The Dolphins finally got on the board in the win column, and they did it by surviving a late push from their AFC East rival.
Miami beat the Jets 28-25 in Week 7 for its first victory of the 2026 season, and the result gave Jeff Hafley his first win as the Dolphins’ head coach in the first divisional game of the year. The bigger headline: after spending the season without ever holding a lead, Miami jumped in front on the opening drive and never completely let it go.
Malik Willis set the tone early and delivered his sharpest performance yet in a Dolphins uniform. He helped Miami score on three first-half touchdown drives, going 10 of 13 for 128 yards before halftime while accounting for two of the team’s three scores in that span.
By the break, the Dolphins had built a 21-7 cushion and owned the time of possession for more than 21 minutes. Willis finished with 208 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing score, added 37 rushing yards on eight carries, and avoided turnovers while taking only two sacks.
Ollie Gordon II also kept building his case as a reliable piece of the offense. The second-year back turned 25 carries into a career-high 103 yards and a touchdown, giving him scores in four straight games while filling in for De'Von Achane, who is out for the season with an ACL tear.
Miami’s first-half edge got some help from a rookie on defense. Safety Michael Taaffe picked off Geno Smith in the second quarter to shut down what looked like a drive that could have tied the game at 14.
Instead, the Dolphins stretched the lead to 21-7, and the Jets didn’t cross midfield again before halftime. Then, in the fourth quarter with Miami clinging to a 21-14 lead, the Jets drove to the goal line with a fresh set of downs.
The Dolphins stonewalled them twice at the line, and Chop Robinson finished the sequence with a third-and-goal sack that forced a field goal and kept Miami in front. The Jets cut it to 21-17, but they never got over the top.
Caleb Douglas made the most of his return from an ankle injury. The rookie wideout caught both of Willis’ touchdown passes, including the seven-yard opening-drive score and a 63-yarder that pushed Miami ahead 28-17 with less than five minutes to play. Those were his only two catches of the day, though, and he saw just three targets.
Even with Willis playing well, the passing game still leaned heavily elsewhere. Tight end Greg Dulcich led Miami with 86 receiving yards on five catches, all in the first half.
The second half, though, was much less crisp for the Dolphins offense. Miami punted on its first three possessions after halftime as the Jets tried to claw back into the game. Douglas’ involvement stood out because the Dolphins’ offense still lacked steady production from the wide receiver group, and the quiet stretch after intermission showed how much sharper the attack can be when it keeps the pressure on.
Defensively, Miami generated better heat on the quarterback than it had in recent weeks, finishing with two sacks and six quarterback hits on Geno Smith. The problem was stopping Braelon Allen, who ran for 104 yards on 17 carries and averaged 6.1 yards per attempt. That ground production gave New York enough balance to keep driving and keep the game tight until the end.
In Other News...
Dolphins Need More From A Few Struggling Starters Against The Jets
The Dolphins are heading into their first divisional test of the 2026 season with a familiar kind of urgency, the kind that tends to surface when a handful of starters need cleaner work before the margin gets any thinner. Against the Jets, Miami will be watching the trenches closely, with Austin Jackson carrying a heavy load on the right side and Chris Johnson and Chop Robinson also under the microscope as the Dolphins look to limit the kind of errors that can quickly tilt a division game.
Malik Willis adds another layer to that equation, because Miami needs steadier play from the quarterback spot to keep the offense on schedule against a defense that can make life difficult. The Jets arrive with one of the leagues best pass defenses, so the Dolphins do not have much room for the sloppy stretches that have shown up before. For Miami, the challenge is simple enough to say and hard enough to solve: get more from the players who have been up and down, and do it quickly enough to avoid letting an early divisional game get away. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face One Trade Deadline Test They May Not Budge On
With the trade deadline approaching, the Dolphins are shaping up as sellers, but one name appears to be off the table for now. ESPN reporters Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport said Miami is expected to listen on some pieces, yet the team views its young edge rush group as part of the future, not a short-term source of help for someone else.
Chop Robinson is the clearest example of that stance. A 2024 first-round pick with multiple years of contract control remaining, he should draw interest from teams looking for pass-rush help, but Miami does not currently plan to move him this season. For a club weighing its deadline options, that kind of line in the sand says plenty about which players it believes still fit into the long view. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face A Jets Backfield Twist Right Before Kickoff
The Jets are still waiting on Breece Hall, who has not played since Week 3 because of a quadriceps injury and is now unlikely to suit up against the Dolphins in Week 7. There is still a chance he tests the leg in a pregame workout, but for Miami, the more immediate concern is the shape of New Yorks backfield if Hall is unavailable.
Braelon Allen has handled the lead role in Halls absence and is expected to get the start against a Dolphins defense that has shown vulnerability against running backs. If Hall cannot go, Allen would be the one carrying the load again, giving New York a familiar setup right before kickoff and leaving Miami to prepare for a backfield built around a runner who has already taken on a heavier workload. [Read more 🡒]