Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins only needed one half against the New England Patriots to send a crystal clear message to the rest of the NFL.
The Dolphins headed to the locker room with a 24-0 lead at the half, and it could have just as easily been 28-0. Miami put up 280 yards of offense, while the Patriots' best chance to score came on a missed field goal. Mike McDaniel's team is proving they can make the playoffs, one strong performance at a time.
The message being sent is a simple one: Figure out how to stop our offense because you don't have enough players to do it.
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Dolphins put the league on notice with statement performance vs. Patriots
When the Patriots covered up Tyreek Hill, Tagovailoa hit Jonnu Smith repeatedly. When they took Smith out of the play, Tua threw it to Jaylen Waddle. When they covered him, De'Von Achane stepped up. The Patriots are holding the Dolphins' rushing attack down, but they can't stop the passing game. This is something defenses will struggle with down the stretch. Why? Because Mike McDaniel finally understands the concept of spreading the ball around to more than Hill.
The Dolphins' failures today were on the first drive when they didn't score and on the final drive of the first half when they were unable to put six on the board despite being in 1st-and-goal. They settled for a field goal.
If there are lingering questions about the choice of Chop Robinson in last April's draft, they should be put to rest. Robinson has one sack, two more hits on Drake Maye, and has been disruptive on every play. With the Patriots playing down by three touchdowns and three two-point conversions, the Patriots are going to have to throw the ball, and that is going to fall into Robinson's lap.
This game was over before halftime. The Dolphins have sent a clear message to the rest of the league as they move toward their third straight win.