Phins win, but lose big with Hill’s devastating injury
The Miami Dolphins finally won their first victory of the 2025 season on Monday Night Football, beating the lowly Jets–but the price was massive with the loss of Tyreek Hill for the season and likely longer. The football gods clearly love to give and take with the Phins–more often take than give. Miami finally won the turnover battle, finally won, but to even it out with our crap luck, Hill suffered a gruesome injury and likely has played his last snap as a Dolphin.
Without a doubt the Dolphins team will be a different team going forward this year and beyond. We’ll get a good taste of life without Hill this year and see if we like it. Truth is Hill was likely gone next year anyway, so I guess we are just ripping the band aide off. But, for a team battling for its season and this regime, it couldn’t have come at a worst time.
McDaniel will now have to show if he as what it takes or not now without his best weapon.
The win doesn’t fix the bigger problems
The victory is welcome, but it doesn’t erase the season’s issues.
Miami might will likely rip off a couple of wins to stay in the hunt—then, you can bet with the best pay per head, stumble when it’s time to beat a quality opponent, miss the playoffs by a hair, and land in the middle of the first round again. The next three games (Panthers, Chargers, Browns) could realistically put Miami at 3–4 after seven weeks, farther from a top pick and closer to the middle rounds.
For a team clearly in a rebuild and looking at a new regime, this is the worst-case scenario.
The only good outcomes are the Dolphins make the playoffs or get a top pick in the 2026 Draft.
Offense showed life—will it continue without Hill going forward
Against the Jets, the offense finally showed a pulse all game, and even without Hill, Tua Tagovailoa and the unit found rhythm and funnel touches to remaining playmakers. A bright spot: Darren Waller playe like a stud and delivered, posting three catches and two touchdowns. Waller was a legit red-zone and brings great value, if he can stay healthy.
Despite the offensive line not allowing a sack, they allowed 35% pressure rate, but Tua had enough time to work. And despite mostly, poor run blocking Achane and Gordon made the most of their touches generating 3.13 yards after contact of their 3.9 yards per carry. Achane had a stellar day with 4.32 yards after contact and 9 forced missed tackles. Clearly, the Jets leading the league in missed tackles and 25th worst run defense helped, but Achane is a special runner and made a lot more out of less.
Still, McDaniel finally did what we’ve begged for and leaned into the run game this time.
Too little too late?
We’ll see.
Defense: takeaways good, run defense bad
The defense created turnovers, but the run defense sprung major leaks. The Jets rushed for 197 yards with a whopping 7.0 yards per carry. If New York had leaned into the ground game even more, this could have swung differently. Miami also struggled to get consistent pass rush. Yes, there were two sacks (including a strip-sack on 4th down), but this front was billed as a strength and still isn’t hitting its ceiling. If the defense can heat up and sustain pressure while staying sound against the run, Miami can start beating the teams it’s supposed to beat. If they don’t with the loss of Hill, they might not find themselves losing to weaker opponents.
Bottom line
The season remains on life support and will take a near miracle to make the 2025 Season a good one. And to add salt to the wound, given the contract ramifications, Miami probably won’t be able to trade Hill and could designate him a post–June 1 cut next year to keep the dead money near $16 million. Hill’s loss is a hit on this season and next year as well.
So, enjoy the win—but the margin for error is razor thin and broad is the road to a collapse.
What say you, Dolphins fans? What did you see against the Jets, and where do you think this team is headed next?