In what was a closer game than many thought, the Miami Dolphins escaped Chicago with a 35-32 victory over the Bears. The Dolphins get to 6-3, and sit in third place in the AFC East and sixth overall in the AFC Conference.
Miami was led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his pair of potent pass-catchers, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The wide receiver duo accounted for 228 yards on 12 catches and 15 targets. Each scored a touchdown, and one performed an impressive backflip.
Newly acquired running back Jeff Wilson Jr. had an impressive debut, just days after being traded to Miami. Reunited with Raheem Mostert from their days in San Fransisco along with head coach Mike McDaniel, Wilson tallied nine carries and even added three receptions, one going for a touchdown.
McDaniel joins Dave Wannstedt as the only head coaches in team history to win at least six of their first nine games. Wannstedt went 7-2 in his first nine contests in 2000. They went to and won a playoff game that season, the franchise’s last postseason win.
Here are some more stats, news and notes from Sunday’s win:
Tua Tagovailoa with a third straight win with no interceptions
- Tagovailoa is now 6-0 when starting and finishing a game this season. Against the Bears, he was 21-of-30 passing, for 302 yards and three touchdowns.
- This was the third straight game that he’s recorded a 90+ passer rating, and he’s done it all without throwing an interception.
- Tagovailoa is 13-1 in the last 14 games he’s finished.
- He had back-to-back 300 yards games for the first time in his career against the Lions and Bears.
- Tagovailoa is 3-1 in road games started this season and 3-0 in those he completed. On the road, so far, he’s completing 72.3% of his attempts for 1,263 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 124 passer rating.
- His career passer rating improved to 95.3, which is now the best in Dolphins history. Chad Pennington moves to second place (94.5).
Jeff Wilson Jr. is a warrior
- Thew newly acquired Dolphin averaged 5.7 yards per carry on his nine attempts for 51 yards.
- He added three receptions for 21 yards and a timely score.
- Wilson’s 28-yard run against the Bears is currently Miami’s longest rushing play of the season.
Tyreek Hill is having historic season
- Hill’s 143 receiving yards against the Bears brings him to 1,104 for the season. That’s the most by an NFL player in his team’s first nine games of a season in the Super Bowl era. The previous record of 1,073 yards was held by Hall of Fame wideout Isaac Bruce in 1995 for the St. Louis Rams.
- Hill needs just 286 more receiving yards to break Miami’s single-season yardage record (1,389) which was set by Mark Clayton in 1984.
- Sunday was Hill’s fifth 100-yard game of the season and the first time he’s had back-to-back 100-yard games this year.
- He has five games of 100+ yards so far and is tied for the fourth-most 100+ yards games in a season in team history.
- The last Dolphin to have at least five 100-yard games in the same season was Brandon Marshall in 2011.
- Hill’s now recorded at least seven receptions in six consecutive games and in eight of the nine games he’s played this season.
Jaylen Waddle has his own streak
- The sophomore sensation has a run of four games with 85+ receiving yards.
- He also has eight touchdowns in his last 12 games.
Special special teams Sunday
- Thanks to Jaelan Phillips’ blocked punt, which was recovered by Andrew Van Ginkel for a score, the Dolphins are the only team in the NFL to block a punt in each of the last three seasons.
- Van Ginkel’s 25-yard return was the longest blocked punt returned for a touchdown in team history.
- Cornerback Justin Bethel recorded the 139th special-teams tackle of his career. That’s second-most among active NFL players behind New England’s Matthew Slater.
