By Zack Rosenblatt, Jayna Bardahl and Rebecca Tauber
In the battle to move up from the basement of the AFC East, it was the Miami Dolphins who notched their first win of the season, beating the New York Jets 27-21 in a game that saw Tyreek Hill carted off with a leg injury in the third quarter.
Miami struck first with a 47-yard field goal from Riley Patterson, and Darren Waller had himself a game. The 33-year-old tight end notched a pair of touchdown receptions, his first with the Dolphins after signing with the team out of retirement. De’Von Achane added a 9-yard touchdown run, followed by a 36-yard field goal from Patterson.
Coming back after missing Week 3 with a concussion, Jets quarterback Justin Fields scored on a 43-yard touchdown run. He also threw a 23-yard TD pass to Garrett Wilson late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Dolphins.
The Jets drop to 0-4 ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, while the 1-3 Dolphins next take on the Carolina Panthers.
New York’s defensive struggles continue
It was a comedy of errors for the Jets in Monday’s loss — only it wasn’t funny. It felt like things were headed in the right direction when they marched down the field on the opening drive, only for Braelon Allen to fumble it away at the goal line. From then on, the Jets’ biggest problems were exposed — just as they have been all season.
The biggest one: defense.
When Robert Saleh was with the franchise, the Jets consistently fielded one of the most successful defenses in the NFL, while the offense often floundered. Now the defense can’t stop anyone, and the defensive coaching staff has done a poor job of adjusting to what offenses are throwing at them. Monday night, Waller scored both of his touchdowns on plays where the coverage was poor. The Jets consistently missed tackles and made mistakes in coverage, and if they had been playing against a better team — or one that hadn’t lost its best wide receiver (Hill) to a gruesome injury — the game would’ve been even more lopsided. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer
Jets racked up the penalties
The other issue that new Jets coach Aaron Glenn hasn’t managed to fix: discipline.
His team had 13 penalties accepted against it — and two other penalties that were declined. Even worse than the penalties, though, were the turnovers. Allen had the first, Fields lost another one and kick returner Isaiah Williams lost a third on the first kickoff of the second half, a momentum killer. Williams’ day only got worse: He fair caught a punt at the 2-yard line.
Glenn preached that this isn’t the “Same Old Jets” after a loss last week — but this sure doesn’t look like anything new to anyone who has watched this team over the last decade. — Rosenblatt
Waller posts strong debut
Miami’s new tight end made his presence felt in his season debut. Waller came out of retirement to sign with the Dolphins in July, but he didn’t play in Miami’s first three games due to a hip injury.
Waller, 33, last played in an NFL game with the New York Giants on Jan. 7, 2024, but it didn’t take him long to get back into rhythm on Monday night. He hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass over Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner in the back of the end zone to put Miami up 10-0 in the first half.
TOUCHDOWN DARREN WALLER!
NYJvsMIA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/QcUnTnK9HP— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2025
In the third quarter, Waller notched his second score, this time on a 9-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa. It marked the third multi-touchdown game in Waller’s career and his first since Dec. 6, 2020, while he was with the Las Vegas Raiders (that game was also against the Jets).
The Baltimore Ravens selected Waller in the sixth round in 2015. He made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2020 when he led tight ends in receptions (107) and ranked second at the position in yardage (1,196, behind Travis Kelce). He announced his retirement after the 2023 season with the Giants, mentioning a medical emergency that made him realize his passion for football had “slowly been fading.”
He finished Monday’s game with three catches for 27 yards and those two touchdowns.
“He waited a long time for this,” coach Mike McDaniel said in a halftime interview. “Much earned.” — Jayna Bardahl, NFL writer
Where Dolphins go from here
Waller’s impact could be significant given that Hill was carted off the field with that serious leg injury in the third quarter. Hill is the Dolphins’ most explosive player, and while he’s gone, Miami will need to lean on Waller, Jaylen Waddle, Malik Washington and Achane in the passing game.
Hill’s injury overshadowed what was the most put-together performance by the Dolphins this season. The defense recovered two Jets turnovers in the first half after recording zero takeaways through the first three games. The first came after a picture-perfect, nearly eight-minute drive by the Jets in the first quarter, when Jack Jones punched the ball out of the hands of Allen to save a score at the goal line.
It all came together at a good time for McDaniel, whose job security has been questioned during the Dolphins’ 0-3 start. Before Monday’s game, a banner was spotted in the sky outside of Hard Rock Stadium: “Help wanted: New coach. New GM. New QB.” McDaniel entered Monday with a 28-26 record since taking over for the Dolphins in 2022. There’s still plenty of work to do — especially if Hill is out for an extended period — but the Dolphins keep swinging. — Bardahl
(Photo: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
