Another loss and another subpar performance for quarterback Malik Willis who looked more like a backup than an answer to the starting quarterback question in Miami.
Willis completed just 55.6% of his passes for 137 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions adding a costly fumble at the 10-yard line as the Dolphins fell to 0-5 after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Willis landed a big contract after serving as Jordan Love’s backup in Green Bay the past few seasons but it looks like the Dolphins will be back to square one at quarterback following the season as Willis looks nowhere near a starter.
“Well, one, I know you can’t turn the ball over three times,” Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley said, as reported by Dolphins Wire. “I mean, you just, you can’t do it. To play that team and it’s a seven-point game at the end of the game, you can’t (turn it over that much). You’re never going to win a game turning the ball over three times. And then when we get down to the one -yard line, we got to score….
“We got to look hard at it during the bye week. We talk about ball security all the time, and we work on it, and we’ve got to do a better job of putting him in those situations, and he’s got to have the awareness to protect the ball as well. We’ll take a hard look at fixing that because we’re not going to win games if we’re fumbling the ball like that.”
The box score shows a bad performance from Willis but the Miami Herald further illustrated just how putrid his play has been, highlighted by Sunday’s dud; Willis waa 0 for 5 on passes thrown at least 20 air yards, making him 4 for 20 on those throws this season (with one TD and two interceptions). That ranks fourth worst among NFL starters, ahead of only the Indianapolis Colts‘ Daniel Jones, Arizona Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett and Tennessee Titans’ Cam Ward.
Willis also did little to show the world that the “tell” the Bengals was saying they had figured out was all smoke.
This angle shows Malik Willis did indeed tap right before throwing his second INT to Jordan Battle (first one was tipped, so irrelevant whether he did there). Regardless, problem was how late he saw it. He’s got Coleman wide open and he threw it once he got to the area of another eligible Battle was covering. https://t.co/YVmFiIVJuT
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) October 12, 2026
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Bottom line, Willis’ play is far below expectations and may warrant a change.
With the Dolphins heading into a bye week it will be interesting to see if Willis’ time as starter is coming to an unceremonious end.
Dolphins Called to Question Malik Willis as Starter