7 instant takeaways from Dolphins' 27-21 win vs. Jets

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Sep 30, 2025 - 08:00
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7 instant takeaways from Dolphins' 27-21 win vs. Jets

The Miami Dolphins finally have a win after beating the New York Jets on Monday night, 27-21.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, it didn't come without a hefty price. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill suffered a serious knee injury that is almost certainly going to end his 2025 season and potentially his entire tenure in Miami.

Regardless, Miami is now 1-3 heading into a Week 5 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Here are seven takeaways from the Week 4 victory:

Darren Waller is a difference maker

Miami coaches seemed pretty confident in what they saw from the former Pro Bowler in practice, but it was hard to know what to expect from Waller. After spending 2024 in retirement and the first three weeks of the year sidelined with a hip injury, it wouldn't have been a shock if the 33-year-old tight end needed to shake off some rust.

Instead, he caught 14-yard pass on the Dolphins opening drive to move the chains, followed by an athletic 4-yard touchdown reception on Miami's second drive.

Waller's night got even better with 9-yard touchdown pass early in the second half.

There's no shortage of speedy weapons on the Dolphins offense, but size is not the team's strength. The decision to trade Jonnu Smith has seemed a costly one, but Waller appears primed to fill that significant void.

Tyreek Hill will be difficult to replace

Miami's No. 1 receiver may have provided a fair share of headaches for the Dolphins over the last calendar year, but that doesn't mean his absence won't be felt. Even when the team couldn't stretch the field, Hill was a reliable player who moved the chains on third downs.

Fortunately for the Dolphins, the aforementioned Waller adds a facet to the offense that will help mitigate the loss. Still, the Miami offense was much more dangerous with Hill than it is without him.

A balanced Dolphins offense can be a successful one

Through the first three weeks, the Dolphins offense had 97 pass attempts and only 52 rushes.

That imbalance was fueled by some sizable deficits, but it still meant the Dolphins' efficient rushing offense wasn't given enough of a chance to make an impact. While it was underwhelming night for Ollie Gordon II, Miami finished Monday night with 25 passes from Tua Tagovailoa and 31 total rushing attempts.

The Dolphins have to stick to that formula if they hope to continue finding the success that fueled their Monday night victory.

Give credit to the Dolphins secondary

For all the hand-wringing about the discount secondary pieced together by general manager Chris Grier in the wake of the Jalen Ramsey falling out, that unit hasn't been the issue for the defense. Even when the Jets drove the length of the field to start the game, it was 11 New York runs in a 12-play span that put the team on the doorstep of an early touchdown.

It took until the final minutes of the third quarter for any Jets pass catchers to even get to 20 yards. While New York's Garrett Wilson caught a 23-yard touchdown pass, Rasul Douglas had awfully good coverage that wasn't enough due to an unreal effort by Wilson.

No, Miami's defense isn't fixed. Far from it. But point to a leaky defensive line and a surprisingly non-existent pass rush as the main culprits. At least for now, the patchwork secondary is doing just fine.

Cole Strange is a viable replacement at right guard

It wasn't a perfect night for the former Patriots first-round pick by any stretch. Strange was beaten cleanly on a few plays that had Tua Tagovailoa racing to avoid rushers. But a Dolphins offense that was hampered by the inadequate play of Kion Smith and Daniel Brunskill in the place of James Daniels managed a much more smooth operation in Week 4.

The Dolphins definitely miss the duo of Daniels and Austin Jackson on the right side. But it seems the debate about what to do at guard in Daniels' absence is over.

Winning the turnover margin can fix a lot

It's so obvious it feels unnecessary to point out, but the Dolphins finishing with three takeaways and zero turnovers matters.

Tua Tagovailoa turned the ball over five times in the first three weeks. The Dolphins defense didn't record any takeaways. Those offensive mistakes and the failure to create any errors left Miami with a razor thin margin for error.

On Monday night, the Jets actually comfortably out-gained the Dolphins, 404 yards to 300. But one drive into the red zone ended without points due to a fumble and two more turnovers set up the Dolphins in Jets territory.

The Jets have a reason to gripe about officiating

By the time the final whistle blew, the Jets had 12 penalties for 101 yards while the Dolphins had six for 40 yards.

Plenty of that disparity was due to sloppy play by New York. But the officials also called a ticky-tack offensive pass interference penalty on Garrett Wilson that spoiled one Jets drive, and they opted against penalizing a couple of borderline late hits by Dolphins defenders.

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins 27, Jets 21: 7 instant takeaways from Miami's Week 4 win

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