The New York Jets will be without one of their veteran receivers as they take on the Miami Dolphins in a divisional matchup on the inaugural Black Friday game.

Allen Lazard Benched

Allen Lazard will be inactive against the Dolphins in the divisional matchup.

The news comes after the receiver dropped his seventh pass of the season in the Jets’ loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After signing a $44 million contract this offseason, Lazard has a total of 20 catches for 290 yards and one touchdown so far this season.

Lazard followed Aaron Rodgers to the Jets after spending five years with the Green Bay Packers. In his final season, he finished with 60 receptions for 788 yards and six receiving touchdowns across 15 games.

Lazard was only able to crack the 50-yard mark once in an individual game this season. Over the last three weeks, Lazard has averaged just 11.7 yards per game — despite playing 168 offensive snaps over that period.

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With Lazard being sidelined, Xavier Gipson, Jason Brownlee, Irvin Charles, and Randall Cobb would be candidates to log Week 12 snaps behind top WR option Garrett Wilson.

The 2023 season has not panned out like the Jets expected: Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon just a few plays into the regular season. Lazard found success playing with Rodgers but has been unable to make a big impact with Zach Wilson under center.

Jets’ Ongoing Struggles

The Jets put all their stock in Rodgers this season and have fallen apart without him. In recent weeks, Rodgers has reported that he might be ready before the end of the season, but it is highly unlikely he will be able to make a return in time to turn the Jets’ season around.

Wilson, a third-year quarterback, was also benched ahead of the Black Friday matchup as he has been inefficient leading the offense.

Wilson completed 59.2% of his passes for 1,944 yards, six touchdowns, and seven interceptions before being benched for the season.

Now demoted to the third-string position, Wilson will play behind Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian.

Speaking on why he decided to move ahead with Boyle, Jets HC Robert Saleh said, “We just want to give him an opportunity. He has a different style of quarterback. It’s really to allow him to see if we can do something with the offense.”

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Boyle entered the NFL in 2018 and has made a name for himself as a backup option as he has been with several teams, including the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears.

In his 18 NFL appearances, Boyle has a stat line of just three touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

Now without Lazard, it will be interesting to see what Boyle can do with the Jets’ offense and if he can spark anything. The team has produced only nine touchdowns in 10 games and is looking to snap a three-game skid.

Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!

When watching the Miami Dolphins, you may notice something different about their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins QB is having the best season of his career in 2023, with our Dolphins reporter Adam Beasley giving Tua his Dolphins Midseason Award for MVP.

Tua is aided by Miami having one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and two of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

When watching the Dolphins, the explosive receivers may not be the only thing that catches your eye. That’s because their QB boasts a unique trait that only a select number of quarterbacks in NFL history have had.

What Hand Does Tua Tagovailoa Throw With?

Tagovailoa throws the football with his left hand, which is rare in the NFL. Tua is the only starting quarterback in the NFL in 2023 to be left-handed.

When Tua started his first game for the Miami Dolphins, he became the first left-handed QB to start an NFL game since Kellen Moore in 2016.

Left-handed quarterbacks are extremely rare. Per ESPN, since 1950, there have only been 33 left-handed quarterbacks to have played an NFL game.

Despite throwing the football with his left hand, Tua has an unusual story about how he came to be a lefty.

Why Is Tagovailoa Left-Handed?

Tua throws the football left-handed, but he is right-handed.

His father, Galu Tagovailoa, changed him from throwing the ball with his right hand to his left while Tua was a child. Galu himself is left-handed, so it came naturally to teach Tua how to throw with his left hand when he was young.

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Speaking to Al.com, Tua’s father explained, “I switched him to a left-hander. But he’s a right-hander. That’s the crazy part about it. I never thought I could make him adapt to that. As we constantly kept putting the ball on his left hand, eventually he grew into throwing the ball with his left.”

Tua’s right hand is his dominant hand, doing everything in life the same way a right-handed person would. Everything but the most important job he has, throwing the football in the NFL.

The Most Famous Left-Handed Quarterbacks

Tua is not the first NFL quarterback to be left-handed. The NFL has had its fair share of left-handed quarterbacks, with some that have gone on to win Super Bowls.

Steve Young

The most famous left-handed quarterback has to be Steve Young. Young most notably played for the San Francisco 49ers between 1987 and 1999.

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Earning the nickname ‘Joe Cool’, due to his calm persona, Young won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, winning Super Bowl MVP in one.

Michael Vick

Michael Vick was also a left-handed quarterback and was an iconic player in the early 2000s. Vick was one of the players to pave the way for the modern generation of quarterbacks, having a huge arm and the athletic ability to be game-changing as a runner. Vick notably played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles, making four Pro Bowls throughout his career.

Mark Brunell

Mark Brunell is another left-handed quarterback, most famous for playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the beginning of their existence as a franchise in 1995. Brunell was named to the Pro Bowl three times and passed for over 32,000 yards in his NFL career.

Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!

In what was an otherwise slow and uneventful first half of football, it certainly ended with some fireworks. In the NFL’s inaugural Black Friday game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, Dolphins safety Jevon Holland might have already provided us with the play of the game.

Dolphins’ Jevon Holland House’s Hail Mary to End Half

You want excitement, you got excitement. Fresh off Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s second interception of the half, Tim Boyle and the Jets were left at midfield with enough time for one more play before halftime.

Naturally, they opt to launch a hail mary into the end zone — only they probably wish they didn’t as the Dolphins’ found a way to turn the tide rather quickly.

#Dolphins S Jevon Holland makes up for Tua’s 2nd INT by intercepting a Hail Mary and returning it 99 yards for a TD 🤯

BRUTAL end to the half for the #Jets #FinsUp | #TakeFlight

pic.twitter.com/NkFV89I5SM

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 24, 2023

The Dolphins’ safety Holland was able to come down with the interception and navigated the open field en route to a spectacular 99-yard pick-six. A sensational play that sent the Dolphins’ into the locker room at halftime with all the momentum.

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Just when some may have thought that the Dolphins may find themselves in a closer game than they should be against a struggling Jets team, Holland may have changed the complexion of the game entirely, in one play.

NFL Fans React to Hail Mary Touchdown

Of course, when you are on national television with the world watching, fans are going to have an instant reaction to the amazing play.

Jevon Holland with the PLAY OF THE YEAR ‼️🤯 #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/nM5lhV1BtC

— Bobby Shouse (@B_Shousejr) November 24, 2023

Some fans were in just as much disbelief as the Jets’ offense was in that moment.

Jevon Holland just did what???? pic.twitter.com/wnE6KnbyxT

— 🛸Austin 🛸 (@AustinHeff) November 24, 2023

Nothing like a big hug to show your appreciation for a Play of the Year candidate.

JEVON HOLLAND LET ME GIVE YOU A BIG FAT HUG RIGHT NOW

— Nico (@elitetakes_) November 24, 2023

In addition to the unbelievable nature of the hail mary pick-six, sports bettors were also quick to point out that the first-half point spread was Dolphins -6.5. That means the Jets were covering right up until that play, with no time left on the clock.

“If you bet Jets +6.5 1h you should break a TV,” said on social media user.

The Jets are currently in the middle of a three-game losing streak and have benched Zach Wilson for Tim Boyle. Unfortunately, that does not seem to have changed a whole lot when it comes to their offensive efficiency.

Wilson was dead last in the league in EPA per play and passing success rate and third-worst in QBR and touchdown rate at the time of his benching.

Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!