Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 112 yards and one touchdown in a milestone performance and Tua Tagovailoa passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns as the Miami Dolphins notched a 31-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Hill became the first player to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the first eight games of the season during the NFL’s Super Bowl era. Tagovailoa completed 30 of 45 passes with one interception while improving to 6-0 in career starts against Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Jalen Ramsey (knee) notched an interception in his first game of the season for Miami (6-2). He was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason.
Jaylen Waddle caught seven passes for 121 yards and one touchdown, Cedric Wilson Jr. had a scoring reception and Raheem Mostert rushed for a touchdown for the Dolphins.
Mac Jones was 19-of-29 passing for 161 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for New England (2-6). Kyle Dugger had an interception and sack for the Patriots.
Hill caught a 7-yard pass from Tagovailoa in the third quarter to go over 100 yards on the day and reach 1,005 for the season. He finished the game with 1,014.
Three other players have reached 1,000 in eight games from earlier times in pro football history. Hall of Famers Don Hutson (1942, Green Bay Packers) and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (1951, Los Angeles Rams) did so in the NFL and Charley Hennigan (1961, Houston Oilers) accomplished it in the former American Football League.
New England struck first on Jones’ 24-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne with 3:32 left in the first quarter.
The Dolphins scored the next 17 points, beginning when Hill streaked past J.C. Jackson of the Patriots to easily catch a 42-yard scoring pass with 22 seconds left in the quarter.
Tagovailoa tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Wilson with 6:10 left in the first half. Jason Sanders tacked on a 30-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to give Miami a 17-7 halftime lead.
Chad Ryland booted a 38-yard field goal to bring New England within seven early in the third quarter. Mostert gave the Dolphins a 24-10 lead when he scored from the 1 with 7:35 remaining in the period.
Jones threw a 3-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to JuJu Smith-Schuster to bring the Patriots within seven with 8:30 left in the game.
But the Dolphins restored order when Waddle caught a 31-yard scoring pass from Tagovailoa with 2:43 remaining.
–Field Level Media