With Sunday's 45-15 win over Washington, the Miami Dolphins are 9-3 for the first time since 2001. Head Coach Mike McDaniel is now the third coach in franchise history with winning seasons in his first two years with the team.
We go Inside the Numbers, presented by BDO, to take a look at the most notable team stats, individual metrics, milestones and more from Miami's Week 13 win.
Tagovailoa and Hill Fuel Dominant First Half
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill connected on two deep touchdown passes of 78 and 60 yards to help Miami jump out to a 31-7 lead at halftime.
Tagovailoa completed 12-of-15 passes (80.0 pct.) for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes of action. It's the fifth-most passing yards in the first half of a game in his career and the fifth game this season in which he's topped 200 passing yards in the first half.
Tagovailoa's 141.0 passer rating was the second-highest of his career and the fourth-best of any quarterback in a road game this season.
Hill caught four passes for 152 yards (38.0 avg.) and became the first player in the NFL to record 150+ receiving yards in the first half of a game this season. He's the first Dolphins player since at least 1991 to total 150 receiving yards in the first half of a game.
He's also now the fifth Dolphins player to record three-straight 100-yard games.
Miami's 17-0 lead after 15 minutes was their largest first-quarter lead in a game since Oct. 25, 2015, when they led 21-0 against Houston.
The Dolphins 31 points scored tied the fourth-most points in the first half of a game in team history while the 45 total points tied the seventh-most in team history.
Keeping Hold of Howell
Commanders quarterback Sam Howell entered Week 13 as the NFL's leader in passing yards. He had thrown for at least 300 yards in four of his last five games and had completed 28 or more passes in five straight games. Washington had recorded 23 or more first downs in four of their last five games and were averaging 22.7 total first downs (14.2 passing first downs) in home games this season.
That all came to a screeching halt on Sunday as the Dolphins defense held Howell to career lows in passing yards (127), yards per pass attempt (5.52), completion percentage (52.2) and passing first downs (5) and a season low in completions (12).
Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin entered the game second in the NFL in routes run (461) and ninth among all NFC players in targets (97). But for just the second time in his 76-game career, he finished with zero catches on three targets.
The Commanders managed just 43 yards after the catch, which tied the sixth-lowest mark in a game this season.
In Miami's last five games, only Davante Adams (82 in Week 11) and Curtis Samuel (65 on Sunday) have recorded more than 50 receiving yards.
Individual/Team Milestones
Running back De’Von Achane returned to action and finished with a game-high 73 rushing yards on 17 attempts (4.3 avg.) and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 30 yards.
Achane has played four games this season with more than one rush attempt. In those four contests, he is averaging 155 yards from scrimmage and has scored nine total touchdowns. The nine touchdowns are third-most in a season by a rookie in franchise history.
Miami started its eighth different offensive line combination of the season and did not allow a sack. It's the team's fourth game this season with zero sacks allowed, already double last season's total.
Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel reached a top speed of 20.76 miles per hour on his 33-yard pick-six in the first quarter. Per Next Gen Stats, it's the fifth-fastest speed by a defensive ball carrier this season.
For more analysis from the Dolphins win, listen to the latest episode of Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
