The Miami Dolphins were dressed for success in their brand new pitch black — errr, I mean, pitch blue — Rivalries Uniform under the bright lights of Hard Rock Stadium for Monday Night Football in a contest against their AFC East division rivals, the New York Jets.
Look good, play good, right?
The Dolphins finally got off the schneid and picked up their first victory of the 2025 season by outlasting the New York Jets at home by a score of 27-21. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it sure felt good to watch the boys in aqua and orange (and black… or blue?) finally pick up a win.
Head coach Mike McDaniel called a beautiful game — allowing the team to run for 123 yards on 31 carries, while throwing for just 177 yards and asking Tua Tagovailoa to manage the game instead of imploring him to be a hero. The quarterback rewarded that decision by finishing with two touchdown throws and a 114.9 passer rating.
While winning is certainly better than losing, it wasn’t all good on the night for Miami. With that being said, let’s take a look back at the good, bad and ugly from Miami’s Monday Night Football victory over the New York Jets.
GOOD
The Miami Dolphins raised a lot of eyebrows when they traded for tight end Darren Waller — who sat out the entire 2024 season after retiring — this offseason after sending their 2024 Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade.
That decision was deemed even more curious when Waller barely practiced for the Dolphins and missed the team’s entire preseason and first three regular season contests.
Well, on Monday night, Waller returned to action — and he did so with a bang!
Waller only had three catches on the night, but two of them went for touchdowns as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found the 6’6” pass catcher for a 4-yard touchdown on 4th and goal in the second quarter, while also hitting Waller for a 9-yard score early in the third quarter as well.
Waller’s impact on just three catches already makes him Miami’s most successful tight end this season. The veteran will look to build on an impressive Dolphins debut in order to help Miami’s offense — especially now that the club will be without Tyreek Hill for the remainder of the season.
BAD
Dolphins defense can’t stop the run
The Dolphins remade the interior of their defensive line this offseason, adding rookie defensive tackles Kenneth Grant (1st round), Jordan Phillips (5th round) and Zeek Biggers (7th round) to the club. They hoped the trio would learn quickly from veteran Zach Sieler.
Well, that hasn’t happened as quickly as the Dolphins would have liked.
Miami’s defense cannot stop the run to save their lives. On Monday against New York, they allowed the Jets to run for 197 yards on 28 attempts. That’s a whopping 7.0 yards per carry for the crew in white and green.
Quarterback Justin Fields had 7 carries for 81 yards (11.6 yards per carry), including a 43-yard scamper for a touchdown on 4th and 1 in the second half. Breece Hall carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards (5.8 yards per carry). Braelon Allen added 4 carries for 26 yards (6.5 yards per carry). The only Jets runner to average less than 5.8 yards per carry was Isaiah Davis who had 3 carries for 9 yards.
If the Dolphins want to start stockpiling wins, Anthony Weaver’s defense desperately needs to figure out how to stop opposing ball carriers.
UGLY
Tyreek Hill suffers devastating knee injury; lost for season
There was plenty of speculation this offseason as to whether or not wide receiver Tyreek Hill would remain a Miami Dolphins player after he demanded a trade following the final game of the 2024 season. Ultimately, Hill walked back his statement and returned to the Dolphins with his tail tucked between his legs.
Unfortunately for Hill and the entire Dolphins organization, The Cheetah’s return will be short-lived as his 2025 season is done after just three and a half games due to injury.
During the early portions of the third quarter of Monday’s Dolphins win, Hill converted a key third down on the Jets’ sideline, but had his leg twisted up underneath him during the tackle. The result was a gruesome knee injury that left the receiver clutching his leg while laying prone on the field. His teammates and opponents knelt in quiet concern while the 31-year-old was carted to the locker room and then immediately taken to the hospital.
There will be plenty of time to speculate about Hill’s future with the Dolphins, but for now, our thoughts are with Miami’s receiver while he embarks upon a long and arduous recovery process.
___
The Dolphins finally found themselves on the winning side of the scoreboard for the first time in 2025 by beating a familiar division foe in the New York Jets. Now they’ll face a short week before heading to Carolina to play the Panthers on Sunday. Do you think the Dolphins can win their second game in a row and give themselves a shot at a .500 record the following week? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up!
See More:
