Tua Tagovailoa orchestrated a Dolphins’ offense that produced a mind-boggling 726 yards in Miami’s 70-20 annihilation of the Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
In the win, the Dolphins (3-0) eclipsed franchise records for most yards in a game (595) and most points in a game (56). Even more, Miami nearly broke the NFL’s record for most points in a game (72) in the victory.
With 4:00 minutes to play in regulation, the Dolphins entered the red zone on a six-play drive that included a 52-yard run by fourth-string running back Chris Brooks. However, after a couple of running plays with limited yardage, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel chose for his backup quarterback Mike White to take a knee instead of kicking a field goal on 4th and 13 that could have potentially given Miami 73 points in the contest.
After the massive win, Tagovailoa told reporters that the Dolphins were not trying to embarrass anyone, despite the outcome of Sunday’s lopsided affair.
“We’re not trying to humiliate teams,” Tagovailoa said, per Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel shared the same sentiment as his signal-caller, saying going after 73 “felt like chasing points.”
“…Chasing a record is not what we came here to do,” McDaniel said, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. Ten times out of 10, you concede and kneel down.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel on not kicking a field goal for NFL record-73 points.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) September 24, 2023
“It felt like chasing points, chasing a record is not what we came here to do… 10 times out of 10 you concede and kneel down.”
McDaniel later said that’s karma and we want good karma for Dolphins. pic.twitter.com/GCqXwmAoar
The 2022 Pro Bowler finished with 309 yards on 23-of-26 passes with four touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero sacks and 155.8 passer rating. Tagovailoa also anchored a Miami team that became the fourth in NFL history to score at least 70 points in postseason or regular season game.
The Dolphins will return to action on Sunday in a road game against the Bills.
