MIAMI DOLPHINS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
LEVI’S STADIUM
DEC. 4, 2022 | 1:05 PM PT
POSTGAME NOTES
DOLPHINS OPEN GAME WITH FASTEST TOUCHDOWN IN TEAM HISTORY
• The Miami Dolphins have only received the opening kickoff twice this season. With their offense on the field to open the game today, they scored a touchdown in 10 seconds on a 75-yard touchdown pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa to WR Trent Sherfield.
• According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the fastest touchdown scored in a game in Dolphins history.
• The last time any NFL team scored a touchdown that quickly to open a game was Atlanta on Dec. 11, 2016 at the L.A. Rams.
• It was the longest completion of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s career and the longest reception of WR Trent Sherfield’s career.
HILL NEARS DOLPHINS SINGLE – SEASON RECEIVING RECORD
• WR Tyreek Hill caught nine passes for 146 yards (16.2 avg.) and one touchdown today, bringing his season totals to 96 receptions for 1,379 yards (14.4 avg.) and five touchdowns.
• Hill’s 1,379 receiving yards this season moves him into second place on Miami’s all-time single-season chart and just 11 yards shy of breaking the team record.
MOST RECEIVING YARDS IN DOLPHINS HISTORY (SINGLE SEASON)
Rk. Player Year Rec. Yds. TDs
- Mark Clayton 1984 73 1,389 18
- Tyreek Hill 2022 96 1,379 5
- Mark Duper 1986 67 1,313 11
- Mark Duper 1984 71 1,306 8
- Irving Fryar 1994 73 1,270 7
• Hill continues to lead the NFL this season in receptions (96) and receiving yards (1,379) while Waddle ranks fifth in yards (972):
MOST RECEIVING YARDS IN THE NFL (2022)
Rk. Player Team Rec. Yds. TDs
- Tyreek Hill Mia. 96 1,379 5
- Justin Jefferson Min. 88 1,277 6
- Stefon Diggs Buf. 91 1,202 10
- Davante Adams LV 79 1,176 12
- Jaylen Waddle Mia. 57 972 6
• Hill’s 1,379 receiving yards this season are the third most by a player in his team’s first 12 games of a season in the Super Bowl era. Only WR Calvin Johnson (1,428 in 2012) and WR Torry Holt (1,387 in 2003) had more.
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
LEVI’S STADIUM
DEC. 4, 2022 | 1:05 PM PT
POSTGAME NOTES
• Today was Hill’s sixth 100-yard game of the season. It’s tied with WR Mark Clayton (1984) and WR Irving Fryar (1994) for the second-most 100-yard games in a season in team history. The record is eight (WR Mark Duper, 1986).
o It matches Hill’s career high. He also had six 100-yard receiving games in 2018.
• Hill’s 146 receiving yards was almost exactly his season average for road games this season. In six road contests this year, Hill has totaled 56 receptions for 874 yards (15.6 avg.) and four touchdowns. He’s averaging 145.7 receiving yards per game on the road.
o Hill has surpassed 140 receiving yards in five of Miami’s six road games this season.
o Hill’s 874 receiving yards in road games this season is 200+ more than any other player in the league.
• It was also his sixth game with 125+ receiving yards this season. Hill is the fourth player since 1970 with at least 125 receiving yards in six or more of his team’s first 12 games of a season, joining WR Calvin Johnson (seven in 2012),
WR Josh Gordon (six in 2013) and WR Julio Jones (six in 2015).
• Hill topped 8,000 career receiving yards today and is just the 11th active NFL player to have more than 8,000 receiving yards.
• Hill has 96 receptions this season, which is fourth in single-season Dolphins history and just 16 shy of the record of 112 set by WR Jarvis Landry in 2017.
• With today’s touchdown reception, Hill became the fourth player in NFL history with 50+ catches and 5+ receiving TDs in each of his first seven NFL seasons, joining Gary Clark, Larry Fitzgerald and Marvin Harrison
• Hill’s 146 receiving yards today were the most by a Dolphins player in the all-time series with San Francisco (15 games), breaking the previous record of 114 by WR Nat Moore on Sept. 25, 1977.
• The 45-yard touchdown reception by Hill was the first points allowed in the second half by the 49ers since Oct. 23, 2022 vs. Kansas City, a span of more than four games.
DOLPHINS D EFENSE RECORDS FOUR SACKS
• Miami totaled four sacks today with full ones from LB Bradley Chubb and LB Melvin Ingram and half sacks from LB Jerome Baker, DT Zach Sieler, LB Andrew Van Ginkel and LB Jaelan Phillips.
o For Chubb, it was his eighth sack of the season, which is tied for 16th in the NFL.
• The Dolphins have now recorded a sack in 10 consecutive games, multiple sacks in four straight contests and nine sacks in their past two games.
• Miami’s defense limited the 49ers to just 5.1 yards per pass play. Since Week 7, the Dolphins are allowing just 5.63 yards per pass play, which is the third-best mark in the league.
• DT Christian Wilkins had a career-high 12 tackles today. It’s tied for the most tackles by a Dolphins defensive lineman since at least 1994 (DT Ndamukong Suh had 12 tackles on Sept. 18, 2016 at New England).
o It’s also tied for the second-most by an NFL defensive lineman in a game this season (Philadelphia’s Javon Hargrave had 13 on Nov. 14, 2022 vs. Washington).
• LB Jerome Baker also had 12 tackles, one shy of his season-high of 13 in the Sept. 25, 2022 win vs. Buffalo.
• CB Xavien Howard recorded his first interception of the season today and the 28th of his career. His 28 interceptions since 2016 are the most in the NFL in that span and he’s just one shy of a tie for fourth-place in team history with DB Glenn Blackwood and CB Patrick Surtain, who each had 29.
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
LEVI’S STADIUM
DEC. 4, 2022 | 1:05 PM PT
POSTGAME NOTES
o Howard had two passes defensed today. He moved into fourth place (since records have been tracked in 1991) in Dolphins history with 79 career passes defensed, surpassing CB Terrell Buckley, who had 77.
INJURIES REPORTED IN THE PRESSBOX
MIAMI DOLPHINS
• WR Jaylen Waddle, second quarter – lower leg (questionable)
• LB Elandon Roberts, second quarter – calf (questionable)
• QB Tua Tagovailoa, fourth quarter – ankle (questionable)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
• QB Jimmy Garoppolo, first quarter – foot (questionable downgraded to out)
• DL Haasan Ridgeway, fourth quarter – pectoral (questionable downgraded to out)
CAPTAINS
MIAMI DOLPHINS
• WR Tyreek Hill, CB Xavien Howard and DT Christian Wilkins
QUICK HITS
• There were 71,732 tickets distributed to today’s game.
• QB Tua Tagovailoa surpassed QB Chad Henne (7,114) for the fifth-most career passing yards in Dolphins history and topped his career high for a season (2,653 in 2021). His 295 passing yards today give him 2,564 for the season and 7,326 for his career.
o Tagovailoa saw his streak of passes thrown without an interception come to an end at 193. It was the longest streak in Dolphins history and his first interception since Sept. 29, 2022 at Cincinnati.
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, December 4, 2022
Postgame – San Francisco
OL Connor Williams (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(What are your thoughts on how you guys protected the pass game?) – “I’m proud of how everybody stepped to the play today. From left to right, I think we did a great job. I mean, obviously they’re a great D-line – that’s a high caliber D-line. To be able to do what we did and hold up the way we did, I’m proud of us. Obviously, it is never perfect, obviously things need to improve. We are going to hit the film room and try to improve on those, but I am proud of everyone.”
(What makes DL Nick Bosa so hard to stop?) – “You know, everybody at this level has about the same talent. I think at the end of the day, it’s that energy. It’s that effort to it. So I think that’s what we’re learning, that in those big games you’ve got to be able to step up into that environment and execute at that high level.”
(What was it like after the first play, the touchdown?) – “Obviously it was electric. Definitely for (No.) 14 (Trent Sherfield) to get that ball. I mean, it says it all right there, but then just being able to put it in the past, being able to move on to the next game.”
DT Christian Wilkins (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(Can you talk about the 49ers performance?) – “They’re a good team and they showed it today. We fought hard as a team and everything like that, but it came up short obviously. But San Fran is a heck of a team, and I just feel like this is a good [experience]. You try to find the positive and everything and this is a learning opportunity for us. We come on the road – this is December football and if we want to be the team we can be and want to be, you have to have experiences like this. So just learn from this one onto the next one, the 24-hour rule. That’s my thing, that’s the rule in the NFL. So we’ll learn from it and get better because we have to play next Sunday, it will be here before we know it.”
(What did you learn from this one today?) – “Obviously, we have to watch the tape to really be able to learn from the little details. There’s obviously things we can clean up, obviously things we could have done better, so definitely have to watch the tape to fully know. I did feel like we competed hard and we competed to the end, regardless of the score, regardless of the outcome, regardless of what happened. I did feel like we did fight hard, so we got that. We just have to clean up some other things.”
(Is there anything they did that you weren’t expecting when QB Jimmy Garoppolo went down?) – “No. I wouldn’t say so. I feel like they pretty much stuck with their offense. They did a little more short passes and quick passes, things like that. Probably just get the quarterback going into the rhythm, but respect to him, he did a good job just stepping up. I told him after the game, ‘Way to step up.’ It was definitely respectable. Like I said, we fought hard, but there’s some things we can get better and things we can clean up.”
(Sometimes a win can disguise some mistakes. So maybe you can look at this as a loss to pick apart some of the mistakes?) – “Yes, absolutely. When things are going good, it’s going great. Sometimes you don’t want to fall into that trap. So that’s what I’m saying. It’s good. This is a humbling loss. Take it as a learning experience, not a loss. That’s how you have to look at it and just learn from it, move on and get better.”
RB Raheem Mostert (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(Can you describe the first play of the game?) – “Yeah, it was definitely an exciting moment, especially being the first play of the game. Then for the emotions to be high, not only for myself, but for the team and for Trent (Sherfield) to go and catch that ball, slash and take it to the house, I was trying to pick up speed to get down there as fast as I could to see if I could try to get a block or two. There was definitely a lot of volume and high emotions on that play for sure.”
(You guys are obviously so familiar with this defense, but actually going up against them in a game situation, did anything surprise you?) – “No, not really. No, I think the biggest thing for us was we weren’t detailed enough. I know specifically me, I left some stuff out there that I knew I could have made a play, I could have been game changing. I wish I could take that stuff back. But yeah, it’s all about our execution and it starts from the play calling on down. We’ll get it right. We’ve got a big, big match up this week against the Chargers. We’ve got to flush this game out. I know it’s going to be a little bit tough for me especially now that I’m done walking out of this stadium and stuff like that. But man, that’s the game that we play and that’s the sport – you have to take all those goods and highs and lows that go with it. It’s all going to be fun, and we can’t wait to get back in LA and spend a little bit of time together. I know I talked to the running backs already and told them that we’re going to do a little bit of extra meeting time to know our opponent, know what the gameplan is, be more detailed, be a family and all that good stuff.”
(What was the story with the running game today? There weren’t a lot of yards, but there weren’t a lot of attempts.) – “It was whatever was being dished out. We had to take it for what it was. The gameplan was for us to be balanced, and we’re in a situation where you want to take advantage of what they had, you know? Unfortunately my boy, ‘Jimmy G’ (Jimmy Garoppolo) went out the game. I’m hoping everything’s alright with him. I’m going to go talk to him and talk to his family. My wife is here and she’s real close with his sister-in-law. I’m going to go talk to his brother and all that stuff. So man, that sucks. I’m going to go ahead and talk to him and see what’s going on.”
WR Tyreek Hill (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(Is there anything you can pinpoint as to why you think the offense was just not necessarily clicking right away?) – “I don’t know, man. I just want to focus on our room, because we’re such a young group. I keep all the guys motivated, the offensive line, even Tua (Tagovailoa). So my message all day to the guys was just stay locked in, it’s going to turn around for the good. And as you saw, we began to move the ball in the second half the way we’ve been doing all season. So we’re just going to build off this, man.”
(Out of most of the players, you’ve had the most success in the playoffs. How much does today’s experience – do you think today’s game will help you in the postseason this year coming up?) – “Well, I feel like my message to all the guys is to just let your passion show. I feel like a lot of people may take it as frustration, man, but I look at it as passion. That’s all this game is about, playing for your brother, playing for one another and making plays. So, when your number is called, we just have make plays.”
(Sometimes when you’re winning games, it can disguise some of the little mistakes you’re making. How much can a loss help you guys dive into the film and really pinpoint maybe some of the little things you can do better?) – “For us each and every week, we do the same thing. On Mondays, we go in, even after a win, we go in and we correct the good with the bad. So that’s always been our mindset, and we’re going to continue doing that as an offensive unit. So we’re going to continue getting better.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(Obviously, you were on the injury report earlier this week, can you just update with us how you’re feeling overall?) – “Yeah, sucks. It sucks that we didn’t come out and say what we wanted to do collectively as a team. Obviously, it starts with me offensively, turnovers with third downs, communication errors. In that retrospect, it’s hard to win a game when you’re not on your Ps and Qs, and you’re not dialed in. So a lot of that has to do with just understanding what we’re trying to accomplish and what we’re trying to do.”
(We’re accustomed to seeing you be more accurate, when you look back at the film, do you think it’ll just be a matter of missing certain guys? What do you think you’ll see?) – “Yeah, definitely missing guys in certain areas. There’s also some miscommunication of where guys should be breaking, where they’re setting their angles on certain routes, things like that. But it definitely was a poor performance from my part in that aspect of the game.”
(You hit the big plays, but how hard was it to sustain that defense over the course of the game?) – “Yeah, it was tough, and we knew what we were playing against – a really good front, you look at the linebackers that they have, very intuitive and then their safeties with how they try to mix in their coverages of making things look the same. Not easy being in the back there and then having that kind of pressure and trying to read it at the same time. So they had a great gameplan for us. We were hoping to have a lot more chances to make some plays, but we didn’t. We had a lot of opportunities offensively and didn’t capitalize. So that’s the result of the game.”
(Did you come out of it OK health-wise after the last hit?) – “Yeah, I would say as good as I can be coming off of a game. We’ll assess some things but as good as I can be.”
(When you think about some or all of the third-down plays in today’s game what, if anything, are some common denominators or what stands out about third down today?) – “Execution. Execution and executing those plays. It’s not what we did today, and that was the result of a lot of three and outs from what it felt like offensively. No one really to blame but myself, so we’ll be better from this.”
(What kind of stood out to you on the third down interceptions? Especially on the one to RB Jeff Wilson Jr., what happened there?) – “It was just poor ball placement and nothing more than that. That was just bad.”
(How would you assess the pass protection? You had two back up tackles playing, how did they do?) – “Yeah, I think they did really good, stepping up against really good edge rushers. And it’s not just their edge rushers, their interior rushers are really, really strong to be able to push the pocket and allow those guys to collapse. I think they did a phenomenal job. We’ll take a look at the tape and see what we can get better at offensively.”
(The fourth-and-1 from your own 19, down six points, obviously that’s one the plays that worked. What was going through your mind when you heard you guys were going for it?) – “Just get the first down. That’s all that was. Never thought like, ‘Oh, this is the biggest moment of the game’ or whatnot. I just knew that, ‘OK, Mike’s calling this play and putting the ball in my hands, giving me that decision to either hand it off, or throw it, or run it.’ So just the belief that he had in me, for us to go down and convert on that. I would say the same with our other fourth down that we had where we weren’t able to convert – tough. It’s tough. Even in that play, we had some errors on that play. But like I said, we’ll all look back at the film collectively as a unit offensively, and we’ll get better from it.”
(The two touchdowns that you did have, could you break down each play? The opening play to WR Trent Sherfield and then the one to WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Our personnel, we were in 20, I think they were in base, so really they had no adjustments to the bunch. They just had their linebackers stacked inside. They ended up bringing a guy off the edge to that side. So there was a little pocket or there was a little area that was voided. So we gave Trent (Sherfield) the ball and Trent turned that into a touchdown. And then on the other play, we went fast on the ball, and we saw quarters. They gave us the right coverage for the right play and we took a shot.”
(Because some of the passes were high, the broadcast team was wondering whether maybe you were a little bit emotionally charged or a little juiced for the game. How did you feel in terms of your preparation and your emotions entering the game and joining the team?) – “I felt like myself during the game. Like I said, there’s instances where I just flat out wasn’t getting the ball directly to our guys. But there were also instances where there were miscommunications of, I thought I was supposed to be here, whereas normally you’re here. So just communication errors, and like I said and will continue to keep saying, we’ll get better from those.”
(So as far as this season, this was the first time that you started and finished the game healthy and lost. What was the message from Head Coach Mike McDaniel after the loss?) – “I’ve also been on the other side of that, where I have played in this organization and we have lost games. This isn’t something that is new, where we’re on a win streak and then we end up losing and we can’t find our rhythm. I would say this is nothing for us to worry about, but it is an opportunity for us to get better from. So don’t think that we’re taking this lightly and we’re just going to move on from it. It’s a great opportunity for us that we will use and take coming into the LA game next week.”
(Any thoughts on QB Brock Purdy and his performance coming in?) – “Yeah, I thought he did a tremendous job. Being a rookie, it’s hard in this league to do what he’s been asked to do. I know what it feels like to come into a game being a rookie. Just the poise that he had, doing what was asked of him with action fakes, with his drop back game, I think he did a great job.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (Transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(On offense, that was kind of an uncharacteristic game from QB Tua Tagovailoa that we’re used to seeing. What would you credit some of the turnovers and missed passes to today?) – “Those are always – you’re careful to just assume that it was one exact person. We’re pretty used to Tua (Tagovailoa) being extremely accurate. I know there was a couple times that he’s going to be pretty hard on himself, but at the same time, you should be able to not be pinpoint accurate on one or two throws and still be able to execute and operate. I think that the guys were a little off just in general collectively, but I know one thing, it wasn’t because of preparation. It wasn’t because of lack of detail. It was one of those things that you have to go through. I think it’s important for our team specifically that – the biggest thing I wanted from this game is to really go out there and feel a playoff type atmosphere and do everything that they could to try to win that game. And when you do that, I think you can actually, win or lose, you can get better from it, because it’s something that we have a young team that needs to be able to – at some point in time, you have to have everything on the line and you have to be able to execute. So players, myself, the whole team really, the idea is to lay it all out on the line for each other and then deal with the consequences. So as frustrating as it was, I think that we are well-equipped and we have the guys in the locker room that collectively will take this piece of adversity and get better from it, and that’s the objective.”
(You had some big plays, but how difficult is it to sustain your offense over that defense in a game like that?) – “No, they do a good job. When you’re playing one of the best units in football on either side, it’s important that when you have opportunities, you have to take advantage of them. I think that if you ask every player in that locker room, they would say that that was not the case today and that the point is you shouldn’t just pass it along to somebody else and feel – it should hurt. But, when you’re playing a group like that, that’s playing at such a high level, you can’t miss opportunities, or you end up making it really tough on yourself. I think that was an outstanding job by the (San Francisco) 49ers defense, just the team collectively. They brought it. That team has some playoff experience, for sure, and they’re hungry to go and rectify some stuff of the past. If you don’t completely execute, it’s going to be tough for your whole team to come out on top. So you’re exactly right – you’re going to make it pretty tough on yourself if you continually don’t make the plays that are afforded to you, and it will catch up with you, especially with a pass rush like that.”
(How did you feel about how QB Brock Purdy did in relief and how the Dolphins defense did against Brock?) – “I think that’s a pretty good player there. I saw his preseason was as good as any rookie’s. I think him and Skylar (Thompson) really were the two guys that really had a real good preseason. I know that coaching staff and that team is very confident in him. It’s always a tough task, but when you’re able to lean on some good playmakers and get the ball in their hands, and when you’re able to kind of control the clock with a lot of first downs and the run game, I’m sure he’ll have some plays they’d want to have back, but that team will be fine moving forward with him. I’m sick for Jimmy (Garoppolo) and having to go through that, but the same time, that’s football. Teams get tested with their depth all the time, and no one really cares at the end of the season – it’s result based. So they’ll be all right. I thought he did a good job and didn’t really – we weren’t able to turn the ball over as much as you’d like and take advantage of those type of situations, but we’ll learn from it and that’s the point.”
(A lot was made about you and San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan; how did it ultimately feel for you and what was said between you guys?) – “Yeah again, I don’t really see it that way. Don’t get me wrong, to see a lot of people that you invest blood, sweat and tears with and to see a lot of people that are a huge part of your journey that you otherwise don’t know where you’d be without them, that’s a cool part of the NFL and the cool part of football. But it felt like another game for me. I got to shake hands with him before the game and after the game. I’m kind of used to his routine, so I was messing with him before the game a little bit, but outside of that it was about the Dolphins. Anything short of that, I really struggle from an integrity standpoint to have any emotions or thoughts that have to do with my journey, because that’s not what the players and the organization for the Dolphins deserve. So I stay true to my proclamation, it had nothing – after the kickoff, it was just coaching football and trying to put players in the best position they could be to make plays. Ultimately, that didn’t get done. As I told the team after the game, they don’t have to worry in the least. I’ll get better from the things that I know that I could have done better, and that’s what I’m expecting from all the players as well.”
(Fourth-and-1 your own 19 was a play that did work, obviously. I’m curious what went into your decision to make that call?) – “Again, I think part of the job is to do things that make the most sense for your team. I know exactly what’s going to happen if it doesn’t work, and it’s not wishing in hope, or living in hope, I should say. It was more that there was, I feel like six minutes-plus to go, and we were down by six, maybe it was nine. I can’t – six? I was pretty confident in a particular play that I figured that at that point in time, if you’d say, ‘What’s the greater risk? Is it having a two-yard distance with the particular play that I ended up calling with your guys on offense that really make you go, as opposed to needing to punt and getting the ball back, still having to drive the whole field?’ And on top of that, I figured that if it didn’t work out in our favor, at least it was a short field. It was one of those things that I was very aware of the risk and in terms of the second guessing that will happen if it doesn’t work, but I think that’s the job of the head coach is to do things for the right reasons and not because you’re going to possibly get second guessed. So that’s something that in that moment, it’s to the credit of the players that I feel comfortable doing that and thought it was the best for the team at the time.”
(Could you assess the offensive tackle play with T Terron Armstead and OL Austin Jackson both out and having two backups?) – “I thought they did a pretty good job, because that is a tough, tall task. I think that there were times, I alluded to the fact before, that I think that there’ll be stuff that I’ll learn from. I think I could have done a better job with them, but for the most part, I thought they really performed and took the challenge, and that’s a tough task. They have some good players, and there’s no – they are trying to sack the quarterback every play. I thought they competed. I thought they gave us a chance to win, but we’ll try to get better from it moving forward as well.”
