Putting some perspective on the Dolphins 70-point outburst vs. the Broncos

Miami Dolphins 70, Denver Broncos 20. It’s still somewhat mind-boggling.

If you include the postseason, there have been only four occasions in which a team has put at least 70 points on the board. That includes the fabled 73-0 victory by the Chicago Bears over the then-Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.

The regular-season record for the most points scored in a game is actually owned by that aforementioned Washington franchise. The team came away with a 72-41 victory over the New York Giants back in 1966. That happened to be the first year of existence for the Dolphins.

Miami’s explosive effort vs. Denver is tied for the second-most points in a regular-season game with a Los Angeles Rams team that hung 70 points in 1950 on a Baltimore Colts franchise that was a member of the NFL for one season.

It’s those 726 total yards on Sunday vs. Sean Payton’s Broncos that are simply mind-blowing. Yes, it’s the second-most by one team in any NFL game, regular-season or postseason. The league record remains an imposing 735 total yards by the aforementioned Rams’ franchise in 1951 vs. the New York Yanks. It’s a game better known for its quarterbacking performance by Pro Football Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin, who threw for a league-record 554 yards in a 54-14 victory.

However, what about a 2023 spin on what the Dolphins managed to do? Those 70 points were more than the other 15 NFL games played in Week 3. The closest contest in terms of point total to Miami was the 64 combined points by the Seahawks (37) and Panthers (27).

Back to those 726 total yards. Of course, the Dolphins outgained the other 31 teams in the league. However, Mike McDaniel’s club wound up with more offensive yards than 11 of the other 15 games played in Week 3. In other words, take one of those contests and combine both teams’ total yards and in those 11 instances, none came close to the Dolphins’ amazing yardage output.

It was one of those games that they will be talking about for quite some time. Exceptional indeed.