As bad a year as 2007 has been for the Jets, at least they can take solace in this: They’re not the worst team in the NFL.

A 40–13 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins gave the Jets a season sweep of their lowly division rivals and established them, despite a 3–9 record, as unequivocally better than at least one NFL team.

The Jets’ defense had one of its better games yesterday, although it was really more a matter of the Dolphins’ offense having a terrible game. Rookie Miami quarterback John Beck was overmatched all day, completing 23 of 39 passes for 177 yards, with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Many of the Dolphins’ passing yards came in garbage time, and on the ground the Dolphins managed just 37 yards on 18 carries.

Once again, the Jets’ best defensive player was rookie linebacker David Harris, who finished with a team-high eight tackles, plus a sack and a forced fumble. If Harris played for a better team than the Jets, he’d be a candidate for the defensive rookie of the year award.

And if the Jets could play every week against teams as bad as the Dolphins, a lot of their defensive players would look like stars. Defensive backs Kerry Rhodes, Darrelle Revis, and Drew Coleman all had interceptions yesterday, and the way Beck threw the ball, the Jets should have had more than just three picks. The Dolphins fell to 0–12 yesterday, and they appear to have a good chance at becoming the first 0–16 team in NFL history.

But while yesterday’s game was more about the Dolphins playing badly than it was about the Jets playing well, quarterback Kellen Clemens put together an impressive performance. Clemens finished 15-of-24 for 236 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, statistically the best of his five games as the Jets’ starter.

The Jets’ first possession was one of their best offensive series of the year. On a 12-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, Clemens looked poised and collected, completing four of five passes for 56 yards. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer finished the drive by calling a trick play, with running back Leon Washington taking a direct snap and running around the right end for an 18-yard touchdown.

Clemens showed off his arm strength on several passes. A 32-yard completion to Laveranues Coles on third-and-12 kept the first drive alive. A 51-yard pass to Justin McCareins in the second quarter was a thing of beauty. And even Clemens’s interception came on a well-thrown ball over the middle to Brad Smith in the second quarter, although the ball was deflected and picked off by Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter.

Where Clemens still struggles is in recognizing the pass rush and getting rid of the ball before the opposing defense gets to him. Clemens was sacked six times, which is in part attributable to problems on the Jets’ offensive line (especially left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who had a bad day against Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor) but is mostly because Clemens hasn’t yet learned how to identify a blitz and react accordingly. That’s a common problem with young quarterbacks.

The most costly of the six sacks came in the second quarter, when Clemens dropped back to pass on a third down and Dolphins cornerback Will Allen blitzed. Jets tight end Chris Baker missed a block, and Allen hit Clemens, forcing a fumble that Dolphins cornerback Michael Lehan plucked out of the air and returned 43 yards for a touchdown.

That gave the Dolphins a 13–10 lead, and it looked like the Jets would suffer the ignominy of handing the Dolphins their first win of the season. But Clemens hit Smith with a 19-yard touchdown pass on the Jets’ next possession, and for the rest of the game, the Jets dominated.

“The Jets dominated” is something no one has been able to say this year; their previous wins, against the Dolphins in September and against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, came by three points apiece. The Jets are a long way from being a good team, but they proved yesterday that they’re also a long way from being the worst team in the NFL. For the Jets, that’s progress.