The last game in Jason Taylor’s 15-year NFL career could have been his career in microcosm.

It involved both the Dolphins and the Jets, two of the three NFL teams he played for, in the stadium he called home for 13 seasons. It involved pounds of defense broken up by specks of offense, just like so many Dolphins teams during Taylor’s career and just as Taylor made cameo appearances on offense during 2005 and ’06.

And a defensive end and a linebacker came up with the game-turning plays.

Those plays didn’t belong to Taylor, although he did help force one and possibly two of them. Two interceptions by defensive end Randy Starks and one by linebacker Marvin Mitchell set up three Dan Carpenter field goals, one a 58-yarder, the difference in a 19-17 Dolphins win that had a three-pronged effect:

It knocked the Jets out of playoff contention; it ended the Dolphins season at 6-10, but with a win, unlike last season’s 38-7 stomping at New England; and it sent Taylor into retirement on a high note.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t come out [Sunday] and stink it up the way we did last year,” Yeremiah Bell said. “That’s one thing, as a leader on this team, I made sure to tell the guys. The way we went out last year was embarrassing. That stayed with me the whole offseason. And we wanted to make sure we sent J.T. out the right way.”

Taylor went out literally on a high — he rode off the field on the shoulders of teammates, including defensive linemen Kendall Langford and Paul Soliai, a gesture suggested by linebacker Kevin Burnett early last week.

Taylor said: “Don Shula deserves to be carried off the field. Dan Marino deserves to be carried off the field. Zach Thomas deserves to be carried off the field. I don’t deserve that.”

Taylor, the NFL record-holder for career fumble-return touchdowns and once spoken of as an actor, almost got the complete Hollywood finish. The Dolphins led 19-10 with 2:32 left when a Mark Sanchez pass got batted to Jets offensive guard Matt Slauson, who was quickly upended and fumbled. Taylor picked up the ball, dropped it, picked it up again and ran the ball into the end zone. A full-on dogpile engulfed Taylor.

Upon review, however, replays clearly showed Slauson’s left forearm hit the ground just as the ball came out, thus making him down by contact.

“In our minds, it did hold up,” Bell said. “You saw the way we celebrated, guys coming off the bench, jumping in the end zone; that was enough for us.”

The Jets turned their second chance into a drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown catch by former Dolphins draft bust Patrick Turner with 1:15 left. But Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Dolphins sent Taylor out on offense for the kneel downs, allowing him to be on the field as the game ended.

The Dolphins managed only 210 yards of offense, and Matt Moore threw for only 135 yards with two interceptions on 22-of-32 passing. But Sanchez threw three interceptions in going 21 of 32 for 207 yards.

The Dolphins scored their only touchdown on a 21-play, 94-yard drive that drained 12:29 from the clock spanning the third and fourth quarters. The drive set franchise records for number of plays and time elapsed. Moore hit wide receiver Davone Bess — who later left the game with a knee injury — four times and completed five third-down throws, including a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Charles Clay.

Bill Ingram/The Palm Beach Post

Brandon Marshall stiff-arms Jets safety Eric Smith after catching a pass in the second half of the Dolphins’ win Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

Jason Taylor’s ready to hang it up, while the New York Jets are desperate to keep playing.

Taylor plans to retire after Sunday’s season finale for the Miami Dolphins. They’ll try to send him out with a win against the Jets, who need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Even if the Jets win, to earn a postseason berth they’ll also need losses Sunday by Cincinnati, Tennessee and either Denver or Oakland.

“This is the first time I have ever been in a situation like this,” said receiver Plaxico Burress, a 10-year veteran. “If we do get in, great. If things don’t work out, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (8-7) lost control of their destiny when they were beaten last week by the Giants 29-14. Now the Jets are in danger of missing the playoffs after reaching the AFC championship game each of the past two years, and elimination could come at the hands of the AFC East rival Dolphins (5-10).

“It would be beautiful to ruin their playoff dreams,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’re playing for pride. They’re playing for a playoff spot.”

The teams meet in a regular-season finale for the first time since 2008, when the Dolphins won to clinch their only division title since 2000. That game eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

This year the Dolphins have been consigned to a spoiler’s role since Halloween, thanks to their 0-7 start. Taylor’s retirement announcement this week provided some additional motivation for the last game.

The NFL’s active sack leader spent 13 of his 15 seasons with Miami, made the Pro Bowl six times and ranks with the greatest players in franchise history.

“His presence will be missed, not only in our locker room, but in this organization,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “Those guys are once-in-a-lifetime guys. We would love for him to go out with a win.”

Coincidentally, Taylor played last season for the Jets before rejoining the Dolphins.

“He was a great teammate, and we loved having him here,” Jets tight end Dustin Keller said. “But they’re going to want to send him off with a big win, and we can’t let that happen. We know what kind of player he is and what he’s capable of, and we can’t let him disrupt the game.”

Taylor has 16½ of his 139½ sacks against the Jets, although he managed none when the teams met in October. New York won 24-6, and while the Dolphins have been a much better team lately, they’ll be without 1,000-yard rusher Reggie Bush because of a knee injury.

The Dolphins took a 17-point lead at New England last week before losing 27-24, which left them 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. The Jets’ loss to the Giants carried even more sting, because it may wind up costing them a playoff berth.

Coach Rex Ryan declared months ago that these Jets are even more talented than the two teams he took to the AFC title game. But New York has given up 74 points while losing the past two games, and the offense was so out of sorts against the Giants that Mark Sanchez was forced to throw a career-high 59 passes. The Jets rank 27th in the NFL in yardage, stirring speculation about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s job security.

With typical bravado, Ryan insisted the season might yet be salvaged.

“We can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defense, I think we can run the football, and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.”

But getting to the postseason is now a long shot. Three of the other games that will determine the Jets’ fate are late starts Sunday, which means that if they win, the Jets will likely be flying home when they learn whether their season is over.

“We’re just focused on the things we can control, and that’s trying to play well against Miami and coming up with a win,” Sanchez said. “After that, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we get a win and on the plane we find out everything worked out in our favor. But all we can control is winning.”

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are bound for another offseason of change. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Dec. 12, and the next coach will be Miami’s seventh since the start of 2004. With a losing record for the third consecutive year — the Dolphins’ first such stretch since the 1960s — a roster shake-up is likely, too.

Given his team’s situation, the 37-year-old Taylor decided the time was right to call it quits. He’ll do it after playing his 204th game for the Dolphins, more than anyone aside from Dan Marino.

“It’s great to have a chance to walk away in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against,” Taylor said. “I want to win the game, but not so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career. There are guys in the locker room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs. So I’m just a small piece of this team train. I’m going to do my part Sunday to help win.”

Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald

QB Matt Moore (8) and left tackle Jake Long (right) are just two of the talented players on the Dolphins’ roster who are expected to play big roles again next season.

DAVIE—

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor began by saying the moment was unfortunate.

He then quickly corrected himself.

He considered Wednesday’s retirement announcement as a fortunate day in his personal life. After 15 seasons, 13 with the Dolphins, Taylor will play his final game Sunday against the New York Jets at Sun Life Stadium.

“This will be my last game as a Miami Dolphin as a professional football player,” Taylor said. “I look forward to enjoying this week and soaking it all in for the next few days. We have a game left to play. There will be time for thank yous and goodbyes. This is not the time for that.”

Taylor will end his career against the team he played for during the 2010 season. He spent another year with the Washington Redskins, but will always be remembered for his days with the Dolphins. He recorded most of his success in Miami, where he put up numbers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

“In my opinion, that’s a no-brainer Hall of Fame player,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “What a guy. He was a phenomenal teammate here. We only had him the one year, yet he affected the team so positively.”

Taylor ranks sixth in NFL history with 139.5 sacks. The league began counting the statistic in 1982. His 131 sacks with the Dolphins are the most in franchise history. Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, winning the Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.

He said he made the decision after consulting with friends, including former Dolphins teammates and brother-in-law Zach Thomas.

“I figured out this was the right move to make, the right time to do it,” Taylor said. “It’s been a tough year, unfortunately. We’ve had some good times, we’ve had a lot of bad times, too.”

Taylor said the lone regret of his career was never winning a championship with the Dolphins. Team owner Stephen Ross released a statement saying Taylor “will always remain an integral part of the Dolphin family.”

“We congratulate him for all he has done and we are looking forward to continuing to work with him as he begins the next chapter in his life,” Ross said.

Taylor compared his locker-room experiences with the Dolphins as a fraternity. He spent many days playing dominoes with teammates after practice, building a friendly rivalry with receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall jokingly said he let Taylor win a game Wednesday so that “he’s going out a winner.”

“I played dominoes with the guy every day,” Marshall said. “There are only a few guys that have that fire that loves to compete that hates to lose. The thing I noticed about J.T. when we’re playing dominoes is that it doesn’t matter, it’s a friendly game, there’s nothing on the line but he hates to lose.”

Taylor said his future plans are unknown, but they won’t involve returning to football.

“I’m not even going to leave the door open for any of that stuff,” Taylor said. “I might even change my cell phone number so they can’t get me.”