Miami Dolphins score 70 points and take a knee rather than take a shot at NFL scoring mark
By Homero De la Fuente and Steve Almasy, CNN
(CNN) — The Miami Dolphins put on an offensive masterclass Sunday, defeating the Denver Broncos 70-20 in their home opener and scoring the second most points by a team in a regular season game in NFL history.
The NFL record for one game is 73 points, set by the Chicago Bears in the 1940 NFL Championship. The regular season record is 72 points by Washington in 1966.
Late in the fourth quarter the Dolphins had a chance to break the NFL regular season record and tie the Bears’ mark but opted to kneel instead of kicking a field goal from the Broncos’ 28-yard line.
“It felt like chasing points, chasing a record, that’s not what we came here to do. That doesn’t have a bearing on the overall season outcome,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “Ten times out of 10 you concede and kneel down in those situations. Because there was an attainable record, that was cool, but the message I thought it would send wasn’t in line with how I view things.”
Miami’s victory is just the fourth time in NFL history a team has scored at least 70 points, including playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa orchestrated a perfect first half, completing 16-of-16 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions to lead the team to a 35-13 lead.
Tagovailoa is the first quarterback since 1991 to complete 15-plus passes without an incompletion and throw for 200-plus yards by halftime.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Dolphins running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane combined for a total of eight touchdowns as Miami broke a franchise scoring record by 15 points.
Achane finished the game with 203 rushing yards on 18 carries, while Mostert tallied 142 total yards.
Tagovailoa and most of the team’s stars were pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter. He finished with four touchdown passes in the game on 23-of-26 completions.
Miami’s 726 total yards sets a franchise record for most yards ever in a game.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton described the game as “embarrassing” and “tough to watch.”
“Look, it would be one thing to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to get on to the next game,’ but we have to watch that tape, and so tomorrow will be tough for a lot of players – tough for us, too, as coaches,” Payton added.
Later in the news conference, Payton snapped at a reporter who was going over some of the stats of the historic loss as he set up his question.
“I’m aware. What’s the questions?” Payton interjected. “What’s the question? I just finished telling you. Next question.”
In December 1940, the Bears drubbed Washington 73-0 in the NFL Championship Game. In November 1966, Washington downed the New York Giants 72-41 late in the regular season.
The only other team to score 70 points in an NFL game was the Los Angeles Rams in 1950 against the Baltimore Colts.
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