Tua Tagovailoa throws for 466 yards and three TDs, Tyreek Hill has 215 yards and two touchdowns
Tua Tagovailoa might have shocked some observers by putting up one of the best passing days in an opener in NFL history.“It was validating for me, because I don’t feel crazy. That’s kind of what I expected to happen,” coach Mike McDaniel said after the Miami Dolphins rallied for a 36-34 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Hill, who said during training camp he wants to be the first receiver to reach 2,000 yards in a season, got off to a great start. He had 215 yards – the third-best total in Week 1 in league history – on 11 receptions and two touchdowns. “I’m glad that we started with this game,” Hill said. “Last year, those guys did a great job of pressing us. So I feel like this year, like I’ve been saying, we had a chance to go back and get a full understanding of the offence. And you see that the results were different.”
“I don’t think that we played the right leverages in the secondary and I didn’t think that we rushed the quarterback effectively enough,” coach Brandon Staley said. “It turned into a track meet in the passing game.” Miami had nine plays of at least 21 yards. Those included Hill’s 35-yard score late in the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 27-24.
Los Angeles rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth time since the team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 that it has exceeded 200 yards on the ground.