Miami Dolphins 70, Denver Broncos 20: instant analysis
It was a record-setting day for the Miami Dolphins, who moved to 3-0 after defeating the Denver Broncos 70-20 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. Tua Tagovailoa led the Dolphins with 23/26 passing for 309 yards and 4 touchdowns. De'Von Achane paced Miami on the ground with 203 yards on 18 carries. Tyreek Hill led […]
It was a record-setting day for the Miami Dolphins, who moved to 3-0 after defeating the Denver Broncos 70-20 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Tua Tagovailoa led the Dolphins with 23/26 passing for 309 yards and 4 touchdowns. De'Von Achane paced Miami on the ground with 203 yards on 18 carries. Tyreek Hill led all Miami pass catchers with 9 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown.
It was an all-time day for the Dolphins, as Miami's 70 points were the most in the NFL since 1966. It also shattered the team record of 55 points against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977. Here's what I liked (and didn't)….
What I liked
– Two drives, a 14-0 lead. That's a dream start rarely seen in NFL games. Nice to see the Dolphins playing at a high level early in the game once again.
– Tua to Hill for a 54-yard touchdown. No clue how the Broncos all but forgot about the best receiver in the league, but sure. No complaints from the home crowd.
– Achane on the second drive. My word. What a coming out performance. A 26-yard gain to get into Broncos territory, then he ran with power to bowl Broncos defenders across the goal line. Speed and power on that drive.
– Are you kidding me? Tua with a no-look flip to Achane for the Dolphins' third touchdown of the game. Can't do this justice with words. Patrick Mahomes, eat your heart out.
– The defensive pursuit to shut down the Broncos after turning the ball over on downs in the second quarter. Pressure off the edge forced quick throws on first and third down, and sideline to sideline pursuit forced a run for a loss on second down. Helped avoid a potential game-swinging series there.
– The blocking on Raheem Mostert's first touchdown run. #31 blew through the middle of the line, fought off contact, cut outside, and beat the Denver defender to the pylon. Perfect execution.
– Jevon Holland forcing the fumble on Cam Sutton, and Andrew Van Ginkel returned it 28 yards to set up first and goal late in the first half. Impact plays by two impact players.
– Justin Bethel making a big open field tackle on Jerry Jeudy on third-and-goal with seven seconds left in the half to force Denver to kick a field goal. Allowing the Broncos to get into the end zone before halftime would have shifted the momentum, but Bethel's big play kept that from happening.
– The run blocking in the first half. The holes were absolutely everywhere for Miami's backs. Up the middle. Off tackle. Out on the edge. EVERYONE was blocking and doing it well. That's absolute effort and execution in the run game.
– Bethel's second tackle for loss on 2nd and 2 on the Broncos' first drive of the second half forced 3rd and 4. Jerome Baker and David Long, Jr. tackled Jaleel McLaughlin for a loss on the next play to force a punt. Two big effort plays that helped keep Denver from starting to build any momentum early in the second half.
– Mike McDaniel going for it on fourth-and-goal from inside the two up 35-13 in the third quarter. An alpha mentality, and it paid off with Mostert's third touchdown run of the game.
– Holland with his second forced fumble of the game on Sutton, who was running free through the Dolphins' defense, which was recovered by Kader Kohou. An incredibly heads up play by #8 to kill yet another Broncos drive.
– Mostert's catch-and-run tiptoe touchdown for 19 yards. No clue how he stayed in bounds, but he used every blade of grass in the field of play and tabbed his fourth touchdown of the game.
– McDaniel calling a delayed inside pitch to Achane for his second receiving touchdown of the game. The Broncos were completely unprepared for some reason, and Achane all but walked into the end zone for the score. An absolute masterclass in offensive playcalling today by McDaniel.
– The score set the franchise record for points in a game at 56, breaking the previous record from 1977 against the St. Louis Cardinals. That always means you had a great day. And they basically did it in 3 quarters, as the score came with 14:55 in the fourth quarter.
– That point total was extended with 9:05 left on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Mike White to Robbie Chosen, who came in for the injured River Cracraft. Chosen was almost completely by himself down the field and zagged from a defender for a touchdown.
– Achane broke free for a 67-yard run and his fourth touchdown of the game. The touchdown put the Dolphins at 70, the most points by a team in 57 years.
– Emmanuel Ogbah tabbed the first sack of the game by either team with 4:37 left to kill a final Denver drive.
– Chris Brooks' run for 52 yards put the Dolphins in range to potentially set an NFL record for points in a game. What else can you say? Miami has an unbelievable group of running backs, and today proved it.
– McDaniel's decision to take a knee instead of kicking a tack-on field goal to tie the NFL record of 73 points. A classy move. 70 points was enough to prove Miami's offense was record-worthy. He didn't need the tack-on points to actually get there and prove it. A proper show of sportsmanship by McDaniel.
– 726 yards of total offense. Two running backs over 140 yards from scrimmage each with four touchdowns each. I still don't know how that's possible, even though I watched it with my own eyes.
– Miami's offensive line. Easily, without question, the most dominating performance in a game I've ever seen from an NFL offensive line. Speechless.
What I didn't
– Missed tackles by Baker and Long on Javonte Williams on 2nd and 6 that allowed the Broncos to get inside field goal range on their first scoring drive. Williams just busted his way through both of them for a 13-yard gain. Can't let that happen.
– The coverage on the 38-yard catch by Marvin Mims, Jr. It was a lollipop throw and two Dolphins defenders were there, but neither made a play on the ball. Have to go get the ball there.
-Miami getting stuffed on 4th and inches at their own 34. Denver was stacked inside and blew up the handoff up the middle to Alec Ingold, whose third down run also came up short. Oddly conservative there with so much speed on this team.
– Allowing a catch-and-run by Mims of 30 yards with 0:30 left in the first half to get inside the 10. Someone busted their coverage in a zone look, and it cost Miami (although they held Denver to a field goal).
– Mims returning the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. He was bottled up but broke it the other way and no one was on that side of the field. Good thing it was 63-14 at the time, but still don't want to see things like that happen.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa throws a no-look touchdown to De’Von Achane
Miami’s signal-caller had a can’t-miss moment in the Dolphins’ home opener
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
