MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins have played football for 58 years. They have had two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. And they have the league’s only undefeated team.
Yet, never before have they done what they did Sunday: Score more than 55 points. But they were just getting started. The Dolphins dropped 70 Sunday — the second most in league history — and could have had more if they hadn’t kneeled it out deep in Denver territory on their final drive.
Denver Broncos vs. Miami Dolphins Instant Observations
This Offense Is Inevitable
What the first three weeks have proven — the Dolphins can light up the scoreboard without Terron Armstead. They can drop holy hell on the Broncos without Jaylen Waddle. And as long as they have Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, they’re next to impossible to stop.
.@cheetah is a man of the people 😂 pic.twitter.com/jympnbgErj
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 24, 2023
The Dolphins had four touchdown drives of 75 or more yards and put 35 on the board — in the first half alone.
Tua completed his first 17 passing attempts — the longest consecutive streak of his career — and finished an absurd 23 of 26 for 309 yards and three touchdowns, and Hill had nine catches for 157 yards and a score.
The MVP race is most certainly afoot. The only question is, who gets more votes: Tua or Tyreek?
De’Von Achane Is a Problem
A week after Raheem Mostert cooked the Patriots for 121 yards and two touchdowns, he scored two touchdowns against the Broncos in the span of 20 seconds Sunday. (Mostert added two more touchdowns in the third quarter — one on the ground, the other through the air).
But the bigger story Sunday was the emergence of rookie De’Von Achane, who had five yards on one carry as a pro entering Week 3.
Rook's first NFL touchdown 🥹@ffvmousvon_ | #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/geYWPT25l7
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 24, 2023
His stat line looks a bit beefier after Sunday, when he went for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also had two TD catches — both on shovel passes from Tagovailoa.
What in the world are the Dolphins going to do when Jeff Wilson and Salvon Ahmed get back from injury?
Dolphins Injuries Add Up
Already without Waddle (concussion), the Dolphins’ receiving corps also lost River Cracraft late in the first half with a shoulder injury. That left Miami with four available wide receivers for the entire second half: Tyreek Hill, Robbie Chosen, Cedrick Wilson Jr., and Braxton Berrios.
MORE: 2023 NFL Standings
On defense, Jaelan Phillips suffered his second injury in nine days. After missing the Week 2 win over the Patriots with a back issue, Phillips hurt his oblique in the first half Sunday.
Midway through the third quarter, center Connor Williams went to the locker room after getting hurt on a 40-yard Achane run. Liam Eichenberg replaced him.
Vic Fangio > Vance Joseph
It wasn’t a perfect game for the Dolphins’ defense — far from it. Still too many missed tackles and blown coverages.
But Miami made the plays when it had to, both forcing a fumble (recovered by Andrew Van Ginkel) and intercepting a pass (Emmanuel Ogbah) deep in Broncos territory and getting off the field on two of Denver’s three red-zone drives.
The Broncos, meanwhile, might have one of the worst defenses in the league. Ex-Dolphins DC Vance Joseph had no answer for McDaniel and might soon be fired by Denver for the second time in five years.