MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets find themselves going into next Monday night’s meeting with identical 0-3 records but with different franchise circumstances.
The Dolphins are reeling early in Year 4 of coach Mike McDaniel’s tenure at the helm, albeit possibly finding some positive takeaways from a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road last Thursday night on a short week.
The Jets are trying to become an upstart group in the first year under the tutelage of former cornerback Aaron Glenn, who came over from leading the Detroit Lions defense.
“They’re schematically different,” noted McDaniel, who had a longstanding relationship with former Jets coach Robert Saleh from their time together with the San Francisco 49ers. “Coach Aaron Glenn, I have the utmost respect for him, and he sees football differently than the last regime. So they emphasize different things. There are some overlapping players, and the uniforms, most of the time, are the same.”
Of course, for this “Monday Night Football” installment of the rivalry, the Dolphins are unveiling their new dark-blue alternate “Rivalries” uniforms.
The Jets nearly came back from down, 23-6, against the undefeated Buccaneers in Tampa on Sunday. They briefly took a lead off a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, but Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin nailed a 36-yard field goal to win it as time expired.
“They had a game where a lot of teams might’ve tapped,” McDaniel said. “They sure didn’t. Had a heartbreaker. They’ll be a new team with a new energy, which makes them very different as an opposing team for us.”
The Dolphins, too, will be different coming off the extra rest of the mini-bye the back end of a Thursday night game creates.
For one, Miami appears on track to debut tight end Darren Waller, who came out of retirement to play with the team this season but has missed the first three games with a hip injury.
The plan for the week of practice, according to McDaniel: “To practice specifically to play in the next game.”
McDaniel added Waller will be on a limited snap count.
“It’s probably more situational,” McDaniel said. “I wouldn’t go to all these lengths, have all this buildup and then throw him out there for 60 (snaps) or something. I kind of have an idea, roughly, what it is, but we’ll see if that idea plays through the practice week.”
If McDaniel has a situational or package-based plan for Waller, one tends to think of the 6-foot-6 tight end as a big red-zone target.
“He’s the opposite of the eligible (receivers) that we have, outside of Nick (Westbrook-Ikhine),” McDaniel said. “Gigantic range and catch radius. And he’s a very big human being that moves really fast. … If he’s just on the field, I think defenses have to account for him.”
It was interesting McDaniel mentioned Westbrook-Ikhine, as he would’ve already provided the receiving corps some height and length to complement the more diminutive Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The 6-foot-2 wideout the Dolphins signed this offseason, after he caught nine touchdowns last season with the Tennessee Titans, has just five targets and three catches for Miami in three games.
“He’s done a great job being very involved in the offense. Each game is specific to itself,” said McDaniel, who added Westbrook-Ikhine was actually the primary target on Hill’s touchdown in Buffalo, on which Tagovailoa found Hill progressing through his reads.
“I don’t front-end stress about guys who are finding ways to make plays without the ball, because then you end up putting them on the field more and the ball finds them. I think he’ll continue to progress in this offense, but he’s certainly a guy who can help us with the way he plays the game with physicality, whether he gets the ball or not.
“He’s been an active (participant), and I’m sure his catches will come.”
A separate element the Dolphins incorporated in defeat last Thursday night at Buffalo was the power run game with rookie Ollie Gordon II getting more involved. He had nine carries for 38 yards and a touchdown after getting just three rushing attempts in the first two games.
“Rookies, in general, sometimes they’re not afforded the buffer of playing into their role,” McDaniel said. “I see a young player who has risen to every challenge. He continues to work. He contributes on special teams, which he didn’t in college at all.
McDaniel has utilized Gordon and Achane together at times.
“You can use two backs on the field at the same time, as long as they can handle that learning workload,” McDaniel said. “A package like that can only expand if the players allow for it because they’re locked in and executing.”
With the long layoff between games coming off the Thursday night, it’s an opportunity for young players to take a step back and assess their play before focusing on the Jets.
Beyond Gordon, that can help rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea, who has struggled through three games.
Savaiinaea excelled on the right side in college. Right guard was James Daniels’ spot to start the season, but he hurt his pectoral muscle three plays into the year. Still, McDaniel has not considered moving Savaiinaea back to right guard.
“You’re looking at, do some of his strengths either get empowered or do some of the issues — are you helping the player by moving him to the right side?” McDaniel inquired.
“I think he feels most comfortable where he’s at right now in our offense. If there were things that are happening to him that I think would be alleviated by playing on the right, I would absolutely do that. But for him, both his good plays and his bad plays, at this point, the way he’s really gone all-in, we haven’t measured as a side issue.”
Originally Published: September 22, 2025 at 4:31 PM EDT