MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Aaron Glenn defiantly announced these were not the “Same Old Jets” last week. They sure looked like it Monday night.
The Dolphins beat the Jets in a battle of previously winless teams. The score was only 27-21, but it never felt that close as the Jets played terribly for most of the night, turning the ball over three times and committing 13 penalties.
The offense did not look in sync for most of the night. The first Jets touchdown came on a Justin Fields 43-yard scramble and their longest drive of the night — a 12-play opening drive — ended with a fumble at the goal line.
The Jets made the score closer on a Garrett Wilson 23-yard touchdown with 1:49 left in the game. Fields converted a two-point conversion to make it 27-21, but the Dolphins recovered the onside kick to win the game.
The Jets are 0-4 for the first time since 2020, when they went 2-14. This was Miami’s first win of the season and they are 1-3.
Hard Rock Stadium continues to be a house of horrors for the Jets. They have lost 10 straight games here, with their last win coming in 2014, in Rex Ryan’s final game as coach.
The Jets explained away their first three losses this season because they came against good teams. But the Dolphins are in the Jets’ weight class and even the winless Dolphins outclassed them.
Somehow the Jets were only down by a touchdown at halftime despite playing a sloppy, mistake-filled first half. The Jets had five penalties and two fumbles in the opening half and their only points came on a 58-yard field goal by Nick Folk.
The Dolphins entered the game with zero takeaways. But Braelon Allen fumbled at the goal line and Fields fumbled on a fourth down. Then, the Jets fumbled away the opening kickoff of the second half when returner Isaiah Williams coughed it up.
Miami won the coin toss and elected to receive. They went 37 yards in 10 plays and Riley Patterson put them on the board with a 47-yard field goal for a 3-0 Miami lead.
The Jets spoke all week about establishing their run game and they showed that on the first drive. The Jets used an extra offensive lineman and formations with two tight ends and ran the ball right through the Miami defense.
The Jets ran for 76 yards on the 12-play drive and had the ball at the Dolphins 6-yard line. Allen then got the carry and was diving for the end zone when Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones punched the ball out and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered it, ending the drive.
The Dolphins took over and put together a long drive of their own and took a 10-0 lead. They went 96 yards on 15 plays and it was capped off with the first of two Darren Waller touchdowns. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found Waller in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner had good coverage but Waller leaped over him and then got both feet in. This was Waller’s first game with the Dolphins. Waller played for the Giants in 2023 before retiring and he did not play in 2024.
The Jets kept making mistakes in the first half. They committed several pre-snap penalties, something Glenn has stressed he wants to eliminate.
The Jets then had a fourth-and-5 at the Dolphins 36 and Fields rolled out to his right and was hit by linebacker Tyrel Dodson, causing him to fumble. Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips recovered it.
The Jets finally got on the scoreboard at the end of the half when Folk booted a career-high 58-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Dolphins lead to 10-3.
The Jets received the opening kickoff in the second half with a chance to tie the game but Williams fumbled. That led to another Waller touchdown, this one a 9-yard score to make it 17-3 Dolphins.
The touchdown drive was a costly one for the Dolphins. Star receiver Tyreek Hill suffered a gruesome knee injury after making a catch and was carted off.
Fields had an inconsistent night in his return from a concussion but he did give the Jets a highlight touchdown with 9:23 left in the third quarter. On fourth-and-1, Fields avoided the pass rush by former Jet Ashtyn Davis, then broke outside to the left and raced 43 yards for a touchdown that cut the Miami lead to 17-10.
Penalties continued to be an issue for the Jets in the second half. The Dolphins put together a seven-play, 43-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference penalty on Gardner and an unnecessary roughness call on linebacker Kiko Mauigoa after he hit a sliding Tagovailoa high. That penalty put the ball on the Jets 20.
De’Von Achane punched it in from the 9-yard line, going around the edge and avoiding the tackles of Tony Adams, Jamien Sherwood and Isaiah Oliver to put the Dolphins up 24-10.
The Jets had a touchdown taken off the board at the end of the third quarter when Garrett Wilson made a beautiful catch but was called for offensive pass interference.
Folk’s 50-yard field goal with 13:09 left made it a 24-13 game. Patterson iced the game for the Dolphins with a 36-yard field goal with 3:33 left that pushed the score to 27-13.
The Jets will return home to face the Cowboys next week, still searching for Glenn’s first victory.
