Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, right, talks with Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham after the demolition on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
CNN –
The Miami Dolphins produced an offensive masterclass on Sunday, defeating the Denver Broncos 70-20 in their home opener and scoring the second-most points by a team in a regular-season game in NFL history.
The NFL single-game record is 73 points, set by the Chicago Bears in the 1940 NFL championship. The regular season record set by Washington in 1966 is 72 points.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins had a chance to break the NFL regular season record and match the Bears’ mark, but chose to take a knee rather than kick a field goal from the 28-yard line. Broncos line to shoot.
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Network/Portal
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, seen here in the third quarter, scored the Dolphins’ first touchdown just over a minute into the game.
“It felt like we were chasing points or a record. That’s not what we came here for. This has no impact on the overall result of the season,” said Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. “Ten times out of ten in situations like this you give in and kneel down. Because there was an achievable record, it was cool, but the message I came up with from it wasn’t how I saw things.”
Miami’s victory marks just the fourth time in NFL history that a team has scored at least 70 points, including playoffs. according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa orchestrated a perfect first half, completing 16 of 16 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, leading the team to a 35-13 lead.
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Network/Portal
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa celebrated hard on Sunday afternoon.
Tagovailoa is the first quarterback since 1991 to complete more than 15 passes without an incompletion and throw for more than 200 yards by halftime.
“This is not like anything I’ve seen or been involved in,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s all about the resilience of our team. Even though we were ahead until half-time, I’m very proud of the boys and the way they continued to play. Nobody took their foot off the gas, everyone kept playing and that’s the result we got.”
Meanwhile, Dolphins running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane combined for a total of eight touchdowns as Miami broke a franchise scoring record by 15 points.
Achane finished the game with 203 rushing yards on 18 carries, while Mostert totaled 142 yards.
Tagovailoa and most of the team’s stars were taken out of the game early in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with four touchdown passes on 23 of 26 completions.
Miami’s total yards of 726 set a Franchise record for most shipyards ever in a game.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton described the game as “embarrassing” and “hard to watch.”
“Look, it would be one thing to say, ‘Hey, we’ll move on to the next game,’ but we have to watch the tape and that’s why it’s going to be tough for a lot of players tomorrow – tough for us as coaches too,” Payton added.
Later in the press conference, Payton snapped at a reporter who was going over some statistics about the historic loss as he framed his question.
“I’m aware of it. What are the questions?” Payton interjected. “What is the question? I just told you. Next question.”
In December 1940, the Bears defeated Washington 73-0 in the NFL Championship Game. In November 1966, Washington defeated the New York Giants 72-41 late in the regular season.
The only other team to score 70 points in an NFL game was the Los Angeles Rams in 1950 against the Baltimore Colts.