EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Matt Moore's first game as Ryan Tannehill's replacement was the best of his career.

The nine-year veteran stepped in Saturday night by throwing for four touchdowns in boosting the Miami Dolphins' playoff hopes with a 34-13 rout of the New York Jets.

In his first start since Jan. 1, 2012 — a Dolphins victory over the Jets, with current New York coach Todd Bowles serving as interim Miami coach — Moore picked apart the mistake-prone hosts.

He hit Dion Sims for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and Kenny Stills for 52 and Jarvis Landry for 66 in Miami's eighth win in its past nine games. The Dolphins (9-5) clinched their first winning season since 2008, the last time they won the AFC East.

Should Moore (12-for-18 for 236 yards) continue such strong play, they certainly can be optimistic about playing in the postseason.

“There were some nerves and maybe it showed a little early,” said Moore, whose wife gave birth to a son, Wyatt, on Monday. “We started slow, but got in the groove in the middle part. Once we got going, that negative stuff wore off and I got on a roll. Credit these guys for getting us going and making plays. Once those guys got the ball in their hands, it was impressive.”

The Jets (4-10) have lost as many games as they won in 2015, Bowles' first season in charge. They also lost second-year quarterback Bryce Petty on the first play of the fourth quarter after he was squashed by Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake and injured his chest.

For good measure, the Dolphins threw in an 11-yard blocked punt return touchdown by Walt Aiken.

“The defense did a great job with turnovers, just causing problems,” coach Adam Gase said. “The pressure was relentless. And Walt is a guy making a huge impact on special teams, just now it's resulting in points.”

The game was competitive for a half. For once, the Jets started quickly. They were awful in the first half of their last two outings, but Petty immediately guided them 75 yards in seven plays for a 7-0 lead. Robby Anderson, coming on at receiver late in the year, badly beat Bacarri Rambo on a crossing pattern and sped into the end zone.

It took a replay challenge by Gase to get an incompletion overturned into Sims' first 1-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter — Moore's first TD throw since Week 8 of 2012, also against the Jets. Andrew Franks' extra-point attempt hit the left upright, his first miss this season.

Eighth-year defensive end Wake's first career interception on an awful throw by Petty thwarted another New York threat in the opening half. And the Dolphins stopped Bilal Powell on a fourth-and-1 run near midfield.