The Miami Dolphins finally put one in the win column Sunday, and the result against the New York Jets came with enough twists to fuel a long round of instant takeaways. Miami’s 28-25 victory was its first of the season and Jeff Hafley’s first win at the helm, with the Dolphins never once trailing after opening up control early.
What stood out most was how much work it took to finish the job. Miami’s offense came out sharp in the first half, then paired that with better clock management and a critical fourth-down conversion to close the door. It wasn’t clean, especially after halftime, but it was the kind of game the Dolphins had to survive and still somehow owned from start to finish.
Malik Willis delivered his strongest outing in a Miami uniform, completing 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 37 yards and another score. He looked comfortable working through his reads, knowing when to tuck the ball and run, when to keep cycling through progressions, and when to challenge tight coverage. On Miami’s opening scoring drive, Willis repeatedly made throws late in the play, including the first of his two touchdown passes to Caleb Douglas.
The most important number for Willis may have been the one that never showed up: turnovers. Miami won the takeaway battle, and while Geno Smith threw an early interception to Michael Taaffe, Willis kept the Jets from getting any easy gifts.
Compared with what Miami got from him against the Cincinnati Bengals, this version of Willis looked dramatically different. If he keeps stacking performances like this, the door on his future as the Dolphins’ franchise quarterback stays open.
Douglas made his return count in a big way. Miami’s rookie receiver had just two catches, but both went for touchdowns, and each one showed why he changes the shape of the offense.
Early in the first quarter, he beat Azareye'h Thomas with a sharp route inside after pressing the corner. Later, with Miami searching for explosives, Douglas worked Minkah Fitzpatrick with a stutter-step before turning it into a 63-yard touchdown.
His influence went beyond the catches themselves. Douglas’ size and skill forced the rest of the passing game into better spots, which helped players like Greg Dulcich and Malik Washington find room underneath. That kind of ripple effect mattered as much as the scores.
Taaffe kept making his own case as one of the Dolphins’ most impressive rookies. He picked off his second pass of the season by breaking downhill on a crossing route to Jeremy Ruckert, another instinctive play from a safety who seems to read the game a step ahead. Week after week, there are moments where he looks like he already knows what’s coming, and that kind of football IQ has quickly made him a real asset on the back end.
Special teams, which had been a problem area, finally looked far more stable. Former Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders missed a 40-yard field goal for the Jets, and Miami’s third phase held together without the usual stress.
In the first game after Jeff Hafley’s not-so-subtle jab at Riley Patterson for failing to get the ball into the end zone, replacement kicker Zane Gonzalez and punter Bradley Pinion handled kickoffs with enough distance to shut down return chances. Gonzalez also went 4 for 4 on extra points.
Pinion’s day wasn’t spotless, as one punt was only saved by a favorable bounce, but the unit as a whole avoided becoming a liability. For the first time all season, special teams wasn’t one of Miami’s obvious weaknesses.
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