Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season was a double-header, with one game being played in Denver and the other being held in South Beach.
The first saw the Miami Dolphins get their first win of the season with a 27-21 victory over the still-winless New York Jets, while in Colorado, the Broncos comfortably beat the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals 28-3.
Here’s everything you need to know from those two games.
After a breakout rookie season, there were plenty of expectations resting on Bo Nix’s shoulders entering his sophomore year in the NFL.
But through three weeks, the quarterback has struggled, with his Broncos falling to two defeats via last-second field goals.
However, on Monday night against the Bengals, Nix showed why he was in the running for last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award and why he’s seen as the future in Colorado.
Nix threw for a career-best 326 yards on 29-of-42 passing attempts as well as two touchdowns – and an interception – and also ran for a six-yard touchdown to open the scoring for Denver.
The 25-year-old’s breakout game in 2025 helped the Broncos offense rack up 512 yards and sooth some of the worries surrounding the team through four weeks.
“There’s always going to be noise,” Nix said of the criticism the squad has received so far this season. “I’m sure after this win people are going to have a lot they want to see us fix or whatever, so there’s always noise.
“There’s always ways to improve, just it’s a little bit better of a feeling when you win the game watching it again and fixing those mistakes because you know you won. The last few weeks have stunk because you lose the game and you know there’s so much that you miss, so many opportunities that you had, so it’s a lot better on the winning side.”
The Broncos actually fell behind on Monday, trailing 3-0 early on following a Bengals field goal. But afterwards, Denver scored 28 unanswered points as they improved to 2-2.
Nix’s rushing score opened proceedings for the hosts, before receiver Marvin Mims Jr. ran for a 16-yard touchdown.
On the stroke of halftime, Nix connected with Courtland Sutton for his first touchdown pass of the evening before connecting with RJ Harvey for the final score of the evening – the touchdown was Harvey’s first in the NFL.
It was victory which gets the Broncos’ season back on track but now they travel to face the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Sunday.
“Obviously, early in the season, all 31 other teams are really working to figure out who they are,” Denver head coach Sean Payton told reporters afterwards. “We’re no different. But certainly it was a step in the right direction.
“I would say that there were a lot of things we were able to do tonight that can hopefully carry over. Now, we change quickly to a team that just finished winning the Super Bowl, so we’ll enjoy this one and then get back to work tomorrow.”
For the Bengals, it is their second straight defeat since losing quarterback Joe Burrow to a turf toe injury.
Burrow’s replacement, Jake Browning, struggled yet again as the starter, throwing for just 125 yards and being harassed by Denver defenders all night because of a porous offensive line.
Cincinnati’s star receiving duo – Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins – combined for just 55 yards, with Chase’s 23 receiving yards the fourth-fewest in a game in his career.
Monday’s victory was supposed to be a moment of celebration for the Miami Dolphins. However, a gruesome injury suffered by the team’s star wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, put a dampener on those emotions.
Midway through the third quarter, Hill’s knee appeared to twist severely as he was being tackled. His leg was bent at an ugly angle when medical personnel – who were at his side in a matter of a few seconds – got to him.
An air cast was placed over his leg before Hill – cheering and clapping, while acknowledging the cheers of fans – was taken off the field on a cart. He was then taken to a nearby hospital, the Dolphins said, “for imaging, evaluation and observation” of the knee injury.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Hill was diagnosed with a dislocated knee. The wideout was to remain hospitalized overnight, McDaniel said.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Hill also tore multiple ligaments in his knee, including his ACL, and will undergo surgery.
The Dolphins were leading the Jets 10-3 at that point and were able to hold off a fourth-quarter comeback to get off the mark this season.
The victory was a big one, in particular, for tight end Darren Waller who was making his debut for Miami and first appearance since unretiring after briefly leaving the game in July 2024.
Waller last played in the NFL on January 7, 2024 with the New York Giants. He retired following the end of that season and missed all of last year.
In July of this year though, Waller was traded from the Giants to the Dolphins, ending his retirement in the process.
And on Monday, the 33-year-old made his return to NFL action with a bang, scoring two touchdowns and securing a late on-side kick to seal Miami’s victory.
“It’s a lot to process,” Waller, who was a Pro Bowler in 2020, said afterwards. “It’s exciting, very exciting, just to be out there, just the whole day. Little bit of fear, little bit of everything, you know?
“Because I haven’t really been practicing a ton, haven’t really done a lot with the team, so it’s like, alright, I’ve got to find a way to get back out there and get into a rhythm and just be somebody that this team can rely on and give this team a return on their investment.”
Waller’s 2025 debut came at the perfect time for Miami which was facing serious pressure after losing its opening three games.
The questions around head coach McDaniel’s future were swirling so a victory helps quell some of the doubts, while Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is still searching for his first win at the helm.
On Monday, the Jets suffered self-inflicted mistakes including three turnovers, all via fumbles at costly points of the game.
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