The Miami Dolphins became the first team to score 70 points in a contest since 1966 when they downed the Denver Broncos 70-20 in their home opener on Sunday.
However, the margin could’ve been wider, as the Dolphins had an opportunity to kick a 44-yard field goal on fourth-and-14 with 33 seconds left.
If Jason Sanders had converted a potential attempt, Miami would’ve tied the NFL record for points in a game, which was set by the Chicago Bears in the 1940 NFL Championship, when they embarrassed Washington 73-0.
Instead, head coach Mike McDaniel opted to have quarterback Mike White, who relived Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter, take a knee and give the ball back to the Broncos.
On Tuesday, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert, who had four touchdowns in the victory, joined NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” and gave a little insight into McDaniel’s thinking as the game wound down.
“I know I had a conversation with coach once we took that kneel,” Mostert said.” And, he was like ‘I can’t do it. It’s bad karma if we go out like that.’ I was like ‘Coach, we put up 70 points.’ But, you just have to be respectful, and I understand the game. You have to respect the game in so many facts. For Mikey to do that, that just shows you the type of character that he has.”
If the offense continues to perform the way that they have since McDaniel took over in 2022, it’s not impossible that they have another chance at a record like that in the future. If the game is closer, there’s a strong possibility that they will try to break it then.
Until then, McDaniel will just be happy with the win, as his team improved to 3-0 with an extremely important matchup with the Buffalo Bills up next.