Those who blinked at the Dolphins’ 70-20 victory missed quite a spectacle. Something very special is happening in Miami.
If you like offensive fireworks, the Dolphins are the team that will give you a tickle in your gut this fall. The poor Broncos’ total annihilation seemed straight out of a video game.
The statistics are simply staggering. Take the time to read and make sure there are no typos. We’re talking 10 touchdowns, 726 yards of offense (an all-time record), 30 first downs, 10.2 yards per play… It’s ridiculous!
To demonstrate how extremely rare such a pharaonic offensive spree is, the Dolphins became only the fourth team in the NFL’s 104-year history to score at least 70 points. Washington last achieved this feat in 1966.
A local revelation
De’Von Achane shined with several long runs, including a 67-yard touchdown run. Getty Images via AFP
The dolphins strike everywhere, both on the ground and in the air. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a feast with 309 yards and four touchdowns. Even the inedible Mike White had the right to help himself to the buffet with an additional touchdown pass in relief.
There were also five rushing touchdowns, including two from rookie running back De’Von Achane, whose 203 yards and two touchdowns made sure he made his presence felt on every pooler in the Galaxy. This little rocket also scored two more touchdowns.
As if the Dolphins didn’t have enough ammunition on offense between Tyreek Hill (9 receptions, 157 yards, 1 touchdown), Jaylen Waddle (who didn’t even play against the Broncos) and Raheem Mostert (82 yards rushing and three touchdowns), now Achane is loading up invite yourself to the party.
There are plenty of defensive coordinators across the league who are losing their hair, spreading their hair out, or simply going back to their old prayers to avoid losing face in the game against the Dolphins.
It wasn’t easy to slow down their prolific aerial attack anyway, but when the ground game fails, the puzzle is complete. After a 145-yard groundhaul last week, the backfield managed 350 yards again.
Additionally, the Dolphins are the first team in history to amass at least 350 passing yards and at least 350 rushing yards in the same game. If we tell you the party is stuck in Miami…
Karma hits
Tua Tagovaioloa had a strong game with four touchdown passes. Getty Images via AFP
Want to know the best? This tornado of points is, in a sense, karma that has struck.
Almost a year ago, Sean Payton was a television analyst. He had mentioned on TV that Tua Tagovailoa would soon be on the bench. Who is the Broncos’ head coach today and who was just publicly humiliated by Tua and his gang? Sean Payton, of course!
The Dolphins quarterback completed his first 17 passes against Payton’s team. There were 9:38 left in the third quarter when his first pass hit the floor, and he finished the game with 23 completions on 26 attempts.
It had become almost a fashion, even a national sport, to destroy Tagovailoa in his early days, and Payton was one of his harshest critics. We don’t yet know how the Dolphins pivot’s career will pan out, and he’s not safe from another concussion, but at least he will have enjoyed some sort of poetic justice on Sunday in the face of one of his many critics.
This famous Tua represents a strange case in that his admirers see only the good in him, but his detractors continue to see him as simply the versatile guy who is in the right place at the right time in a thunderous attacking system.
One day we’ll see which side is right. It’s all a really good show right now!