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          Tyreek Hill's two long touchdown receptions have Dolphins rolling

          • Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNDec 3, 2023, 07:20 PM
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              Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.

          LANDOVER, Maryland -- It took just three plays for the Miami Dolphins to do what they do best.

          Facing third-and-2 in Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a 78-yard touchdown, the second longest of each player's career.

          Hill quickly ran past Commanders cornerback Jartavius Martin, who had no safety help over the top. The All-Pro corralled the pass from Tagovailoa and sprinted to the end zone, hitting a top speed of 21.68 mph -- the fifth-fastest registered ball carrier speed by Next Gen Stats.

          The score gave Hill his 11th career touchdown of at least 75 yards, the fourth most in NFL history. It also pushed him to a league-leading 1,402 receiving yards this season. He is on pace to become the first player in league history to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

          As if one wasn't enough, Tagovailoa found Hill again midway through the second quarter for another long touchdown.

          Facing third-and-7 from his own 40-yard line, Hill motioned right and exploded down the seam when the ball was snapped. Tagovailoa was pressured and lofted the ball deep to his speedy wide receiver, who impressively tracked the it down and scored for the 60-yard touchdown.

          The reception pushed Hill's first-half total to 132 yards and two touchdowns on three catches.

          The defense also got into the first-half fun. Following a three-and-out on offense, the Dolphins' defense scored a touchdown to close the first quarter, thanks to an Andrew Van Ginkel pick-six.

          Starting in place of Jaelan Phillips, who is on injured reserve with a season-ending Achilles tear, Van Ginkel snuffed out Washington's screen attempt and returned Sam Howell's pass 32 yards for Miami's second pick-six of the season.

          Van Ginkel's return extended the Dolphins' lead to 17-0.