Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill put NFL on notice with a monster Week 1 performance

• Tua Tagovailoa starts with a bang: Tagovailoa was the highest-graded quarterback in Week 1 in both overall grade (92.1) and passing grade (92.8).

•Tyreek Hill with a monster day: Hill caught 11-of-15 targets for 215 yards and two touchdowns, leading all players at the position in receptions that resulted in a first down or touchdown (9), explosive plays of 15 or more yards (7) and yards per route run (61.4).

• Tagovailoa-to-Hill was the theme of the day: Hill caught a pass against seven different defenders, picking up at least one first down against each of them.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and the rest of the Miami Dolphins put the league on notice after a thrilling 36-34 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.

The Tagovalioa-to-Hill connection was virtually unstoppable all afternoon as the two picked up from where they left off last season.

Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa passed for 466 yards today, the fourth-most passing yards in a season-opening game in NFL history, trailing only Norm Van Brocklin, (554 yards in 1951), Tom Brady (517 yards in 2011) and Dan Marino (473 yards in 1994).

Tyreek Hill registered 215…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 11, 2023

Best at their positions

Tagovailoa was the highest-graded quarterback in Week 1 in both overall grade (92.1) and passing grade (92.8). The overall grade was the second-highest of his career, trailing only his spectacular performance against the Detroit Lions in Week 8 last season.

The Dolphins quarterback completed 28-of-45 passes for 466 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, good for a 110.0 passer rating. He led all quarterbacks for the week in big-time throws (6), yards per attempt (10.1) and average depth of target (12.4).

Tyreek Hill’s 93.0 overall grade was the highest among all wide receivers in Week 1. His 92.1 overall grade last season was a personal career high and ranked first among 113 qualifying wide receivers.

Hill caught 11-of-15 targets for 215 yards and two touchdowns, leading all players at the position in receptions that resulted in a first down or touchdown (9), explosive plays of 15 or more yards (7) and yards per route run (61.4).

Tagovailoa – passing concept

Mike McDaniel drew up an incredible offensive game plan, putting Tagovailoa in position to succeed despite the absence of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead.

His quarterback was pressured on 14 of his 45 pass attempts for the day, and his passing breakdown shows how much he picked apart the Chargers’ defense when they didn’t disrupt him in the backfield.

Here's a look at Tagovailoa's play with and without pressure, courtesy of PFF Premium Stats:

And here's a look at passing by concept:

Tagovailoa to Hill: Lethal to all levels of the field

Tagovailoa-to-Hill was the theme of the day, no matter what adjustments the Chargers attempted to make.

Hill caught a pass against seven different defenders, picking up at least one first down against each of them.

TUA AND TYREEK ARE DIALED IN.

????: #MIAvsLAC on CBS
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/G4uoYVOqQn pic.twitter.com/XtaJZDwKhA

— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023

Hill's route tree

Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill connected on six different route concepts against the Chargers defense.

A breakdown of where they did the most damage:

Final thoughts

The Dolphins offense generated 17 explosive pass plays of 15 or more yards against the Chargers, the most for any team in the opening week. At its best, this offense has shown it is among the league’s best, capable of putting up video game numbers in any contest.

Next up, Miami travels to Foxborough for Sunday night football — a test against defensive mastermind Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots that is surely expected to be tougher.