By Zack Rosenblatt, Jayna Bardahl and Rebecca Tauber

In the battle to move up from the basement of the AFC East, it was the Miami Dolphins who notched their first win of the season, beating the New York Jets 27-21 in a game that saw Tyreek Hill carted off with a leg injury in the third quarter.

Miami struck first with a 47-yard field goal from Riley Patterson, and Darren Waller had himself a game. The 33-year-old tight end notched a pair of touchdowns, his first with the Dolphins after signing with the team out of retirement. De’Von Achane added a 9-yard touchdown run, followed by a 36-yard field goal from Patterson.

Coming back after missing Week 3 with a concussion, Jets quarterback Justin Fields scored on a 43-yard touchdown. But his efficient play, plus a 23-yard TD catch from Garrett Wilson late in the fourth quarter, weren’t enough to overcome the Dolphins.

The Jets drop to 0-4 ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, while the 1-3 Dolphins take on the Carolina Panthers.

New York’s defensive struggles continue

It was a comedy of errors for the Jets in Monday’s loss — only it wasn’t funny. It felt like things were headed in the right direction when they marched down the field on the opening drive, only for Allen to fumble it away at the goal line. From then on, the Jets’ biggest problems were exposed — just as they have been all season.

The biggest one: defense.

When Robert Saleh was here, the Jets consistently fielded one of the most successful defenses in the NFL, while the offense often floundered. Now the defense can’t stop anyone, and the defensive coaching staff has done a poor job of adjusting to what opposing offenses are throwing at them. Monday night, Waller scored two touchdowns on plays where the coverage was poor. The Jets consistently missed tackles and made mistakes in coverage, and if the Jets were playing against a better team — or one that hadn’t lost their best wide receiver (Hill) to a gruesome injury — the game would’ve been even more lopsided. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer

Jets racked up the penalties

The other issue that Aaron Glenn hasn’t managed to fix: discipline.

The Jets had 13 penalties accepted against them — and two other penalties that were declined, many of them coming pre-snap, post-snap and in inopportune moments. Even worse than the penalties, though, were the turnovers. Allen had the first, Fields lost another one and kick returner Isaiah Williams lost a third on the first kickoff of the second half, a momentum killer. Williams’ day only got worse: He fair caught a punt at the 2-yard line.

Now, the Jets are 0-4, without much hope for a win in the near future. Glenn preached that this isn’t the “Same Old Jets” after a loss last week — but this sure doesn’t look like anything new to anyone who has watched this team over the last decade. — Rosenblatt

Waller posts strong debut

Miami’s new tight end made his presence felt in his Dolphins debut. Waller came out of retirement to sign with the Dolphins in July, but he didn’t play in Miami’s first three games due to a hip injury.

Waller, 33, last played in an NFL game with the New York Giants on Jan. 7, 2024, but it didn’t take him long to get back into rhythm on Monday night. Waller hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass over Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner in the back of the end zone to put Miami up 10-0 in the first half.

In the third quarter, Waller recorded another score, this time on a 9-yard pass from Tagovailoa to the end zone. It marked Waller’s third multi-touchdown game in his career and first since Dec. 6, 2020, while he was with the Las Vegas Raiders (that game also against the Jets).

The Baltimore Ravens selected Waller in the sixth round in 2015. He made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2020 when he led tight ends in receptions (107) and ranked second at the position in yardage (1,196, behind Travis Kelce). He announced his retirement after the 2023 season with the New York Giants, mentioning a medical emergency that made him realize his passion for football had “slowly been fading.”

He finished Monday’s game with three catches for 27 yards and the two touchdowns.

“He waited a long time for this,” coach Mike McDaniel said in a halftime interview. “Much earned.” — Jayna Bardahl, NFL writer

Where Dolphins go from here

Waller’s impact could be significant after receiver Hill was carted off the field with a serious leg injury in the third quarter. Hill is the Dolphins’ most explosive player, and if he ends up missing an extended period of time, Miami will need to lean on Waller, Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington in the passing game.

Hill’s injury overshadowed what was the most put-together performance by the Dolphins this season. The defense recovered two Jets turnovers in the first half after recording zero takeaways through the first three games. The first came after a picture-perfect, 7-minute, 51-second Jets drive in the first quarter, when Jack Jones punched the ball out of the hands of Allen to save a score at the goal line.

It all came together at a good time for coach Mike McDaniel, whose job security has been questioned during the Dolphins’ 0-3 start. Before Monday’s game, a banner was spotted in the sky outside of Hard Rock Stadium: “Help wanted: New coach. New GM. New QB.” McDaniel entered Monday with a 28-26 record since taking over for the Dolphins in 2022. There’s still plenty of work to do — especially if Hill is out for an extended period of time — but the Dolphins keep swinging. — Bardahl

(Photo: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)