Dolphins Beat Jets 28-25 for First Win of the Season as Willis Finds Douglas Twice

The Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 28-25 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday, October 25, 2026, for their first win of the season. Malik Willis threw two touchdown passes to rookie Caleb Douglas, including a 63-yard score late in the fourth quarter, and Miami held on after leading 21-7 at halftime.

Sportradar recorded the final score as Miami 28, New York 25, with a quarter split of 14, 7, 0, 7 for the Dolphins and 7, 0, 7, 11 for the Jets. The Palm Beach Post confirmed the same final and the first win of the Jeff Hafley era, with Miami moving to 1-5 and the Jets falling to 2-5. Dolphins Wire published the same quarter split in its final score table.

Miami leads a game for the first time this season

Miami took its first lead of the season on its opening drive. The Dolphins went 76 yards in 7 plays, and Willis completed all three of his passes on the drive before finding Douglas from 7 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Palm Beach Post noted that it was the first time Miami had led in any game this season.

The Jets answered straight away. Geno Smith hit Omar Cooper for 52 yards on the first play of the Jets drive, then found Mason Taylor for a 13-yard touchdown three plays later to tie the game at 7-7.

Miami retook the lead on a 60-yard, 14-play drive capped by Ollie Gordon II from 1 yard out. Willis then finished a 91-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Miami a 21-7 halftime lead with less than 10 seconds left in the first half.

The Jets close in, Douglas answers

New York cut the lead to 21-14 in the second half on a 3-yard Smith touchdown pass to Cooper. A 33-yard Jason Sanders field goal made it 21-17 after Miami stuffed two runs and Chop Robinson sacked Smith on third and goal from the 1-yard line.

The biggest play of the game came with about five minutes left. On second and 7 from Miami's own 37-yard line, Willis threw to Douglas down the left sideline, and Douglas evaded Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to score from 63 yards and make it 28-17. It was Douglas's second touchdown of the day, in his return after missing the past three weeks with an ankle injury.

The Jets were not finished. A 41-yard gain took New York into the Miami red zone, and Smith threw a touchdown pass to Taylor, his second touchdown catch of the day. A successful two-point conversion after penalty retries cut the lead to 28-25 late in the fourth quarter.

Willis seals the first win

Miami closed the game out on the ground. Willis sealed the win with a 2-yard sneak on fourth and 1 with two minutes to play, and Gordon went over 100 yards rushing late in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins ran out the clock at 28-25.

The confirmed record is the final score, the quarter split and the scoring plays above, checked across Sportradar, the Palm Beach Post and Dolphins Wire. No passing yardage totals beyond the plays listed were published in the sources used for this report, so none are given here.