Ten Things I Think on Miami Dolphins Victory Monday | Schad

When I woke up Monday morning, my first thought was, "Did that really happen?"

Yes, it did.

Tua Tagovailoa passed for six touchdowns. Miami overcame its largest road deficit in franchise history.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has begun his head coaching career with defeats of the Patriots and Ravens and Super Bowl-winning coaches Bill Belichick and John Harbaugh.

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The Dolphins are nationally relevant. The way ESPN and NFL Network and Fox Sports and Matt Hasselbeck and Chris Simms feel and speak about the Dolphins, and most specifically Tua, may have changed forever.

There is so much to talk about. And so much to write about. And so much to think about. Here are 10 of those things that are on my mind on this glorious Dolphins' Victory Monday:

The Dolphins are AFC contenders

Miami is 2-0 this season and 10-1 in its last 11 games overall.

Over their last 37 games played, the Bills and Chiefs are the only AFC teams with more wins than the Dolphins.

That's it.

Yes, Sunday's game at home against Buffalo is yet another opportunity to define a new era of Dolphins' football. Bring it on.

Miami can win a shootout

This will be required in the American Football Conference, which features star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Deshan Watson, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

The Dolphins won a game on Sunday in which their vaunted defense struggled. This is so important.

And you know what? It was a heck of a lot of fun. It was a throwback to the glory days.

Tua can throw the deep ball

Tua entered this season with 23 games played and 5 completions of 40 yards or longer, 1 for a touchdown.

This season, Tua has 2 games played and 5 completions of 40 yards of longer, including 3 for touchdowns.

Tua is healthier and stronger. Tua is more confident and better supported.

Tua has incredible weapons like Tyreek Hill. And what Tua is showing is that, yes, when called upon, he can throw a football far enough to win.

Tua will post excellent statistics

After only two weeks, Tua leads the NFL in passing yards and is tied for first in passing touchdowns.

My, how things have changed.

Tua is third in the NFL in yards per attempt and fourth in passer rating.

There seems little doubt that in this offense, with these teammates and coaches, Tua is going to reach any and all of his statistical goals this season.

Tua skeptics can eat a bit of crow

I don't subscribe to the notion that myself or any other journalist, analyst or former player, coach or executive who has scrutinized Tua's past performance is a "hater."

I strongly advocated, for months, that the Dolphins should draft Tua over Justin Herbert.

I, like almost all journalists, prefer interesting, exciting stories and certainly prefer to cover a winning quarterback and a winning team. And I also prefer to be proven right.

Tua's performance on Sunday will quiet some of the noise surrounding Tua's ability to perform at an elite level. In no way does that mean that harsh analysis and skepticism was unwarranted, biased or "hate."

Mike McDaniel really is as smart as they say

When you're hired and a bunch of folks you worked with cite a "genius" and compare your teaching methods to "Mister Miyagi" of Karate Kid fame, that's not easy to live up to.

McDaniel is.

His scheme is working and will continue to work. After Sunday's game, Hill said McDaniel calls play like he's playing a game of "Madden." Love it.

The Dolphins can actually out-scheme you on offense in 2022.

But what also is working is how Mike connects with people and most importantly of course, his players.

Would Miami have come back from down 35-14 in the fourth quarter if McDaniel hadn't made Tua feel supported and believed in? No chance.

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Tyreek and Waddle, NFL's best receiving duo

The Dolphins drafted Jaylen Waddle to be their Tyreek Hill and now they’re both running wild out there in aqua and orange.

On Sunday, that Jaylen Waddle looked like Alabama Jaylen Waddle.

It was a different Waddle.

Waddle and Hill posted numbers even the great Mark Duper and Mark Clayton did not in the Dan Marino era. These two speedsters have the talent to eventually eclipse them in Dolphins' lore.

We'll see if it happens. But, yes, they are that talented.

There is a role for Mike Gesicki

This season may not go smoothly for Mike Gesicki and the Dolphins. In fact, it probably won't.

But McDaniel needs to find a way to keep Gesicki on board mentally when everyone knows his skill set is simply not a match for this offense.

How does he do that? Well, McDaniel can stress to Gesicki that he can be a key cog as as big receiver on third downs and, even more importantly, in the red zone.

Gesicki is tall and athletic for his position. And McDaniel is going to figure out a way to use his strengths.

Dolphins' short-yardage superpowers

Miami's defense was not good overall on Sunday.

But there were two key fourth-down stops made by the Dolphins, including one in the fourth quarter that kept the game alive when maybe Harbaugh should have punted.

On that play in the fourth quarter, Elandon Roberts and Trey Flowers were officially credited with the stop. But the bottom line is, when the Dolphins are in goal-line defense on 3rd-and-1 or 4th-and-1, they have been outstanding in recent years.

That's in a large part a credit to players such as Raekwon Davis, Zach Sieler and Christian Willkins, who can all be very impactful against the inside run.

Things are different now

This is because McDaniel arrived as head coach and he hired a solid staff.

This is because general manager Chris Grier pulled off the blockbuster trade for Hill.

This is because Tua is on track to be better than Brian Flores ever thought he could.

It's because many, though not all, of Miami's stockpile of draft picks, are playing at a high level.

The Dolphins are more fun. They're more exciting. And they are better.

At this point, everyone should expect to see the Dolphins in the next NFL postseason.

Sunday's game

Bills at Dolphins

1 p.m., CBS

Joe Schad is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Ten Things Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Mike McDaniel