The Dolphins broke through Sunday at the Meadowlands with a 28-25 win over the rival Jets. The passing offense found its rhythm, complemented by a physical running game. Young players continued making plays, and edge Chop Robinson moved to the top of the league in a critical pass rushing category.
Willis and the efficient Dolphins
Quarterback Malik Willis entered the 2026 season with a small sample size of games, but within those games, he was one of the league's most efficient passers. Sunday was more of the same as he produced the sixth best game by a quarterback in the NFL this season based on EPA (+0.62).
Willis became the 14th player in Dolphins history to throw for two touchdowns and run for another in a game. He completed 67 percent of his passes, going 14-for-21 with an average of 9.9 yards per pass attempt and a passer rating of 130.7.
The Dolphins' offensive EPA reflected one of the team's best performances of the season, ranking in the 95th percentile of games played across seven weeks of NFL football. The offense scored four touchdowns on eight possessions without a turnover and killed the clock on the ninth possession.
Rookies make their mark again
Wide receiver Caleb Douglas returned from an injury that cost him three games, wasting no time changing the tide for the Miami offense. He caught a pair of touchdowns, becoming just the seventh rookie in franchise history to do so.
Safety Michael Taaffe intercepted the second pass of his career when he stepped in front of a first-quarter pass from Jets quarterback Geno Smith. Taaffe became the first Dolphins player to record multiple interceptions in the first six games of his career since Patrick Surtain in 1998.
Bully ball
Another part of that rookie class, offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor, was called upon to lead second-year running back Ollie Gordon II on multiple key runs late in the game to close out the Jets.
That's become the Dolphins' mentality – a physical team that wins in the trenches. The Dolphins are now seventh in the NFL at 131.5 rushing yards per game. Shortening the timeline, since Week 3, Miami is second in that same category with 153.6 rushing yards per game.
Gordon II has made the most of his opportunity. He scored a rushing touchdown for the fourth consecutive game and produced his second 100-yard game of that span. His 332 rushing yards during that span are the 13th most in the NFL despite playing just four games over the five-week period (Dolphins bye week occurred in Week 6).
Chop to the top
Edge Chop Robinson has been on a heater since returning in Week 3. He picked up five more quarterback pressures on 23 pass-rush attempts Sunday, giving him a 23.4 percent pressure rate on the season, the best in the NFL among players with a minimum of 100 pass-rush attempts.
