LAST UPDATE | 25 Sep 2023
THE MIAMI DOLPHINS destroyed the Denver Broncos 70-20 on Sunday, putting up a franchise-record point total for a team and the second highest in an NFL regular-season game.
The Dolphins had 350 yards rushing and 376 yards passing with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throwing four touchdowns and running back Raheem Mostert scoring three.
They moved to 3-0 on the season in the most emphatic fashion.
“This doesn’t compare to anything I’ve been a part of,” Tagovailoa said after a game where Miami led 35-13 at half-time.
“No one took their foot off the gas, we continued to play and that’s the result we got.”
The Dolphins were two points shy of the NFL one game regular-season scoring record set by the Washington Redskins in 1966 and three off the all-time record set by the Chicago Bears in the 1940 NFL Championship game.
They had a chance to attempt a field goal, but opted to take a knee on fourth down and turn the ball over as a gesture of sympathy towards their opponents.
“It felt like chasing points and chasing a record – that’s not what we came to the game to do,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “That doesn’t have a bearing on the overall season outcome.”
The Dolphins’ 726 yards from scrimmage was also a franchise record and included two touchdowns for running back De’Von Achane, who had 203 yards, as well as 157 yards on nine receptions from receiver Tyreek Hill.
McDaniel said the gaudy numbers came down to “a lot of players executing a lot of things to a standard that’s unrelenting.”
The Dolphins are the only AFC team still unbeaten this season but AFC East divisional rivals Buffalo also enjoyed a high-scoring victory with a 37-3 romp over the host Washington Commanders.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for one touchdown and ran in another as the Bills moved to 2-1 and handed the Commanders their first loss of the season.
In another lopsided victory, Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs’ 41-10 victory over the hapless Chicago Bears.
Jerick McKinnon ran for two touchdowns and Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added TD runs. With the game in hand Mahomes and many of his fellow starters departed early.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had seven catches for 69 yards, including a three-yard touchdown that had pop star Taylor Swift — watching from a luxury suite with Kelce’s mother, Donna — screaming in appreciation.
Taylor Swift reacts to Travis Kelce scoring a touchdown:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 24, 2023
“Let’s f*cking go!”
pic.twitter.com/9giF2oFb73
Swift’s appearance at the game further fanned rumors of a budding romance with Kelce and drew huge attention from her global legion of fans as well as media outlets ranging from People magazine to ESPN.
Back in July, the popular Kelce had previously admitted on his own podcast, New Heights, that when Swift’s Eras Tour stopped off in Kansas City, he was unsuccessful in his efforts to pass the singer-songwriter his phone number via one of the ‘friendship bracelets’ which are a feature of her concerts.
Last week, however, Kelce confirmed that he had been in touch with Swift and that he had “[thrown] the ball in her court” by inviting her to a Chiefs home game to watch him “rock the stage” at Arrowhead Stadium in his own right.
"I heard she was in the house... so I knew I had to get the ball to Travis." @PatrickMahomes joined @ErinAndrews after the @Chiefs blow out win with Taylor Swift in the building 💪 #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/skZ98xVRCO
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 24, 2023
There was a different Love Story in Green Bay, where Jordan Love led the Packers out of a 17-point hole in the fourth quarter to an 18-17 win over the New Orleans Saints in his home debut as the team’s starter.
The Packers scored all their points in the last 11 minutes of the game, with Romeo Doubs brilliantly collecting an eight-yard Love pass for the win.
The Saints, with backup Jameis Winston in at quarterback in place of injured Derek Carr, had a chance to win with 2:56 to go but rookie kicker Blake Grupe missed a 46-yard field goal attempt.
“It’s always about how the game ends,” said Love, who took over the starting job this season after the departure of four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers.
He received a rapturous welcome from Packers fans, but after a miserable first three quarters it needed a remarkable effort from Love and his teammates to capture the Packers’ 11th straight victory in a home opener.
“It was very hard,” Love said. “Especially when you haven’t done what you wanted all game, especially offensively. We hurt ourselves more than we helped ourselves.
“Just to be able to stay poised and stay confident in what we’re doing … it is not easy. It’s a total team win right there.”
Elsewhere the Cleveland Browns moved to 2-1 after a 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans with quarterback Deshaun Watson throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns.
The Browns defense limited the Titans to 94 total yards while Cleveland’s offense, having lost top running back Nick Chubb for the season, saw his replacement Jerome Ford step up with two touchdowns.
The New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 15-10 for their first win of the season while the Indianapolis Colts edged the Baltimore Ravens 22-19 thanks to a 53-yard field goal from Matt Gay in overtime.
