The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets have played out a stunning end to the first half of their week 12 game, with a string of dramatic events, capped by an unlikely touchdown with no time left on the clock.

The vagaries of American football mean a lot can happen in a short amount of game time.

But what transpired in the space of just 65 seconds of official time at the Meadowlands in New Jersey was simply ridiculous.

It was nearing half-time in the NFC East game between division rivals the Dolphins and the Jets.

The Jets were barely hanging on at 10-0 down, despite having only two first downs for the game to that point.

The home side’s toothless attack was showing no ability to beat the Dolphins defence, and when the Jets punted the ball away after another fruitless series, the Dolphins had the ball on their own 27 yard-line, with one chance remaining in the first half to extend their lead.

On the opening play of the next drive, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got the ball and looked to his right, seeking wide receiver Braxton Berrios to advance the ball downfield.

But defender Brandon Echols timed his run just perfectly and stepped in to intercept the pass — with no one ahead of him, he ran 30 yards into the end zone for a New York touchdown, sparking a huge roar from relieved Jets fans.

New York lined up to kick the extra point — usually somewhat of a formality.

But as kicker Greg Xuerlein stepped up, his kick veered off and missed to the right, leaving the score at 10-6 to Miami amid groans from the frustrated home fans.

Still, the Jets were back in the game, and a penalty on the resulting kickoff meant the Dolphins started their next drive at their own 13, 87 yards from the end zone.

Tagovailoa and his team had 53 seconds on the clock to get downfield in range to score.

Quick passes moved the ball 12 yards out to the Miami 25, before Tagovailoa found Jaylen Waddle for another 11 yards to get out to the 36.

Miami then spiked the ball — with Tagavailoa throwing it into the ground — to stop the clock with 13 seconds left. Another quick pass found Waddle, who ran out of bounds with nine seconds left at the Miami 45.

The Dolphins needed another 10-15 yards to get in range for a three-point field goal.

Tagavailoa dropped back to pass, and he threw the ball to the right sideline where speedy receiver Tyreek Hill was waiting. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, also there was Jets defensive back DJ Reed to pluck the ball away, completing the second interception in a minute.

He stepped out of bounds just before half-time.

The “Hail Mary” pass, first named nearly 100 years ago by the legendary college team Notre Dame, is usually a long, high heave by the quarterback on the last play of a half or a game. As the name suggests, it requires close to a miracle for it to come off.

The receivers sprint downfield to get the goal-line so they can jump for it. and all the defenders need to do is get their bodies in the way and block the ball to end the play.

With two seconds left on the clock, for quarterback Tim Boyle and the Jets, it was time for that miracle.

Boyle, the Jets’s third-string quarterback, was playing thanks to serious injury to star recruit Aaron Rodgers, and the benching of his backup Zach Wilson. Boyle had struggled, but it was up to him. He and his team were too far away to attempt a field goal, and needed to get the ball 51 yards downfield, and find someone to catch the ball in the end zone for an unlikely touchdown.

One thing to remember — as long as the play starts before time runs out, the ball remains live until it’s called dead by officials.

Miami put three defenders back in the 15 yards in front of the end zone. As the ball was snapped, Boyle stood yards behind the line to give him an extra second to assess his options. Time ran out as more Miami defenders ran back to try and block the eventual pass. Boyle finally stepped up and flung the ball towards the end zone.

The odds weren’t great, with three Jets receivers against seven Miami defenders. Sure enough, Dolphins safety Jevon Holland caught the ball on the goal-line, ending the Jets’ scoring chance. But instead of just taking a knee or walking off for half-time, Holland decided to go for a run.

He went straight forward for a few yards and then cut across diagonally towards the right side of the field, gathering pace as he went. Holland evaded a diving ankle-tap by the Jets at the 30-yard line, and then ran past another New York player, getting to midfield.

His Dolphins teammates were blocking the Jets to clear a path for him, and veteran commentator Al Michaels sensed something special was up, as Holland stepped, dodged and weaved his way all the way into the end zone for a 99-yard touchdown.

“And Holland is out to midfield, and Holland is inside the [Jets] 40, and Holland … is inside the 20! Can you believe this? That is insanity,” said Michaels, as the Dolphins ran around and jumped into each other in celebrations in the end zone, while Boyle and the Jets team were left slumped on the ground in despair.

Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (#17) was left exhausted after sprinting forward to try and catch the pass before chasing back in a futile effort to catch Holland. He ended up running nearly twice the length of the field at 176.4 yards.

Jason Sanders kicked the extra point to put Miami 17-6 in front at the main break.

Miami would eventually go on to win the game 34-13, but nothing would top the 65 seconds of madness that finished up the first half.