The Miami Dolphins went into Week 7 with a winless record, but they walked out with a 28-25 victory over their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets, after a hard-fought battle at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
With this win, the Dolphins are just one game behind the Jets for third place in the division, but they're also still among the bottom three teams in the league, record-wise.
As we head into a new week, let's round up power rankings from several publications and see how Miami is being viewed after finally getting in the win column.
USA Today Sports:No. 27 (+4)
"'Thinking of me as a little kid in the parking lot as we (came to the Meadowlands), I was one of the those guys flipping off the buses, and now here I am,' said New Jersey native and first-year Fins coach Jeff Hafley
after his team upset the Jets to finally break into the win column. Way to also flip off all of those observers who thought your team might become the 0-17 bookend to the 17-0 1972 Dolphins, Coach," Nate Davis wrote.
CBS Sports: No 30 (+2)
"They won! That's a great sign coming out of the bye. They aren't in the cellar of these rankings anymore as the young players continue to improve," Pete Prisco wrote.
FOX Sports: No. 30 (+2)
"Admit it. You knew the Dolphins were going to beat the Jets on Sunday. I mean, if they were going to win one game all season long, that was always going to be it. And of course, it would be at MetLife Stadium. Every Jets fan knew it when they bought their ticket to that game. The Dolphins did it in style, too. Malik Willis threw a 63-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. RB Ollie Gordon ran all over the Jets for 103 yards. And the Miami defense got the big fourth-quarter stop when they needed it. Enjoy it, because things are almost certainly going to get worse — at least until they play the Jets again in Miami on Nov. 29," Ralph Vacchiano wrote.
The Athletic: No: 28 (+3)
"If the third-round rookie wide receiver comes back from an ankle injury after the bye, it’ll be a rare bright spot for the Dolphins this season. Douglas is not Miami’s top-scoring receiver, but he had 14.4 points in the only game he has started and finished this year. Quarterback Malik Willis (12.1 ppg) has been a fantasy disappointment because he’s not getting enough rushing volume"Sure, we could focus on the Dolphins’ woeful defensive stats, but let’s focus on their no-doubter of a win. Although the final score made it appear close, they never trailed and were up 21-7 at the half and 28-17 with four minutes left. It was an impressive first victory for coach Jeff Hafley," Chad Graff and Josh Kendall wrote.
Yahoo! Sports: No 29 (+3)
"The Dolphins can relax. There was always the hope that the team with the NFL's thinnest roster could beat the Jets in one of their two meetings, and that happened. Everyone focuses on the winless teams in the NFL but nobody remembers the one-loss teams, so the Dolphins are spared a lot of grief that would have come had their winless season continued through November. They're still probably not the 29th best team in the NFL but they deserved a bump up after outplaying the Jets," Frank Schwab wrote.
Sports Illustrated: No 31 (+1)
"I think people ripping the Dolphins for celebrating Jeff Hafley’s first win simply don’t get it. The fact that there is this much juice and energy for one of the worst teams in the NFL shows exactly where this team is headed," Connor Orr wrote.
Bleacher Report: No. 30 (+2)
"The Miami Dolphins looked like an entirely different football team coming out of their Week 6 bye, at least offensively. Miami got another big game from running back Ollie Gordon II and got a strong dual-threat performance from quarterback Malik Willis (208 passing yards, 37 rushing yards, 3 total TDs). Miami's defense still surrenders too many easy yards, and a win over the rival New York Jets won't rocket them toward the playoff picture. However, Sunday's win was huge for a couple of reasons.
"This season is about evaluating Willis as a potential long-term quarterback and developing young skill players like Gordon, Caleb Douglas, and Chris Bell. It's also about developing an identity under new head coach Jeff Hafley. The Dolphins have played like a scrappy underdog all season, and it finally paid off with a big divisional win. It probably won't be the only upset that the Dolphins deliver in 2026," Kristopher Knox wrote.
ESPN: No. 30 (+2)
"The Dolphins were so impressed by their second-round pick this summer that they waived Tyrel Dodson, last season's starter. And the rookie has repaid their faith. Rodriguez set the tone with 14 tackles in Week 1 and eventually set a franchise rookie record with 18 tackles in Week 4. He is second in the NFL in tackles per game (10.2) and 15th in run stop wins (49). General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said on draft night that Rodriguez would call the Dolphins' defense at some point -- and he was ready to do so in Week 1," Marcel Louis-Jacques
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Where are Dolphins after first win in Week 8 NFL power rankings?
