Tyreek Hill sets NFL record on 54-yard TD strike from Tua Tagovailoa in historic day for Dolphins offense
It's Sunday, so Tyreek Hill must be making big-chunk plays.
The Dolphins' all-everything wide receiver got things started early, taking a strike from Tua Tagovailoa 54 yards for a touchdown on Miami's opening drive against the Denver Broncos. The play set the tone for a historic 70-20 Dolphins win that saw Miami rack up 726 yards of offense. Hill set an NFL record in the process.
The Dolphins entered Sunday with No. 2 receiver Jaylen Waddle sidelined by a concussion. The Broncos somehow still managed to lose Hill on the opening touchdown play. They instead double-covered Robbie Chosen, who was elevated from the practice squad Sunday in Waddle's absence.
Hill meanwhile, ran through the secondary uncovered, where Tagovailoa found him 22 yards downfield without a defender in sight on a first-and-10 play-action throw. Hill did the rest, beating a helpless Kareem Jackson to the corner of the end zone to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead on their first possession.
This is poetry in motion 🤩
📺: #DENvsMIA on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/LMIv3wVo7R— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 24, 2023
The play gave Hill 2,019 receiving yards in a Dolphins uniform. Per ESPN's Jeff Darlington, that's the most receiving yards in NFL history by a player in his first 20 games with a new team.
Hill finished the day with nine catches for 157 yards and the score as one of three Dolphins players to tally 100-plus yards from scrimmage. Running back Raheem Mostert (142 yards, four touchdowns) and rookie running back De'Von Achane (233 yards, four touchdowns) also starred in the offensive outburst that produced the most points by one team in an NFL game since 1966. Tagovailoa completed 22 of 26 passes for 309 yards and four scores without a turnover.
The Dolphins traded for Hill in the 2022 offseason, sending the Kansas City Chiefs a package of five draft picks in return that included a single first-rounder. He has since helped transform the Dolphins' offense into one of the NFL's best, and Tagovailoa's in the midst of a breakout season in Miami while throwing to Hill and Waddle. The trade is very much working out to be a bargain for Miami.
