Jeremy Bergman’s takeaways:

Dolphins hold on, then slam door for first victory of Hafley era. Winning in the NFL isn’t easy, especially with a young, inexperienced roster weighed down by dead cap. That was more than clear through the Dolphins’ first five games of the 2026 season, all losses. But before the close of October, Miami has earned its first win of the campaign. The initial victory of the Jeff Hafley era was also the first game all year in which Miami held a lead — at halftime or at any point! Credit is due mostly to Malik Willis, who played up to the level of his contract. Willis flexed his mobility to move the chains and reach the end zone, and the quarterback established chemistry with Greg Dulcich and rookie wideouts Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas, the latter of whom scored his first two touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter 63-yard catch and run that extended Miami’s lead. Ollie Gordon II delivered another professional outing in place of De’Von Achane (103 yards, TD on 25 totes). Chop Robinson and Co. brought enough pressure on the back end to frustrate Geno Smith and force rushed throws. Miami went into a lull in the third, but closed out the win after New York inched back in the fourth quarter. Faced with a fourth-and-1 at midfield up three at the two-minute warning, the fearless Fins lined up heavy and tush-pushed their way into the win column. For Hafley, a New Jersey native, this triumph over the rival Jets will be one to remember, and hopefully for Miami, the first of many to come.
Unforgivable loss for Jets. For an Aaron Glenn regime at risk of falling behind midway through its second season, Sunday’s home matchup against Miami should have been the perfect salve: Get right against a team that hasn’t led for a single second of the season. Instead, the Jets nosedived. New York allowed long touchdown drives on each of Miami’s first two possessions (21 plays, 11:42 combined). Geno Smith threw his second interception in as many weeks to end the Jets’ chance to tie things up in the second quarter. Glenn took all three of his timeouts into the half and let Miami salt away the clock before the Dolphins scored their third TD with just six seconds left in the second frame. Down seven in the fourth quarter, the Jets appeared to have something cooking when Braelon Allen got Gang Green to the 1-yard-line, but what followed was a flame-out: Two 1-yard losses, and then a 12-yard sack to set up a field goal. Two punts later, and Miami scored on a 63-yard catch and run after veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick missed an open-field tackle against a rookie WR. U-G-L-Y, ugly, ugly, ugly! The Jets boast a roster worthy of wild-card contention, but to sniff the postseason, they need to win games against the runts of the NFL. This was one of those games, as is next week’s home bout against the Raiders. A loss to Las Vegas, and owner Woody Johnson might consider annulling his marriage to Glenn.
Cooper has come to play in crowded corps. The scuttlebutt in New York these past few weeks has been about the Jets struggling to integrate their star WR, Garrett Wilson, into the offense. That’s fair after he caught just four passes in the Jets’ Week 6 loss — and will continue this week after he logged just two receptions on three targets for 26 yards and was spotted barking at Geno Smith after a failed red zone trip. But if it is possible, let’s spin positive on New York’s play-making talent, starting with rookie wideout Omar Cooper Jr.. Since returning from injury last week, Cooper has posted back-to-back 100-yard games, the first Jets rookie to do so since Al Toon in 1985. He’s also the first rookie in Jets history with at least 100 receiving yards and a TD in consecutive games, per NFL Research. In Sunday’s loss to Miami, the WR caught two 50-plus yard bombs from Smith, serving as a one-man field-flipping machine. Cooper boasts a combination of speed and physicality that is serving him well against secondaries, providing New York another outlet if it can find him. Smith was spreading the ball around Sunday to Cooper, Mason Taylor (two TDs) and Wilson, leaving Adonai Mitchell and Kenyon Sadiq without their fair share of attention. With Breece Hall nearing a return, there are a lot of mouths to feed in New York, and no one will be satisfied as long as the Jets keep eating dispiriting losses.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Dolphins-Jets (via NFL Pro): Dolphins pass rusher Chop Robinson generated five pressures on 23 pass rushes against the Jets, including a key third-down sack that stifled a fourth-quarter red-zone drive. Entering the Week 7 afternoon window, Robinson owns a 23.4% pressure rate for the season, the highest in the NFL (minimum 100 pass rushes).

NFL Research: The Dolphins scored a season-high 28 points against New York and are now 6-1 in their last seven games following a bye, the third-best record in the NFL since 2020. The Jets have now lost four of their last five games versus teams entering with zero wins in Week 6 or later.