Tua Tagovailoa dazzled in his third consecutive three-touchdown performance and the Miami Dolphins logged a season-high 195 rushing yards en route to a dominant 39-17 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
After Cleveland (3-6) scored on the game's opening drive, Miami responded with 24 straight points to take command of the contest.
Despite the Browns entering the game with the league's third-most prolific rushing attack, it was Miami who controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game.
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. tallied 17 carries for 119 yards in his second game as a Dolphin while fellow running back Raheem Mostert added eight carries for 65 yards.
Defensively, the Miami defense held star Browns running back NIck Chubb to just 63 yards rushing, his second-lowest output this season.
Down 7-0, Tagovailoa orchestrated a scoring drive of his own. On first-and-10 from the Cleveland 13-yard line, Tagovailoa pump-faked, froze a defender, and found fullback Alec Ingold who tip-toed down the sideline and dove into the end zone for the touchdown.
On the ensuing possession, a methodical Cleveland drive stalled when defensive tackle Zach Sieler stripped Chubb, allowing cornerback Xavien Howard to fall on the ball and give the Miami offense a short field.
A 39-yard field goal from Jason Sanders followed by a toe-drag touchdown catch from wide receiver Trent Sherfield extended the Dolphins' lead to 17-7 just before the halftime break.
Miami extended its lead once again on the opening possession of the second half, as Raheem Mostert capped a six-play, 70-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown run, stretching the lead to 24-7.
Cleveland kicker Cade York cut the deficit to 24-10 with a 37-yard field goal, but Miami responded again as Tagovailoa found star wideout Tyreek Hill for his second touchdown reception in as many games to take a 30-10 lead with 41 seconds to play in the third quarter.
M-V-P chants rained down throughout Hard Rock Stadium for Tagovailoa, who finished the day 25-of-32 for 285 yards and a 135.0 passer rating.
After Chubb broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, Miami, again, did not flinch.
Sanders nailed a 33-yard field goal and Wilson Jr. finished off his first home game as a Dolphin with a thrilling 20-yard touchdown run to seal the 39-17 victory.
Wilson Jr. and Mostert averaged an impressive 7.0 and 8.1 yards per carry, respectively.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett finished 22-of-35 for 212 yards and a touchdown and added seven carries for 40 yards.
With the win, which featured zero punts for just the fifth time in franchise history, the Dolphins improved to 7-3 for the first time since 2001.
Miami now enters its bye week and will return to action Sunday, Nov. 27 to host the Houston Texans at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on CBS.
