MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — There have been moments during the first five games of the season when Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis has shown the arm talent and athleticism that made new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley bring him over from Green Bay to usher in a new era in Miami.
There have also been challenges — such as issues with accuracy and decision-making that were evident in Sunday's 31-24 loss to Cincinnati. Willis began the game 0-for-4 and didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter, finishing 15 of 27 for 137 yards and a touchdown passing and rushing. He threw two interceptions. And he lost a fumble for the third game in a row.
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said he's not considering any quarterback changes, but stressed the need for improvement from Willis and the Dolphins' passing game.
Hafley also cautioned against placing the sole blame on Willis, who started just the 11th game of his career and is leading a young offense with mostly inexperienced receivers who are still developing chemistry.
“We need to be better. Malik needs to be better, OK?" Hafley said. "That’s not the headline. The headline is we all need to be better, and I mean that.”
Willis has completed just 56.2% of his passes this season and has more interceptions (four) than passing touchdowns (two). He appeared unsettled to begin Sunday's game, missing open receivers on a couple of instances and throwing picks to Bengals safety Jordan Battle on back-to-back drives in the second quarter.
Still, Willis has shown his ability to elevate Miami's rushing attack with his legs. His 74 yards rushing on Sunday were the most ever by a Dolphins quarterback in a single game. He had a 39-yard run in the fourth that was the longest rush by a quarterback this season, and the longest by a Dolphins QB since Ryan Tannehill had a 40-yard scamper during a game in 2014.
“So there’s times it’s great,” Hafley said. “And then there’s times where it needs to be better. It needs to be better from him, we need to get the right route run at the right depth. It needs to be better for sure, but there are signs of it. There was flashes yesterday in that game.”
Willis said he was encouraged by Miami's ability to pull within a touchdown late but added at some point, the young Dolphins will need the results to match their effort.
“It is too much and too hard to keep saying, ‘We’re just young’ or ‘We’re trying to build this and build that,’” Willis said. "At the same time, we've got to hold each other accountable because we can’t keep doing this to ourselves. If we’re going to be in games versus good teams, we've got to be able to take advantage of it and go and win those games, because there’s no point to be in the game if you can’t go and win it."
The Dolphins have stuck with their run-first identity despite losing star running back De'Von Achane for the season a couple of weeks ago. Third-year running back Ollie Gordon has led a solid rushing attack the past two games, and Miami's run blocking has improved.
The Dolphins' pass rush was not able to replicate the success it had when it had four sacks against Kyler Murray in Week 4. Miami didn't generate much pressure against Joe Burrow, failing to get a sack in a game for the fourth time this season.
Gordon. One week after rushing for a career-high 100 yards against Minnesota, he had 18 carries for 88 yards against Cincinnati, including a 22-yard rush and a 1-yard rushing touchdown. He has three TDs in his past three games, matching his total from last season.
Special teams. Chris Tabor's unit has had a rough start to the season and began Sunday's game by giving up an 81-yard kickoff return. Jaylen Wright also fumbled a kick return — before recovering it — and kicker Riley Patterson missed an extra point and had a kickoff fall short of the landing zone.
RG Jonah Savaiinaea injured his ankle in the second quarter Sunday, and cornerback JuJu Brents left with a stinger.
68.4% — Willis' passer rating through the first five games, which is the worst among the 20 quarterbacks who have started all five of their teams' games this season.
The Dolphins have a bye during Week 6, which Hafley said the team will use to get healthy and evaluate the performance of both players and coaches.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II (0) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter (49) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis (2) during the second half of an NFL football game in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis (2) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents on Monday searched the home of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a startling escalation in a criminal investigation that brings renewed focus to the frequent target of Trump administration derision in the final weeks of her reelection bid.
The search of the Minnesota congresswoman's home so close to next month's midterm contests that will determine control of the House and the Senate was swiftly condemned by top Democrats in Congress, who raised questions about the timing given longstanding Justice Department protocol to avoid overt investigative steps involving political candidates in the direct run-up to an election. Omar, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, said she was being targeted as one of the Republican's “political enemies.”
The scope of the investigation was unclear, though Trump and officials in his administration have repeatedly referred in recent months to the existence of an inquiry into Omar, a Somali-born Democrat whose status as an immigrant to the U.S. and left-wing views have drawn scrutiny from the White House and other Republicans.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last month cited an “ongoing investigation” that he suggested was examining potential fraud in her family's immigration paperwork. “Something's going to happen,” he said in a potential foreshadowing of the search.
In a statement on X on Monday, Omar called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.”
Though the Republican focus on Omar's background dates back years, the search notably took place three weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election. Top Democrats seized on the timing as the latest instance in what they said was the “continued corrupt weaponization” against Trump's perceived adversaries.
“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” said a joint statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top congressional Democrats. “Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.”
The search was carried out by agents with Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
A DHS spokesperson referred questions to the Justice Department, which said in a statement that HSI agents had executed a judicially authorized search warrant in the Washington, D.C., area related to an ongoing federal criminal investigation but provided no other details.
The street around Omar's home was blocked off Monday morning as some HSI agents removed boxes labeled “Seized Property Evidence.”
The operation came just days after Trump referred pejoratively to Omar at a rally in Tennessee as coming from a country of “crime and squalor" and suggested that Vice President JD Vance “and our people” were investigating her. Hours after the search, Trump told reporters he had “nothing to do” with it and it's “really up to the DOJ.”
Vance has in the past accused Omar of committing immigration fraud, an allegation she has denied, and has said the administration was looking for pathways to investigate her.
Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She is part of The Squad of progressive lawmakers who are a vibrant political force on the left wing of Congress but have also endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term. She was one of the first two Muslim-American women in the House and the first African refugee to be elected to Congress.
When Republicans swept control of the House in 2023, they voted to oust Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel remarks.
In January, Trump lashed out at Omar during a rally in Iowa hours before an assailant sprayed the congresswoman during her own town hall meeting in Minneapolis with a substance that turned out to be vinegar. The attacker was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Omar has repeatedly refuted allegations about her marriage and immigration status raised by conservative critics, even before she joined Congress.
According to her House biography, Omar has said she and her family fled Somalia’s civil war when she was 8: “The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family.”
Conservative online sites have alleged that Omar married a brother to commit immigration fraud. Omar has broadly denied the allegations as “disgusting lies" and called the insinuation “absurd and offensive.”
“It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody's entitled to equal justice under the laws,” Vance told reporters in May. “So we're going to investigate it. We're going to take a look at it. If we think there's a crime, we're going to prosecute that crime. And that's something the Department of Justice is looking at right now."
In an interview last March with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance said without offering evidence that “we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America.” Omar’s office at the time dismissed Vance’s claims as fabricated and defamatory.
Last month, when the podcaster Johnson reminded Mullin about Vance's comments on Omar and asked whether anything would happen from that investigation, the Homeland Security secretary responded, “Something's going to happen.”
He cited an “ongoing investigation” that he suggested was examining potential fraud in the family's immigration paperwork.
“If we actually move a case forward, it's not a political case. It's actually a case because they did things wrong,” Mullin said. “If you decided to break the law or lie on the information that you gave to the United States, to be able to come into the United States ... there's no expiration to that.”
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price and River Zhang in Washington, Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed.
Homeland Security officers leave the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after a search, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers carry boxes from the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during a search. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers speak with local residents on 26th Street NE in Washington, early Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers carry boxes from the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during a search. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A Homeland Security officer carrying a box walks out of the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a search, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Signs on the property of a neighbor of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., are pictured Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, as Homeland Security officers carry boxes during a search of Omar's Washington residence. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers carry boxes from the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during a search. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers stand on 26th Street NE in Washington, early Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers speak with local residents on 26th Street NE in Washington, early Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Homeland Security officers walk down 26th Street NE in Washington, early Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference on Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, File)
FILE - Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., listens during a Congressional spotlight hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., takes questions during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
