NFL highlights on Sept. 24: Dolphins smash Broncos on record night

The Miami Dolphins beat the Denver Broncos 70-20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Garden, Florida, on Sunday, setting a franchise record for scoring in one game.

The last time an NFL team scored more points was the Washington Commanders (back then known as the Redskins), with 72 points against the New York Giants in 1966.

In their home opener of the 2023 regular season on Sunday, the Dolphins became the first team in history to score five receiving touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns in one game and the second team to tally over 700 offensive yards, after the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.

“That’s a lot of players executing a lot of things to a standard that’s unrelenting,” the Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “When you have a lead – so many leads are vulnerable in this league. So we’d talked at length all offseason just about adversity and sometimes adversity is having a two-score lead, because you can let the atmosphere dictate your product. So what I saw from a lot of guys … that’s guys really taking it to heart that we have one [opportunity] with this team in 2023, and we’re going to make the most of it and be unrelenting with our standards.”

As the Dolphins’ starting quarterback (QB), Tua Tagovailoa completed 23 of his 26 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. His backup Mike White threw 2-for-2 to generate 67 yards and one touchdown. Neither had any interception or was sacked even once.

“This doesn’t compare to anything that I’ve seen or been a part of,” Tagovailoa said. “It just talks about the resilience of our team. Although we were up going into halftime, I’m very proud of the guys and the way they continued to play. No one took their foot off the gas, everyone continued to play and that’s the result that we got.”

The Dolphins put up 350 yards via the ground thanks to the remarkable performances of their two running backs, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, who combined to score four touchdowns, including five via rushing. Anchane put up 203 rushing yards with 18 carries.

Having secured the third straight win since the season began, the Dolphins now lead the American Football Conference (AFC) East. By contrast, the Broncos are at the bottom of the AFC West with a 0-3 record.

“From a leadership standpoint, I think the biggest thing we have to do is learn everything that we can from the film,” the Broncos’ QB Russell Wilson said. “Learn what we did well. Learn what we didn’t do so well. Learn that every game has a history of its own. … That was one we want to put in – not think about anymore, but we have to learn from it still.”

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Indianapolis Colts 22-19 Baltimore Ravens

Tennessee Titans 3-27 Cleveland Browns

Atlanta Falcons 6-20 Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints 17-18 Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans 37-17 Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers 28-24 Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots 15-10 New York Jets

Buffalo Bills 37-3 Washington Commanders

Carolina Panthers 27-37 Seattle Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys 16-28 Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears 10-41 Kansas City Chiefs

Pittsburgh Steelers 23-18 Las Vegas Raiders