The Miami Dolphins ended up leading the NFL in total offense in 2023 and finished second in scoring, and there was no shortage of memorable plays throughout the season.
Whether it was long passes from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle or long runs by Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, the Dolphins were the most explosive team in the NFL.
With that in mind, we’ve come up with our list of the top 10 Dolphins offensive plays of the 2023 season based on quality of the play, uniqueness and role in the outcome of a game.
1. Tua’s Third-Down Completion to Tyreek Hill at L.A., Week 1
Tua and Hill hooked up quite often and for big chunks of yardage in the opener at SoFi Stadium, but it says here nothing could top the massive 47-yard completion on third-and-10 on the game-winning drive. That was the third-and-10 play where Tua stepped up in the pocket and threw a perfect deep ball while moving forward — we’d say it pretty clearly was the best pass of his NFL career.
2. Mostert TD run at New England, Week 2
The Dolphins offense couldn’t muster all that much in the second half at Gillette Stadium after taking a 17-3 halftime lead, but Mostert provided the winning margin with his 44-yard touchdown on the first play of a Dolphins drive.
3. Tua Game-Winning TD Pass at L.A., Week 1
This almost serves as a companion to our top play because it helped cap the game-winning drive. The 4-yard touchdown on a touch pass in the corner of the end zone came on third-and-goal.
4. Tua First TD Pass to Hill at Washington, Week 13
The Dolphins took care of business early against the Commanders in their first game of December, sending Hill deep on their third offensive snap and getting a quick 7-0 lead after a 78-yard touchdown pass.
5. De’Von Achane 40-Yard Run vs. Denver, Week 3
There are an awful lot of plays from which to choose from the Dolphins’ dismantling of the Broncos in their 70-20 victory in their home opener, but we went with this Achane run for the pure genius of the design of this end-around and the execution.
6 Tua TD pass to Jaylen Waddle vs. N.Y. Jets, Week 15
In their only game of the season without Tyreek Hill, the Dolphins easily handled the Jets at Hard Rock Stadium thanks to a suffocating defensive performance and a short passing attack. But the Dolphins did take a deep shot in the second quarter and Tua and Waddle made it pay off for a 60-yard touchdown and a quick one-play drive.
7. Tua Pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. at Philadelphia, Week 7
This wasn’t a touchdown pass, but it was the play that helped the Dolphins get back in the game after they fell behind 17-3. This came on a third-and-18 and Tua’s nifty pass and Wilson’s impressive catch near the sideline for a 29-yard gain set up Hill’s touchdown near the end of the half.
8. Tua TD Pass to Hill vs. Denver, Week 3
The fun against the Broncos started early when Tua was given loads of time in the pocket, long enough to see Hill run free deep across the middle of the Broncos secondary as their two deep defenders converged on Robbie Chosen running underneath.
9. Achane 24-Yard Run vs. the N.Y. Giants, Week 5
This was very similar in design to the 40-yard run Achane had against the Broncos two weeks earlier, but we’re giving it bonus points here because it came on the very first offensive play of the game for the Dolphins..
10. Tua TD Pass to Waddle vs. New England, Week 8
This was just a cool way for the Dolphins to slam the door on the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium, Hill attracted two defenders near the sideline after going in motion on a third-and-1 and leaving Jaylen Waddle wide open in the middle of the field for an easy pitch-and-catch. The clip from behind the New England secondary of Tua looking away as soon as he threw the ball and slowly walking toward Hill also was very cool.
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