"The final game of the Jets' season was a fitting end to a disappointing, dysfunctional year.

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, a team captain, was benched late in the fourth quarter of the Jets' 19-17 loss yesterday to the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium after moping for most of the game and getting into a fight in the huddle with teammates.

The Jets' third consecutive loss kept them from a third-straight playoff appearance under coach Rex Ryan and dropped them to 8-8, a terrible finish to a season that began with so much hope. Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions and the defense allowed a 21-play drive, but this game will be best remembered for Holmes' disappearance.

The Holmes situation has been a major problem lying just beneath the surface of this team for weeks. Several Jets said they felt Holmes "quit" yesterday because he was not getting the ball.

"He quit a long time ago," one Jet, who requested anonymity, said. "He's a cancer."

It all boiled over in the fourth quarter when Holmes, who did not have a catch for the first time in 95 career games, was giving his "hangdog" look, according to another player, and said something that irked a few of the Jets players. According to a source, right tackle Wayne Hunter said something to Holmes, a team captain, who responded and then it escalated into a full-blown argument in the huddle.

"I turned around and everyone was just yelling at each other," guard Matt Slauson said.

According to a source, the Jets offensive coaches, led by coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, huddled on the sideline and made a decision as a group to pull Holmes from the game. As the team drove down the field on its final drive, Holmes sat on the bench by himself without a helmet on."