Fresh off the wire: Gridiron and Hockey Briefs

December 2, 2014

Tuesday's football and hockey news off the wire:

East Rutherford, N.J. - Monday night found the Miami Dolphins win only their first contest out of 49 previous attempts when leading in the fourth quarter.

Miami (7-5) defeated the Jets 16-13 despite being outgained 277-74 on the ground by a New York side that dominated the line of scrimmage through three quarters.

Trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter, however, Ryan Tannehill led a drive 39 yards after a Jets punt was pushed back on penalties.

Lamar Miller rushed for a 4 yard touchdown, the only time the Dolphins struck paydirt.

Caleb Sturgis booted the go-ahead field goal from 26 yards with 1:57 left, knocking the Jets to a 2-10 record and a very fragile future for Rex Ryan.

"I feel sick," Ryan said afterwards, adding after a long pause, "What a joke."

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Cleveland, Ohio - Browns head coach Mike Pettine is expected to make a decision by Wednesday as to who will start under center when Cleveland hosts the Colts Sunday.

"The door is definitely open for a change at the quarterback position," Pettine told ESPN. "We'll evaluate both quarterbacks and have a decision soon."

Starter Brian Hoyer, a Cleveland native, was benched in the fourth quarter of the Browns' 26-10 defeat at Buffalo last Sunday. In relief, Johnny Manziel led the team on a scoring drive including his 10 yard rushing touchdown, the rookie's first-career score in the professional ranks.

Hoyer threw 5 interceptions in his last two outings against no touchdown passes for Cleveland (7-5), including two picks against the Bills.

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Denver, Colo. - Max Pacioretty notched the game-winning goal for the Canadiens as they down the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 Monday night.

The game was tied 3-3 into the third period, but Pacioretty would not be stopped on a breakaway down the left side, firing from the circle past rookie Calvin Pickard.

Pacioretty leads the Canadiens with 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists).

Andrei Markov lit the lamp on a power-play for Montreal (17-7-2) in the middle frame on a cross-ice pass that left Pickard open to his right side. He also assisted P.K. Subban for the defenseman's 6th goal this season.