EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Antonio Cromartie came dangerously close to calling out the Jets' ineffective offense -- and that wouldn't have been good for locker-room harmony.

After the 30-9 loss to the Dolphins, Cromartie was asked if the week of trash talking backfired on the Jets. He said no, quickly pointing to the offense.

"At the end of the day, their play between the lines was better than us," he said. "Their defense came out and dominated our offense, and shut down our offense to the point where I think we were 1-for-5 in the red zone (actually 1-for-4). We have to put points on the board when we're down in the red zone."

Cromartie also said, "We have to take care of the ball on the offensive side of the ball and make sure we get better."

To be fair, Cromartie said he wasn't frustrated with the offense, noting that QB Mark Sanchez played one of his better games last week against the Patriots. He also said the defense needed to do a better job in the red zone, holding the Dolphins (2-for-3) to field goals instead of surrendering TDs.

But at the same time, Cromartie was generally pleased with the performance by the defense, calling it "one of our better defensive games ... We were put in bad predicaments."

The Jets allowed only 236 total yards and held the Dolphins to 4-for-13 on third down. But, remember, they faced a backup quarterback, Matt Moore, who replaced the injured Ryan Tannehill in the first quarter. They sacked Moore (11-for-19, 131 yards, one TD) only once and couldn't force him into any turnovers. The only turnover was a fumble by RB Reggie Bush.