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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
LANDOVER, Md. — Tyreek Hill wants to crack 2,000 receiving yards this season, but even as he remains on pace to make NFL history, the Miami Dolphins wide receiver believes his success this season goes beyond the numbers.
Hill recorded 157 yards and two touchdowns on five catches in Sunday’s 45-15 win over the Washington Commanders, with his scores coming on 78-yard and 60-yard connections with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the first half.
When asked whether this was the best season of his eight-year career, Hill responded in the affirmative — but added that it had little to do with the stats he has put up.
“I believe I am having my best season, even if I didn’t have the numbers, you know what I’m saying? I feel like I’m doing a great job of being in the right spot for the quarterback and making sure I’m doing a great job blocking and just understanding this whole offense,” Hill said. “This past offseason, I really had a chance to just look back and just understand my mistakes from last year, and I took it head on. I’m the type of player — I put a lot of accountability on myself and I feel like as one of the leaders on this team, I just had to step up and be better.
“Obviously, the stats looked good last year, but there was a lot of room for improvement, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to settle for that. I feel like I can be a whole lot better.'”
Hill set a career high with 1,710 yards on 119 receptions in 2022 but has already recorded 1,481 yards on 92 catches in 12 games this season. The league leader in receiving yards is on pace for 2,098, which would make him the first player in NFL history to crack 2,000 in a season.
His big day was evident from Miami’s opening drive, when he beat Commanders cornerback Jartavius Martin for a 78-yard touchdown on Miami’s third offensive play of the game. Hill said Tagovailoa noticed the man coverage with no safety over the top and changed his route to a slot fade. The play marked Hill’s 11th career touchdown of at least 75 yards, fourth most in NFL history. Commanders coach Ron Rivera said his defense wasn’t tight enough on Hill’s release and should have given Martin help over the top.
“Those guys are great at what they do, and they also get paid, man,” Hill said. “But at some point, it’s like, I don’t know man. I just appreciate it. Thanks for not respecting me, I guess.”
Hill’s second touchdown came midway through the second quarter, when he broke inside on a deep post route. Tagovailoa threw the ball inside the numbers but closer to the sideline than the direction Hill was headed. Hill adjusted while the ball was in flight and made an over-the-shoulder catch in stride for the score.
Initially, Hill said he called Tagovailoa out for not leading him properly — but recanted when they reviewed the play on the sideline and realized Tagovailoa threw the ball “exactly where I was supposed to be.”
“On that play specifically, the ball is designated to go at a certain spot with what we tell our receivers,” Tagovailoa said. “And on that play, the ball — they were to expect the ball on the inside edge of the numbers. Now I can lead him in more, but I try to throw them away from the middle of the field safety. So if you go back, it landed on the inside edge of the numbers, but phenomenal, phenomenal job by what Tyreek did. I mean, that’s tough to do, especially going as fast as he’s going. That’s remarkable.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel called Hill’s catch “insane” and compared it to Willie Mays tracking down a ball in center field.
Hill’s performance marked his eighth 100-yard game of the season and his third in as many weeks.
The 9-3 Dolphins have a three-game lead over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and host the Tennessee Titans next week on “Monday Night Football” (8:15 ET, ESPN).