The Miami Dolphins didn’t walk out of Week 4 with a win, but their defense at least gave them something sturdier to point to after a rough start to the 2026 season.
That mattered because this unit has been under the microscope, especially after a report last week from Tony Pauline said some unnamed veterans had grown unhappy with Jeff Hafley’s system. Four games in, Miami is still looking for its first victory, yet Sunday’s effort had a different feel.
The physical edge was there. The urgency was there.
And for one afternoon, the defense looked far more like a group willing to scrap than one simply trying to survive.
The result still wasn’t enough, though Miami did keep the Vikings to 15 points, all of them on field goals. The Dolphins weren’t clean enough to turn that into a win, but they were better - and right now, that counts for something.
Inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was at the center of it. He was everywhere, flying around and setting the tone with a relentless performance that matched Jordyn Brooks next to him.
Rodriguez piled up 18 tackles, including 9 solo stops, while Brooks added 13 of his own. Together, they made life miserable for the Vikings and helped fuel Miami’s most complete defensive showing of the young season.
The front got moving early, too. Zach Sieler burst through the Vikings’ line on the opening play and delivered Miami’s first sack of the season.
By the end of the day, the Dolphins had collected 4 sacks on Kyler Murray and hit him eight times overall. Chop Robinson was a big part of that pressure, getting three hits on Murray and recording his first sack of the year.
Miami also did a decent job against Aaron Jones, Sr., holding him to 94 yards. But the Dolphins still had trouble when Murray’s legs became part of the equation, allowing him 16 yards on critical downs. That remains a problem area.
After the game, Rodriguez made it clear the defense knows there’s still work to do. He said they have to do better, pointed to the number of big plays they’re giving up, and said he was disappointed in the loss while also acknowledging the group is continuing to play hard.
The same old issue kept showing up in coverage, especially against tight ends. T.J. Hockenson torched Miami for 13 catches and 119 yards on 13 targets, continuing a troubling pattern for the Dolphins after similar damage from Michael Mayer, George Kittle and Travis Kelce earlier in the year.
And while the secondary continues to be the soft spot, Miami’s inexperience there is part of the equation. The Dolphins were credited with just one pass defensed, a knockdown by Brooks.
So the scoreboard still says winless. But the tape from Week 4 showed a defense that finally brought some violence, some pressure and some fight.
It wasn’t close to perfect. It didn’t need to be.
It just needed to look alive - and for the first time this season, it did.
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