : AFC: O’Brien throws three touchdown passes as New York hands Miami second consecutive defeat.

The New York Jets seemed to have all the answers, leaving Dan Marino searching for some.

Ken O’Brien threw three touchdown passes and the Jets used a patchwork lineup to hand the Miami Dolphins their second consecutive setback, 26-14, Sunday.

“We were very ineffective in the first half and it’s hard to explain,” Marino said. “We’re 6-2, but we’re not playing well now. We’re stopping ourselves. You can see we’re not making things happen.”

O’Brien, subbing for injured Browning Nagle, completed 21 of 29 passes for 240 yards in his second start of the season, leading the Jets (2-6) to a 23-0 halftime lead on the three scoring passes and a safety when Marino was sacked in the end zone by Marvin Washington.

The Jets also controlled the ball with the running of Brad Baxter, who had 103 yards in 20 carries, and Freeman McNeil, who filled in for injured Blair Thomas by adding 37 yards in 11 carries.

“It’s about time,” Jet cornerback James Hasty said. “Things haven’t gone our way, and this is probably the first game where the offense and the defense complemented each other. The offense held onto the ball when it had to, and the defense did the job by getting to Marino and containing their receivers.”

Marino tried to rally the Dolphins in the second half with touchdown passes of five yards to Keith Jackson and 39 yards to Mark Duper in a 69-second span, but the Jets sacked Marino once and pressured him into incomplete passes twice as they stopped Miami’s next drive.

“For the first time this season, we can say that it was just our day,” Washington said.

Marino had 14 completions in 26 attempts for 225 yards, and the Dolphins rushed for only 83 yards.

O’Brien connected with Johnny Mitchell for a 37-yard touchdown pass play 6:50 into the game.

The Jets made it 9-0 when Marino was tackled in the end zone for the first time in his career.

New York moved 71 yards in 12 plays to make it 16-0 early in the second quarter on O’Brien’s four-yard touchdown pass to Al Toon. Toon, who had five receptions, has caught at least one pass in 100 consecutive games.

The Jets increased their lead to 23-0 when Rob Moore beat rookie Troy Vincent and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from O’Brien with 21 seconds left in the half.

Marino completed only one pass, for four yards, in the opening quarter and the Dolphins had one first down in the first 25 minutes.

Marino hooked up with Jackson on a 42-yard pass play early in the second quarter, but the tight end fumbled when hit from behind by Hasty.

When Marino got the Dolphins to within 23-14, the Jets countered with an eight-minute drive that ended with Cary Blanchard’s 47-yard field goal.