Tua Tagovailoa maintained his scorching form since his return from a concussion, throwing three touchdown passes as the Miami Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns 39-17 on Sunday for their fourth straight win.
In a game that was a blowout by the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa connected with three receivers for his third straight three-touchdown performance.
“Tua is playing very, very high-level football,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “It’s phenomenal to watch.”
Since returning in Week 7, Tagovailoa has 10 TD passes and no interceptions. He finished with 285 yards on 25-of-32 passing Sunday.
The Browns (3-6) scored a touchdown on their opening drive, thanks in part to a 48-yard kickoff return by rookie Jerome Ford, but Miami tied the game on its first possession en route to scoring 24 straight points. Cleveland never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
“We really didn’t do any of the things you need to do versus that football team,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Cleveland’s Jacoby Brissett completed 22 of 35 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown against one of his former teams. Nick Chubb had 11 carries for 63 yards, including a 33-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Tight end Harrison Bryant caught the Browns’ other TD, a 1-yarder.
Wilson had a 33-yard run on the Dolphins’ 10-play, 84-yard opening drive, setting up Tagovailoa, who pump-faked and found fullback Alec Ingold for a 13-yard score.
“We knew they were unique in what they did, and they were going to throw a lot of different looks at us,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said. “It really kept us on the back foot, kept us hesitant, and they capitalized on that.”