A Tribute To Miami’s Most Explosive Six Weeks Of Football
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
For a while, it looked like the Miami Dolphins were going to do the damn thing. Following their Week 6 42-21 beatdown of the Carolina Panthers, Mike McDaniel had put together one of the most explosive stretches of offense we’ve ever seen. Thanks in part to a 70-point outburst against the Denver Broncos in Week 3, the 5-1 Dolphins were on pace to put up 632 points in 2023, shattering the 2013 Broncos’ record of 606.
“Scoring points isn’t the goal!” you might say. “Winning the Super Bowl is!” OK, but also: shut up. Throughout NFL history, teams that scored 600 points are 1-for-1 when it comes to making the Super Bowl (don’t look at what happened in SB XLVIII). If Miami sustained that level of dominance, why couldn’t they also have punched their ticket to Vegas?
Unfortunately, the Dolphins couldn’t keep up that pace, with their offense getting diminishing returns throughout the season. They averaged 37.2 points to start the season, then 26.8 points for their next six, before fizzling out with a very ordinary 22.4 points per game in their last five contests. They finished with 496 points, in the top-25 in NFL history, but far from the top.
But, wow, let’s not forget how crazy that Tyreek Hill-like fast start was. It’s almost impossible to come out the gates better than Miami did in 2023. Let’s quickly look at the top five teams in the Super Bowl Era in terms of total points through six games:
- Denver Broncos, 2013: 265
- St. Louis Rams, 2000: 262
- New Orleans Saints, 2009: 238
- New England Patriots, 2007: 230
- MIAMI DOLPHINS, 2023: 223
Damn. That’s the all-time record-holder in the Broncos (Lost Super Bowl), The Greatest Show on Turf (Won Super Bowl), Drew Brees’ Peak (Won Super Bowl), and the 16-0 Patriots (Hilariously Lost Super Bowl). Starting that fast has set almost every other team before Miami for glory, and should again, so long as the Dolphins can sustain it.
Typically, you can attribute the source of massive success like this to historically great quarterbacks. That is the case for Peyton Manning with the 2013 Broncos, Brees with the 2009 Saints, and Tom Brady with the 2007 Patriots. In Kurt Warner’s case, he went on an all-time heater, throwing for a Super Bowl Era record 2,260 yards in his first six games with the 2000s Rams.
Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t quite fall into either category. His 1,876 yards through six games are great, even elite. It sits 45th in the Super Bowl Era, hanging around the likes of Manning, Brees, and Patrick Mahomes seasons on the leaderboard. His 14 touchdown passes are also great, but just outside the top-100 performances through six games.
Instead, the offense indisputably flowed from Hill, who had 814 receiving yards through six games, just five yards short of Don Hutson’s 1942(!!!) record. The guy averaged 135.7 yards per game, starting on pace to obliterate the single-season record with a 2,306-yard season.
Having to cover Hill opened up a ton of room for the rushing game, which is the other piece of the puzzle for the 2023 Dolphins’ hot start. The Dolphins punched in 15 touchdowns on the ground, which would be a Super Bowl Era Record… had the 1975 Fins not scored 16 of their own.
Regardless, Raheem Mostert was able to get short-yardage scores at will, with nine rushing touchdowns in six games. The only players who’ve had more through six games since 2000 are Shaun Alexander (12 in 2005), Derrick Henry (10 in 2021), LaDanian Tomlinson (10 in 2005), and Priest Holmes (10 in 2004). De’von Achane was able to get five touchdowns on the ground, as well, including a 67-yard score in Week 3 and a 76-yarder in Week 5.
But as defenses found ways to slow Hill, the rest of the offense sputtered. Hill still led the NFL in receiving yards per games (112.4), but he only got above his first-six-game average twice, with 146 yards in Week 11 (a 20-13 win against Las Vegas) and 157 yards in Week 13 (a 45-15 curb-stomping of the Washington Commanders). Through Weeks 7-17, Hill was held to under 100 yards in six of his 10 games. This includes each of his last four games, of which he was held off the scoresheet in three. Miami went 1-3 in those contests, averaging 20.5 points.
The secret to sustaining Miami’s point production over 17 games will be one of two things: Make Hill unstoppable for all 17 games, or better exploit the space Hill’s gravitational pull creates. Luckily Miami has help coming Hill’s way. Jonnu Smith and Jody Fortson give Tagovailoa a mix of reliability and upside at tight end. Achane starts the 2024 season healthy, and Miami got even more explosive in the backfield with fourth-round pick Jaylen Wright. We saw a glimpse of the explosive offense the Dolphins could field last year. 2024 might just be the year they put it all together.
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