Tyreek Hill caught 11 passes for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns Sunday, while Tua Tagovailoa completed 28 of 45 passes for 466 yards and 3 TDs in Miami's 36-34 win over the Chargers. 'They were on the same page, for sure,' said coach Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa peppered Hill with 15 targets, starting with his first pass attempt of the game -- which Hill took for 16 yards. He finished the first half with 104 receiving yards, but his most notable plays all came in the second half.
"He probably would've had half last year because understanding how to beat coverage is not something that we needed to teach him," McDaniel said."But understanding when to separate and how to get the ball -- that's what he's really majored in this year ... It would be very, very accurate to say we saw a better version of him today within the offense and I think that has a big part of his success.
"So yeah, everything was different, man. I'm not counting on my speed -- obviously after the catch I am." But even with the hiccups, Tagovailoa's performance was markedly better than last season's loss to the Chargers, in which he completed just 10 of 28 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. The noteworthy difference came on in-breaking routes; he completed 17 of 23 attempts over the middle for 300 yards and a touchdown after connecting on just 4-of-13 in-breaking routes a season ago for 26 yards.