Momentum had seemed to be on the side of the New York Jets entering Sunday.
Winners of three of their last five games, Gang Green had another opportunity to show how much the young team had grown ahead of an AFC East clash against the Miami Dolphins.
Instead, the Jets were pummeled.
Miami scored three times in the first quarter and coasted to a 34-10 blowout win over the hometown Jets.
It was an ugly start for the Jets’ defense from the very beginning. Miami scored on the fifth play from scrimmage, a three-yard completion from Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle, which capped a four-play drive. The Dolphins had two separate rushes of over 30 yards on the opening drive to get them in scoring range.
Things didn’t get much better for the Jets on their ensuing defensive series. After the offense went three-and-out, Miami went right back to work, scoring on a five-play drive that covered 80 yards.
Within the first seven minutes of game action, New York had allowed Miami to record close to 150 yards on just nine plays, while trailing 14-0. Before the quarter came to its conclusion, New York gave up another touchdown, a two-yard run from Jaylen Wright that gave Miami a 21-0 lead. The score was aided by a Tyrod Taylor interception deep in Jets territory. Taylor later left the game with a groin injury and did not return, prompting undrafted rookie Brady Cook to take the field and make his NFL debut.
New York didn’t need a healthy quarterback to put up points, though. The team would finally get on the board thanks to their special teams unit coming up clutch, once again.
Isaiah Williams recorded a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown as the first quarter concluded to cut the deficit to 21-7. It was Williams’ second returned punt for a score in 2025. He joins Santana Moss and Dick Christy as the third Jet in franchise history to record multiple punt return touchdowns in the same season.
Miami would tack on a field goal in the second quarter and bring its three-score advantage into halftime.
Following the break, New York’s defense began to figure things out, stifling the Dolphins’ attack through a scoreless third quarter. The Jets would tack on a field goal early in the fourth quarter to get within two scores and get some momentum on their side.
But on the following drive, Miami ended any hopes of a comeback. The Dolphins orchestrated a run-heavy nine-play, 67-yard drive that culminated in an Ollie Gordon touchdown run.
The loss dropped New York to 3-10. They will be back on the field next Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Sunshine State.
Game Notes
- With Taylor out for most of the contest, it took the Jets until the midway point of the second quarter to record their first first-down of the ball game.
- Cook struggled mightily in his NFL debut, completing just 45% of his passing attempts for 163 yards, and zero touchdowns while finishing with a laughable 35.8 passer rating, tossing two interceptions and enduring six sacks.
- The Jets’ run defense came into Sunday coming off a rough performance against the Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Aaron Glenn was unconcerned in that regard, but it came back to bite the organization again, as his squad allowed Miami to rack up over 200 yards on the ground.
