Hard not to overreact after Tua Tagovailoa throws for 466 yards to beat Chargers | Habib
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — No use, Mike McDaniel.
Moments after the Dolphins beat the Los Angeles Chargers 36-34 in an opener to end all openers Sunday, McDaniel tried to guard against overreacting as people tend to do in Week 1.
Is it an overreaction to say the Dolphins have never had a combination as dangerous as Tua Tagovailoa throwing to Tyreek Hill? Don’t bother asking the Chargers, not after they were carved up by Tagovailoa for 466 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores to Hill, who caught 215 of those yards.
None of those numbers do justice to the ease in which Tagovailoa and Hill turned SoFi Stadium into their own personal Madden console.
When Hill caught a 4-yard fade for the deciding touchdown with 1:45 left, all Miami’s defense needed to do was get one stop, which it finally did. If one defensive stop is all that’s needed to complement this offense on a road game against a good AFC team, what’s that say for the next 16 weeks of this season?
Most importantly, what does it say about the Dolphins now that they have their quarterback back in the huddle after 259 days? The way this day ended was special for Tagovailoa, but don’t kid yourself. This day was special for Tagovailoa before it really started.
“I was just really excited to be out there again,” he said. “I don’t think anything else relates to the adrenaline rush when you go out there. You got the fans. Even when you’re warming up, you can smell the popcorn. … ”
More: Zach Sieler, Jaelan Phillips sacks of Justin Hebert seal Dolphins' win
You’ve got popcorn, all you need is a show. Those 466 yards represent the fourth-most passing yards in a season-opener in NFL history and 3 shy of his career best. So much for the defense being ahead of the offense at this time of year. The only QBs to put up bigger numbers in openers are all (or will be) Hall of Famers: Norm Van Brocklin (554), Tom Brady (517) and Dan Marino (473).
“That’s validating for me because I don’t feel crazy,” McDaniel said. “Because that’s kind of what I expected to happen.”
Hill did, too, as he has been building up Tagovailoa before they even played one game together.
“Big-time players make big-time plays,” Hill said after Tagovailoa’s big-time throw eluded cornerback Michael Davis in the corner of the end zone for the winning score.
A big-time comeback, this was, after Tagovailoa opened the first half by losing a fumble in the red zone and opened the second half by throwing an interception in the end zone. Don’t think the 14 points that vanished into thin air won’t eat at him, either.
Hill, meanwhile, wasn’t afraid to put a 2,000-yard target out there for this season, setting the bar where no receiver has gone before.
More: Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa to Ryan Clark: Keep my name out of your mouth | Habib
“I always feel like, you know, nobody can guard me,” said the man who came out of this on pace (for the record) to finish the season with 3,655 yards.
OK, so maybe that’s what McDaniel was talking about when he said “all fan bases kind of lose their mind Week 1.”
But what are people to think after the Dolphins popped off nine plays of 22 yards or more? This was an eight-lead-change slugfest in which the Dolphins’ two starting safeties combined for 27 tackles, a number that surely equals a loss … unless you have an offense like this.
Dan Marino's advice pays off
Remember that historical matter of Tagovailoa joining Marino territory when it comes to Week 1 deadliness? Turns out the links between these two go much deeper than that. Hill explains:
“I just so happened to be at a bar for a preseason game and I walked in and (Marino) was like, ‘’Reek, you’ve been doing a great job.’ And we began to talk about practice and stuff like that. He was like, ‘Yeah, you’ve got to start meeting together. You know, I used to do that with all my guys back in the day.’ ”
The more Marino talked, the more it made sense to Hill. So Hill brought it up with the rest of the QBs and receivers, and everyone agreed. After practice, after meetings, they would hold their own meetings.
“Just understanding coverages together and just being in the right spot for Tua,” Hill said.
The results couldn’t have been more obvious Sunday. Time after time, there was Hill cutting across the middle, a cornerback two or more steps behind him, as Tagovailoa delivered strikes that enabled Hill to cut upfield. Those 215 yards?
“I think he probably would have had half last year,” McDaniel said, crediting Hill with becoming a more complete receiver — not just a sprinter — this year.
Fewer than four minutes remained when the Chargers took a 34-30 lead when those meetings and that shared knowledge really paid off. On third-and-10, Tagovailoa sent Hill flying down the right sideline, right by J.C. Jackson. Forty-seven yards later, the Dolphins were on the Los Angeles 28 and on their way to the winning score.
“I’d been inside-releasing the whole game,” Hill said.
Tagovailoa and Hill knew that, just as they knew Jackson knew it. And expected it once more. So when the idea was floated of faking inside and cutting outside, Hill said, “That sounds like a great idea.”
Outside of the defense, which conceded 234 rushing yards, the Dolphins were full of good ideas Sunday. Left tackle Terron Armstead was out injured, but with Kendall Lamm stepping in, the line allowed zero sacks. Tagovailoa made timely use of Braxton Berrios, Durham Smythe, River Cracraft and Alec Ingold to complement Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
McDaniel had a brilliant second quarter that included a gutsy fourth-and-7 gamble that set up a touchdown and a timeout with 14 seconds left before the Chargers kicked a field goal. Following the kickoff, the clock read :09 — just enough time for the Dolphins to move into position for a 40-yard Jason Sanders field goal and a 20-17 halftime lead.
Tagovailoa finished 28 of 45 in his comeback performance.
For the two QBs drafted within minutes of him, Joe Burrow and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, it was a day to forget. Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Cleveland Browns, 24-3, earlier Sunday.
For Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, it was a day to remember. And possibly the start of a season to remember.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa throws for 466 yards, Dolphins beat Chargers in NFL opener
