Dolphins Defense Ends Season-Long Funk Against Jets

The Miami Dolphins defense turned things around on Monday night against the New York Jets in a clash of winless teams.

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (83) catches a touchdown pass as New York Jets' Sauce Gardner, rear, and Brandon Stephens (21) defend in the first half of an NFL football game in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Sept. 29, 2025. Marta Lavandier/AP Photo

The Miami Dolphins fielded one of the most maligned defenses in the NFL through three weeks, amid a 0–3 start.

Facing the 0–3 New York Jets on Monday night, something had to give. The Dolphins held a team under 30 points and garnered multiple takeaways for the first time this season in a 27–21 victory over the Jets. New York’s latest comeback attempt fell short because of it, despite scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter.

“Yeah, I’m going to call for [defensive coordinator] Anthony Weaver to call for more violence more often. It was awesome,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday. “Particularly, I would say that the first takeaway epitomizes what I see our team to be, which I think was an 80-yard drive, that Jack Jones [forced a fumble on] and no one quit.”

Jones turned away what would have been the Jets taking an early lead, and the Dolphins instead turned that takeaway into points with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s first touchdown pass of the night. Miami recovered three fumbles overall against the Jets, a team that otherwise racked up yards on the Dolphins all night with 404 total yards.

“It was a rough start to the season, but having young players at a lot of positions and watching them understand their failures and not blink when a lot of people are telling them to blink, I’m very proud of that,” McDaniel said. “And the takeaways, the first one in particular, were monumental. Being plus three was a nice place to be.”

The Jets also helped out the Dolphins with 13 penalties that cost 101 yards. New York’s 4–9 on third downs and 1–2 on fourth downs didn’t help either.

“Very disappointing, very disappointing,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters afterward. “There is no way you can win any game with 13 penalties and three turnovers. It just can’t happen.”

Miami built a 14–3 lead in the process, and the Dolphins did just enough in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball to hold off the Jets. Tagovailoa led an eight-play, 56-yard drive in the middle of the quarter that resulted in a field goal and a 27–13 lead.

Jets quarterback Justin Fields responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Garrett Wilson, and Fields scored the two-point conversion, which cut the deficit to 27–21. Miami recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock, which only gave the Jets two seconds to work with after a punt.

Miami, which gave up 96 points before Monday, broke into the win column, and the Dolphins still have the slimmest of hopes in making a playoff run. Six teams in NFL history have rebounded from 0–3 to make the postseason.

“The biggest thing is that you want guys to come together and really thrive when the odds are against you. Generally, for a season, that’s the formula,” McDaniel said. “But the biggest thing for us is to file that away. They’ll get tonight to appreciate the win, then we’ll have one day off tomorrow for the guys, and then we’ll be back at it Wednesday.”

That said, the Dolphins will need to press forward without star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who dislocated his knee during the game. McDaniel expects his team to adjust.

“I guess it’ll take what the players were doing after he left. It’s football. It’s a 100 percent injury rate,” McDaniel said. “Man, he’s great, valuable, and a very important player to us, but every team has the same situation going on, different cadence.”

As for the Jets, more questions remain at 0–4 under Glenn in his first year as head coach. The Jets’ defense has yet to produce a takeaway, a rarity this far into an NFL season.

“What we have to do is go back to work, that’s the only way we can fix it,” Glenn said. “We have to understand [that] before you can win games, you have to learn how not to lose games.”