The Dolphins finally got their first win of the season, snapping an ugly 0-3 start. But the victory came at a heavy cost. Star receiver Tyreek Hill was taken to a local hospital after getting injured, and early reports suggest it’s serious.

The thing is, even in that moment of agony, his first thought was the team. T. Stead, a close friend, tweeted after a FaceTime call, “First thing he said ‘man I’m just happy we got that win’!!” He was apparently “laughing through the pain, to avoid passing out!!” which is just about the most football player thing you’ll ever hear. That kind of grit is what you build a franchise around. And now, he is gone.

Early in the game, Hill—already with 6 catches for 67 yds, well on his way to another monster night—caught a pass from Tua, turned upfield, and then his leg got twisted up in a tackle.

It was an ugly, unnatural angle that had medical staffers from both the Dolphins and the Jets racing onto the field. One minute, he was the most electric player in the game; the next, they were cutting off his cleat and fitting an air cast around his leg. As the cart rolled out, he smiled and waved, a gesture so brave it was unnerving.

So, with their heart and soul on the way to the ER, the Dolphins had to find a pulse somewhere else. They found it in Darren Waller. After Hill’s exit, Tua Tagovailoa immediately orchestrated a drive that ended with his 2nd TD pass of the night to the resurrected TE.

Waller steps up, Mahomes speaks out, and the Jets gift Miami a win

The first was a tight-window throw over Sauce Gardner, where Waller somehow dragged both feet inbounds. The second was a wide-open catch. 2 scores for the guy nobody knew what to expect from. Tua was steady (177 yds, 2 TDs), and he found the guy who could step up. It was a hell of a statement from a player making his return.

Miami desperately needed this win. But as the clock hit zero, the feeling wasn’t relief. It was dread. A dread that rippled beyond South Florida. Back in Kansas City, his old QB Patrick Mahomes tweeted simply, “Prayers up man…” The duo was a menace together, Mahomes had a passing rating of 106.0, with 17, 254 YDs, 143 TDs in 58 games together.

Back to the match, the Dolphins didn’t so much win this game as the Jets insisted on losing it. Look at the stat sheet. New York outgained Miami 404 total yards to 300. They had more first downs. And they turned the ball over three times on fumbles, each one a gut punch. Braelon Allen coughed it up on the goal line. Isaiah Williams fumbled away the second-half kickoff. It was a comedy of errors that wasn’t remotely funny for the Jets’ sideline.

And then there was Justin Fields. The man is a human paradox. He threw for 226 yds and a TD, and his 81 rushing yds and another score on the ground made him, by far, the most electrifying player on the field. His 43-yd scrambling TD was pure, unadulterated magic.

But for every dazzling escape, there was a baffling mistake, none bigger than losing a fumble on a sack by Tyrel Dodson. That turnover, scooped up by Jaelan Phillips: Fields’ legs giveth, and his pocket presence taketh away. You can’t win when your QB is both your best and worst player on the same night.

Other NFL stars also joined in to pray for Hill. Robert Griffin III added, “Prayers up for Tyreek Hill,” while Chad Johnson kept it direct: “Prayers up for Cheetah.” It was a league-wide testament to what was lost.