What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 7 matchup against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium.

We'll start with the list of inactives, which was highlighted by veterans Jalen Tolbert and Wille Gay Jr., the latter being kept out after missing practice time this week because of illness.

This was the Dolphins' best first half of the season by far, complete with a game-opening touchdown drive that gave them their first lead of the season. And while the defense was leaky in allowing the Jets to tie the score in only 2:16, it clamped down after that.

The best news, though, was the performance of quarterback Malik Willis, who looked every bit as good as he did during his appearances with the Green Bay Packers and looked like a QB who very much could take the Dolphins places once they fill out the roster around him.

WHAT STOOD OUT

-- Willis came out firing with every one of his early throws showing a lot of zip, and it also helped that he looked so much more decisive than he did in previous games.

-- On Michael Taaffe's interception in the second quarter, the TV replay from behind Smith showed some great anticipation by the rookie with how he read Smith's eyes as he was rolling to his right. Taaffe then made a beeline toward the ball as he got in front of intended receiver Mason Taylor. That was a big-time instinctive play right here.

-- The touchdown catch by Mason Taylor was really impressive, but it wasn't the first time that Jason Marshall Jr. was beaten despite having good coverage. Matched up one-on-one, it's not easy to be able to quickly turn around to spot the ball, but this is the stuff that separates different levels of cornerbacks.

-- Jaylen Wright isn't the beneficiary of good blocking in the running game, but man, those rushing numbers are rough. And then he couldn't come up with a short catch. Bottom line is it's not all on him, but he's just not getting it done offensively. He does have, however, have home-run ability on kickoff returns, even if he often have issues fielding the ball.

-- Caleb Douglas' touchdown in his first game back was sweet, particularly with how easily he shook off the Jets cornerback at the goal line. It's that twitchiness, combined with his size, that makes him such as enticing prospect.

-- Since offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik often takes criticism for his play calls, gotta tip our hat off to him for that quarterback draw from Willis on third down on the second touchdown drive. There was an awful lot of open space for an easy conversion. Of course, we probably wouldn't be saying the same thing had the play failed.

-- Chop Robinson wasn't a major factor in the pass rush but he deserves the credit for Jordyn Brooks' tackle for a 3-yard loss on a shovel pass to Omar Cooper Jr. because it was his penetration that blew up the play.

-- Brooks looked more like his 2025 All-Pro version than earlier this season, even on the Jets' touchdown drive on their first possession.

-- It's been an awfully quiet start to the season for Zeek Biggers, which is why it was good to see him bat down that third-down pass from Geno Smith.

-- The return of Douglas obviously was a highlight for the Dolphins, but it made fellow rookie wide receiver Chris Bell almost an afterthought after he failed to catch a pass the previous two games.

-- Gotta like the aggressiveness shown by Jeff Hafley in going for the first down on fourth-and-2, and also props to Willis to quickly recognize he needed to scramble. It was all part of Willis' much more impressive effort in the first half.

-- Not gonna lie, but leaving tight end Will Kacmarek to block rookie pass rusher David Bailey one-on-one on the edge wasn't a choice we would have made. Kacmarek may be a good blocker, but there aren't many tight ends who can handle somebody with Bailey's speed.

-- Along with Willis, the star of the first half was Greg Dulcich, who capped a big first-half performance by breaking a tackle on a swing pass to turn it into a 15-yard completion.

-- Willis, who was nothing short of brilliant in that first half, gave Miami a 21-7 lead with a TD scramble to cap a 91-yard drive.

-- Wow!

-- Wonder if those Dolphins fans who have been screaming about getting a new QB in the 2027 draft might be rethinking their position.