Five takeaways as Dolphins blow out Jets 34-10 to extend win streak to four
Talk about domination.
The Miami Dolphins drubbed the New York Jets 34-10 to extend their win streak to four in large part due to a defense that might have had its best performance of the season.
Consider this: not only did the Dolphins defense not allow a touchdown — the Jets’ sole trip to the end zone came courtesy of Isaiah Washington’s 78-yard punt return — the unit halted New York’s ground game. The Jets only mustered 62 yards rushing, which allowed Miami to lock up pass-catchers as quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor, who exited in the first quarter with a groin injury, and Brady Cooks completed a combined 45% of their passes for 154 yards. Miami also notched six sacks, led by defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who singlehandedly had 2.5 sacks himself.
“The biggest thing for us with the pass rush was rushing as one, being good in our communication and everyone being on the same page and trying to take advantage of every opportunity we get,” Sieler said. “And obviously when you get a lead early, it helps you to able to take more chances.” This comes after the Dolphins narrowly escaped with a 27-21 victory over the Jets in Week 4, a game in which Miami allowed 404 yards. That the Dolphins allowed considerably fewer yards — 207, to be exact — this late in the season is a testament to the defense’s growth.
“I’m not surprised,” Tyrel Dotson said of the defense’s performance, crediting how the unit was “gelling.”
“It’s just that camaraderie that makes championships teams,” Dotson continued. “If we continue to do what we’re doing, positive stuff is going to come to us.”
Fast start for offense
Three drives and three touchdowns.
The Dolphins started hot and fast, scoring a trio of touchdowns on the first three series of the game. A short, 3-yard hook-up between Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle gave the Dolphins’ their first touchdown. De’Von Achane’s 13-yard scamper resulted in the second score. Then came Jaylen Wright’s first career touchdown from 2 yards out.
Take a step back to compare the first-quarter stats, and the differences are almost laughable: 11 first downs to the Jets’ zero; 199 yards to the Jets’ 18; 10 yards per play to the Jets’ 2.
The Dolphins completed nine passes at an 82% rate, while the Jets completed just one of their five throws.
“Staying on schedule, staying ahead of the chains, what we were talking about before our openers — guys knowing where to go, guys knowing what to do, just being able to operate through those plays — we were able to stay in the rhythym and the flow with those first three drives that we had,” Tagovailoa said.
Run game continues to lead the way
There was a play on the Dolphins’ opening drive where several defenders failed miserably to take down Achane. They reached. They grabbed. They clawed — and Achane still managed to spin out of their failed tackle attempts to gain 39 yards to put the Dolphins deep in the Jets territory.
That essentially set the tone for the Dolphins’ running game, which finished with 241 yards on the day.
“I don’t think there’s a secret to knowing what makes the run game go,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s those guys up front. It’s the o-line — their communication, their conviction throughout the week of practice, being able to get looks and then if they didn’t get a certain look, they go and get it by themselves.”
Even before Achane went down with a rib injury in the second quarter, the third-year running back rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. His injury gave way to more carries for Jaylen Wright, who notched career highs in several areas including attempts (24), yards (107) and scores (one).
“You knew that the Jets were going to come in and try to stop the run,” coach Mike McDaniel. “Just to be able to manufacture that type of success on the ground, that’s December football. That’s how you win.”
Jaylen Waddle even got a little involved, taking his sole carry 21 yards, while Ollie Gordon II added another 17 and a touchdown.
Takeaways
Good defenses get takeaways.
And the Dolphins defense has started to resemble one of the better units.
Say what you want about the competition — or lack thereof — that the Dolphins have faced as of late, but it’s abundantly clear that the unit has begun to gel as it took the ball away from the Jets on three separate occasions.
Tyrel Dotson started the game off with an incredible interception in the first quarter, in which he secured the ball with his knees. Rasul Douglas didn’t bite on the stop-and-go from receiver John Metchie III and rose up to pick off Cook in the red zone late in the second quarter. Finally, Cook tried to pick on Ethan Bonner in the red zone with what looked to be a goal-line fade that the cornerback snagged out of the air with one hand in the game’s final moments.
Tagovailoa’s disappearing act
Tagovailoa started the game hot, completing 82% of his passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter.
Since then, Tagovailoa completed just 40% of his passes for 24 yards.
“We kind of got out of the flow wwith some of those self-inflicted wounds,” Tagovailoa said.
It’s difficult not to see this game as a missed opportunity to stomp out a team that looked like it ndidn’t belong on the field in the opening quarter. Tagovailoa’s inefficiency, however, kept the door open for a Jets comeback much, much longer than it should have been.
This marked the eighth game this season that Tagovailoa has thrown for less than 200 yards. As a result, the passing game struggled. Waddle led all pass-catchers with five grabs for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Money down efficiency
Another sign of the Dolphins’ defensive dominance can be seen on third downs.
The Jets only converted one of their 12 third-down attempts. They did, however, convert once on fourth down, a good sign considering they only had two tries.
“Defensively, I think the main thing are the takeaways and the one for 12 on third downs,” McDaniel said of what made that unit so successful.
Unfortunately, Miami wasn’t much better on third downs. Their 20% conversion rate — two for 10 — would be much more significant against better competition.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 4:24 PM.
