Dolphins Beat Jets 28-25 for First Win of Season The Miami Dolphins earned their first victory of the season, defeating the New York Jets 28-25 behind Malik Willis's 208 passing yards and two touchdowns, plus a 63-yard touchdown catch by Caleb Douglas. The Miami Dolphins secured their first win of the season on Sunday, defeating the New York Jets 28-25 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Hafley Secures First WinThe victory marked the first win of Jeff Hafley's tenure as Dolphins head coach. Miami never trailed against the Jets after scoring on their opening drive. The Dolphins won the opening toss and deferred, but Miami promptly ripped off a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive for their first lead of the season. After the Jets tied the game, the Dolphins responded with a 14-play, 60-yard touchdown drive for their second lead of the season, one they never relinquished.That helped Miami take a commanding 21-7 lead into halftime. The Dolphins entered Sunday averaging just 14.0 points per game, tied with the Titans for fewest in the NFL. They had not reached 21 points in four of their first five full games before breaking out against New York. Obviously, you do not want to spot a team 21 points in the first half, Jets linebacker Demario Davis said.They did a great job of creating some really long drives. They made some good plays. Shoutout to them and the plays that they made. It was not necessarily anything we did wrong on the plays, but they just found a way to make a play in those situations.Willis Leads Scoring EffortMalik Willis finished the game going 14 of 21 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 37 yards and a score on the ground. His scrambling ability helped the Dolphins extend drives, especially in the first half. Willis was a member of the Miami Dolphins and his decision-making was consistently positive, as he understood when to take off, when to move off of his progressions, and when to fire into tight windows.On Miami's first scoring drive, Willis made multiple throws late in the progression, including the first of two touchdown passes to Caleb Douglas. Just as important was what did not show up on the stat sheet: turnovers. Miami won the takeaway battle on Sunday. While Geno Smith threw an early pick to Michael Taaffe, Willis kept the ball out of harm's way.Willis looked like a completely different player than what was seen against the Cincinnati Bengals. If he can start to stack strong performances, his window as the Dolphins franchise quarterback will remain cracked open. Caleb Douglas's impact on the health of the Dolphins passing game is palpable. His two catches, both of which went for touchdowns, showcased an element Miami simply does not have with any of their other weapons.Caleb Douglas Dominates RoutesIn the first quarter, Douglas dusted cornerback Azareye'h Thomas, pressing into his toes and snapping off a gorgeous route to the inside. Then, when Miami's offense struggled to remain explosive late in the game, Douglas hit Minkah Fitzpatrick with a mean stutter-step. Douglas followed that up with a tightrope act that resulted in a 63-yard score. He stayed in bounds and avoided Fitzpatrick for the touchdown reception during the second half.Douglas went untouched the rest of the way for a 63-yard touchdown that gave the Dolphins a 28-17 lead with 4:44 left. We were supposed to have someone in the flat, Fitzpatrick said. It was in the flat. But I gotta make a tackle.We let them make too many explosive plays. The Jets defense was better in the second half, surrendering just one touchdown. That one touchdown, though, was an unacceptable breakdown that hurt any chance of a comeback. They trailed 21-17 with under five minutes to go, needing a stop to get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.But Willis completed a pass to a wide-open Douglas near the left sideline and Fitzpatrick, who had a chance to stop Douglas for a short gain, took a bad angle and completely whiffed on the tackle. The Jets defense had one more chance to save face after they cut the deficit to three with 3:24 left in the game.But the Jets gave up two first downs, allowing the Dolphins to run out the clock without the Jets offense getting another shot to either tie or win the game. He is an athletic guy, he is a talented guy, Jets safety Dane Belton said of Willis. No matter what people say about him, as far as the start to this year, he has had success in this league before. He is very talented.Rookie Safety Michael TaaffeWe definitely want to get out to a better start, especially when you put the defense out first. We expect a little different result. The Dolphins rookies have largely met expectations, and one who has far exceeded them is safety Michael Taaffe. Taaffe grabbed his second interception of the season against the Jets, triggering down on a crossing route by Jeremy Ruckert.It was an excellent play, and one Taaffe continues to make this season, trusting his instincts to fly towards the football. Even as a rookie, there are a couple of plays in each game where it seems like Taaffe knows what the offense is running before it happens. His football IQ has made an immediate impact on the back end. In a year where the primary goal is assessing talent, the former fifth-round pick looks like a gem.In what ended up as potentially the biggest play of the game, former Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders missed a 40-yard field goal for the New York Jets. For the first time all year, the Dolphins played what looked like a clean game in the third phase.In the first game after Jeff Hafley not-so-subtly called out Riley Patterson for not being able to get the ball into the end zone, Patterson's replacement, veteran Zane Gonzalez, and punter Bradley Pinion took turns on kickoffs and had the distance to eliminate the Jets potential returns. Gonzalez also went four for four on extra points.Pinion had a mediocre punt that was salvaged by a nice bounce, but overall, special teams was not a glaring negative, and that is the first time all season that has been the case. This win adds an exclamation point to a first half of a season that has felt about as promising as 1-5 can feel. After not holding a single lead over the course of their first five games, Miami never trailed against the Jets.They remained in control through an ugly second half and started what could be one of the craziest stories in NFL history.