There was no denying that Sunday's AFC East tilt against the Dolphins was a must-win game for the Jets if they truly wanted to keep their season afloat. As is the trend this season, though, the Jets completely laid an egg in a 28-25 loss to a previously winless Miami team that had no business coming to MetLife Stadium and getting a win.

Head coach Aaron Glenn has already found himself in the hot seat with poor decisions, while offensive coordinator Frank Reich has consistently failed to get the ball to his best playmakers. Those struggles reached a boiling point on Sunday after allowing the Dolphins to immediately march down the field for an opening-drive touchdown that set the tone for the rest of the game.

Instead of improving their record to 3-4 and taking care of business on their home soil, the Jets find themselves at 2-5 and staring at their latest lost season with a brutal gauntlet ahead of them going forward. Granted, the red zone struggles were nonexistent this time around (3-of-4), but a loss to a team that had previously failed to even hold a lead speaks volumes.

Before the Jets turn their attention to a Week 8 home game against the Raiders, let's hand out some grades for each unit following another frustrating loss.

Quarterbacks: C+

Quarterback Geno Smith finished the game 23-of-30 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was his second game of the season with a trio of TD passes, with two going to tight end Mason Taylor and his second in two weeks to rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. This 60-yard strike to Cooper (h/t NFL) eventually led to the TD connection between the two a few plays later and got the Jets back to within one score in the third quarter.

Geno zipped this one into Omar Cooper Jr. for a 60-yard gain

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Despite the accuracy and resiliency down the stretch to keep his team in the game, Smith was not without his flaws. The offense failed to establish much consistency following the opening-drive TD, while Smith held onto the ball too long and threw a costly interception with points on the table in a one-score game in the second quarter, which proved even more costly in a tight game.

Wide receivers: B-

For the second week in a row, Cooper looked like a star in the making with five catches for 115 yards and a TD. In addition to a three-yard score, Cooper had explosive plays of 52 and 60 yards and became the first Jets receiver with at least 100 yards in consecutive games since Al Toon in 1985.

As impressive as Cooper continues to be, Garrett Wilson (two catches, 26 yards) and Adonai Mitchell (zero catches on three targets) were nowhere to be found. Granted, a lot of that resides on the shoulders of Smith for not looking Wilson's way as the team's WR1. Still, Wilson appeared to be a huge winner with Mitchell returning to action from a finger injury, and that was far from the case after another lackluster performance.

Tight ends: A

It was only fitting on National Tight Ends Day that Taylor went off for five catches, 62 yards and two TDs on an average of 12.4 yards per reception. The second-year TE capped off his two-TD performance with this sensational grab late in the fourth quarter (h/t ClutchPoints) to keep the Jets in the game.

Geno Smith finds Mason Taylor who MOSSES his defender in the end zone 🙌

Jets trying to make a comeback!

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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 25, 2026

While Taylor put together the best performance of his young career and made several contested catches, the only thing keeping this grade from being maxed out for this group is the lack of help he received from the other TEs. Rookie Kenyon Sadiq was held to just one catch for six yards and Jelani Woods had one reception for minus-1 yard, leaving some room for improvement.

Running backs: A

While Breece Hall was sidelined once again with a quad injury, Braelon Allen had another productive afternoon with 17 carries for 104 yards and an average of 6.1 yards per rush. He even broke free for a 27-yard gain and added six catches for 30 yards in the passing game, good for his fourth multi-reception game this season.

Isaiah Davis, meanwhile, did nothing to contribute, with just one carry for five yards as his future remains firmly on the line. Allen will remain in this position until Hall returns to action, and his explosiveness has been key to providing some balance on this shaky offense, which should only lead to more opportunities even when Hall is back to full strength.

Offensive line: B-

Once again, the unit up front paved the way for a solid ground attack and opened up lanes for Allen to exploit. At the same time, the O-line still gave up a pair of sacks and struggled to protect Smith. When the pressure ramped up and the game was on the line, continuity and penalties became an issue for a unit that cannot afford to see its depth tested with Max Mitchell (concussion) and Dylan Parham (knee) battling injuries.

Those issues were particularly on display when center Josh Myers was called for a false start on a crucial third-and-six in the fourth quarter. The Jets only trailed 21-17 at the time, but they ultimately went three-and-out on that possession and punted the ball right back to Miami, which would score the decisive TD on the next drive.

Defensive line: D

Although Kingsley Enagbare and David Bailey were credited with 0.5 sacks and preseason darling Nate Lynn recorded his first sack of the season, the D-line continued to struggle against the run with 103 yards and a TD allowed to Ollie Gordon II, marking the fourth time in as many losses over the last five games that they have surrendered at least 100 rush yards.

They also gave up back-to-back scoring drives to begin the game and even failed to contain QB Malik Willis, who passed for 208 yards and two TDs on an offense that ranked 31st in passing yards per game (153.6 ypg) coming into Week 7. There were a few bright spots from this unit, but the failure to consistently get off the field and close out short-yardage situations was a huge detriment.

Linebackers: C-

Amid what has been a breakout season for Jamien Sherwood, who is also coming off a team-high 11 tackles in the Week 6 loss to the Patriots, his future continues to become clearer after recording the third-most tackles (eight), two tackles for loss and two passes defended against the Dolphins. He was joined by Demario Davis, who contributed three tackles (two solo) and two passes defended.

Despite that, it was still too easy for a Miami offense that is tied for the fewest points per game (14 ppg). The Dolphins had 24 first downs (to the Jets' 19), were a perfect 3-of-3 in the red zone and averaged an efficient 8.9 yards per pass. Overall, it was a struggle to clog up the running lanes and keep the Dolphins out of rhythm, which allowed them to extend drives and control the time of possession (34:36-25:24).

Secondary: F

The secondary unit was disappointing, with absolutely no answers for tight end Greg Dulcich (five catches, 86 yards) and rookie wideout Caleb Douglas (two catches, 70 yards, two TDs). This was only Douglas's third career game and his first two NFL TDs, the most crushing of which took place in the fourth quarter when a deflating 63-yard score (h/t NFL) extended Miami's lead to 11 with over four minutes to play.

Caleb Douglas took this one all the way.

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Not only did this group not force a single turnover, but the inability to slow down Willis in the air and on the ground (eight carries, 37 yards, one TD) and make enough key plays to swing the momentum was disappointing against a Dolphins team that had only topped 20 points once this season. The late score from Douglas was the only one allowed in the second half, but the poor start to the game put the Jets behind and never gave them a chance to set the tone early.

Special teams: D

Although kicker Jason Sanders has been solid this season, given the doubts surrounding him before it even began, he wasn't at his best on Sunday, with a make from 33 yards and a missed 40-yarder to begin the second half after a near five-minute drive. That was especially costly with the Jets trailing 21-7 and looking to chip away at the deficit with any points they could find.

Punter Austin McNamara was his usual reliable self with an average of 55 yards on two punts, including a long of 62 and one downed inside the 20. While Malik McClain had a solid 28-yard kick return, the special teams unit allowed Jaylen Wright to amass a total of 131 return yards on an average of 26.2 yards, which wasn't ideal with the team trailing from the first quarter on.

Coaching: F

The pressure was already on Glenn coming into this matchup if he wanted to keep his job going forward, and it is safe to say he did nothing to dispute that notion. The Jets looked completely outmatched against a previously winless opponent, but Glenn's bizarre timeout usage and disastrous finish to the game, allowing Douglas's 63-yard TD, were just the latest reminder of the poor execution that has plagued him all season.

It wasn't just Glenn, though, as Reich once again did not put the ball in his best receiver's hands. There is simply no excuse for the WR1 on any team to receive just three targets in a game, but that is exactly what happened to Wilson as the ball rarely came his way.

Combine that with questionable play-calling, such as the first-and-goal that turned into a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and it is impossible to ignore the disappointment with his performance so far.