Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields played Sunday’s game like it was a Saturday showdown between Alabama and Ohio State, each putting up numbers only seen in an NCAA football video game in the Dolphins’ 35-32 win on Sunday in Chicago. Tua Tagovailoa became the first quarterback in Dolphins history with 300 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and no interceptions in consecutive games thanks to his 302 passing yards and three scores in 21-of-30 passing.
Justin Fields came on with an unprecedented performance with Tagovailoa and his powerful pass catchers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Fields became the first player in NFL history to have three passing touchdowns and 150+ rushing yards in the same game. He also broke the NFL regular-season rushing yards record in singles games with 178 grounded yards against Miami, 61 of which were his only rushing result of the day. Fields’ quick touchdown marked the longest run of his career. Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick set the previous record for 173 rushing yards in Week 13 of the 2002 season against the Minnesota Vikings.
One of the key differences between Tagovailoa and Fields’ afternoon was how Miami’s playmakers did some magic themselves, as essentially everything the Bears did offensively stemmed solely from Fields’ unique brilliance. Hill finished his season with seven receptions, 143 yards and a three-yard touchdown, bringing his season total for yards to 1,104, the most in a player’s first nine games of the Super Bowl era. Hill surpassed Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson’s record of 1,083 yards in his first nine games of the 2013 season.
Waddle also showed up for his quarterback, recording 85 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches. The dynamic Dolphins duo have conceded 1,916 combined yards this season, the most from teammates in nine Super Bowl-era games. They broke the previous record of 1,878 yards set by “The Greatest Show on Turf,” the awesome tandem of Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.
The Dolphins scored touchdowns on four of their first five offensive possessions, with their fifth score of the day coming on the Bears’ first punt, which they blocked for a 25-yard return score. Fields had one last chance to lead the Bears into overtime or a win, with Chicago taking possession of the football with 2:50 left. He was only able to get one first down before a sack and back-to-back incompletions thwarted their last-ditch efforts.
The win puts the Dolphins 6-3 overall and 6-0 this season when Tagovailoa starts and finishes a game. Chicago falls to 3-6 overall with losses in five of their last six games after starting the season 2-1.
Relive all the action on our live blog below and stay tuned for takeaways.