For the second time this season, the Dolphins posted a 14-point comeback on the road. The last time that happened in franchise history was 1996. Riding the blistering pace of an offense that is chewing up yardage at the third-best rate in the NFL (6.2 yards per play trails only Buffalo and Kansas City), the Dolphins improved to 5-3 through eight games for the second time since 2014.
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Here are the three takeaways from the Dolphins' 31-27 victory over the Lions.
1. Record setters
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dialed up 23 pass targets for wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in Sunday's win. The result: 20 receptions for 294 yards and a pair of visits to paydirt. The most dynamic wide receiver duo in the NFL hasn't just captured the eyes of current fans but they're on an all-time pace.
Hill and Waddle's combined 1,688 receiving yards are the most by any teammates through eight games in the history of the league. Hill's four games of 160-plus receiving yards is already second in team history and he's only played eight games.
The quarterback did something that nobody else donning the aqua and orange had ever accomplished. Tagovailoa is the first Dolphins quarterback to throw for 350-plus yards while completing better than 80 percent of his throws in a single game.
Tagovailoa was surgical in one of the game's most critical area – third down. He completed nine of 10 passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns. Tagovailoa added an 18-yard scramble, giving Miami eight conversions on the money downs (one fourth-down conversion) despite facing an average distance of 8.9 yards to the sticks.
In addition to leading the NFL in passer rating, Tagovailoa's third-down passer rating of 142.7 stands alone atop an impressive list of passing leaders this season.
2. Stingy in the second half
The Miami defense pitched a second-half shutout for the second consecutive week. After 27 first-half points, Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer's unit held the Lions off the scoreboard on three possessions with just 67 total yards, a turnover-on-downs and two punts. This comes one week after holding the Steelers off the scoreboard in the second act with five punts and two interceptions.
Zach Sieler led the way with a crucial sack on third down, two passes defensed and four total tackles in a homecoming to his home state of Michigan. Jevon Holland racked up a career-high 12 stops and a pass defense while Jaelan Phillips recorded seven QB pressures for the second-straight week.
The 67 yards gained by Detroit was its lowest output in the second half of a game since December of 2019 and the lowest total allowed by Miami in a game since 2021.
3. Triumphant in the trenches
Last week, the Miami offensive line afforded Tagovailoa his lowest pressure rate (8.6 percent) of his young NFL career. The encore in Mo Town was more of the same as Detroit pressured Tagovailoa on just four of his 42 drop backs, the second-lowest pressure rate in the QB's career (9.5 percent).
It's also the third time in the last four games that Miami hit the century mark on the ground – an average of 107 yards per game over that span.
For more analysis, takeaways and breakdowns, check out the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
