NFL Winners and Losers: Dolphins hang 70 points on Broncos, Tua's MVP case gets a push

Jaylen Waddle was inactive for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. And that's when Tua Tagovailoa should have struggled, right?

For those who think Tagovailoa is just a product of his receivers, taking one of the best in the NFL away from him Sunday against the Denver Broncos should have led to a quiet day. It'll be hard for Tagovailoa's critics to explain what happened with Waddle out.

The Dolphins exploded on offense. Miami became the first NFL team since 1966 to put up 70 points. They're the fourth team in NFL regular-season history to hit the 70 mark. The Dolphins were closing in on the NFL team record of 735 yards in a game, set by the 1951 Los Angeles Rams. They had to settle for 726 yards as time ran out on their 70-20 stomping of the Broncos. They took a knee on fourth down in the final minute rather than run one more play for the record, which might have been just as embarrassing for the Broncos as allowing the 700+ yards and 70 points.

Before the first half was done, Tagovailoa was 16-of-16 for 202 yards, two touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Dolphins, who probably need to be recognized as one of the best teams in the NFL, scored a franchise record in points. Tagovailoa, who probably needs to be recognized as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, was good yet again.

Tagovailoa had 309 yards and four touchdowns, and he played just one play of the fourth quarter because the Broncos couldn't keep the game competitive. If the Dolphins were into padding his stats for a run at MVP, he could have put up plenty more.

Yes, Tagovailoa has Tyreek Hill to throw to and he's great. But his emergence as an MVP favorite this season is much more than just having a great receiver. Many other great quarterbacks have fantastic receivers to throw to and they don't get the "Yeah, but ... " treatment that Tagovailoa does.

Tagovailoa even showed off some style on a no-look touchdown flip to De'Von Achane.

That's a confident quarterback paired with an excellent play-caller in head coach Mike McDaniel.

Tagovailoa is the very early MVP candidate for a few reasons. The system allows for fast reads and he is processing quickly. His average time in the pocket of 2.1 seconds through two games was tied for second-lowest in the NFL among starters, behind only Trevor Lawrence, according to FantasyPros. He has taken only one sack through three games. That also helps keep him healthy.

Tagovailoa is also deadly accurate. Pro Football Focus tracks "big time throws," which are tight-window throws with excellent location. Through two weeks Tagovailoa had the second-best mark in that category. On Sunday, he didn't miss his first pass until 9:44 remained in the third quarter. He had completed his first 17 passes to that point.

Tagovailoa might not put up viral highlights of throwing a ball 70 yards downfield, but accuracy and reading a defense quickly are valuable skills too. And Tagovailoa is near the top of the league in those categories.

The Dolphins are rolling. Road wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots are solid. The Broncos might end up being a disaster but the best teams handle business against terrible teams and Miami wrecked Denver on Sunday. This offense is going to keep putting up yards and points. That will help Tagovailoa's case.

The Dolphins look good enough to make a run at the AFC East title and maybe even much more. And as long as Tagovailoa stays healthy, an MVP at the end of the season isn't out of the question either. A 70-point game for Miami will look good on his résumé.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 3 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

Kansas City Chiefs defense, again: The Chiefs allowed another touchdown, finally, but it didn’t take away from another stellar performance by a suddenly underrated group.

Sunday’s strong outing perhaps shouldn’t count because it came against the Chicago Bears, but we’ll still give a nod to the effort anyway. The Chiefs plastered the Bears and the defense looked really good again. They held the Bears scoreless for three quarters while Patrick Mahomes built up a 41-0 lead. The Bears scored 10 points in the fourth quarter but you can forgive the Chiefs for letting up a bit. They ended up with a 41-10 win.

Kansas City has played three games and if you don’t count a pick 6 from the Lions' defense in the opener, they’ve given up 33 points. The Bears are beyond bad but the Lions and Jaguars have good offenses and Kansas City’s defense did well against both of them. The Chiefs being good on both sides of the ball is a story that probably needs more attention.

Jonathan Gannon: Gannon got some grief for some viral clips over the offseason. It's a reminder that stuff doesn't matter.

Gannon has the Arizona Cardinals playing above their talent level. They couldn't close out a lead in either of the first two games, but Gannon got his first career win as a head coach in a surprising 28-16 upset of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cardinals played well, running for 222 yards. Joshua Dobbs had an efficient game throwing it. Had the Cardinals won either of their first two games, they'd be getting some love as one of the NFL's biggest surprises. On Sunday they did get that win, and showed again they won't be an easy out this season.

Jordan Love: In Week 2, Love and the Green Bay Packers couldn't put away a win after taking a 24-12 lead on the Atlanta Falcons. The Packers needed to move the ball a little bit in the fourth quarter and couldn't do it.

In Week 3, Love came up big.

The Packers were without four star players: receiver Christian Watson, running back Aaron Jones, left tackle David Bahktiari and cornerback Jaire Alexander. They fell behind 17-0 to the New Orleans Saints. Love didn't do much for three quarters. Nobody will remember the first three quarters after what happened in the fourth.

Love led the Packers in a comeback against the Saints, who had to play much of the game without Derek Carr after he was knocked out with an injury. Love led a field-goal drive and then two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur going for two after the Packers' first touchdown, they took an 18-17 lead on the extra point after their second touchdown. Then the Saints missed a field goal in the final two minutes and the Packers had a huge win.

Green Bay is 2-1. Love wasn't great Sunday. All that will matter is that he was good enough when it counted.

Buffalo Bills defense: The Bills' offense gets the attention, which overshadows a top-five defense.

The Bills' defense was outstanding Sunday. Buffalo was dominant in a win over the Washington Commanders. The offense was settling for field goals too often but it didn't matter. The defense wasn't allowing anything. And then defensive end A.J. Epenesa put the game away with a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Sam Howell was sacked nine times and threw four interceptions. When Buffalo's defense faces the Dolphins in two huge AFC East showdowns, it should be fun to watch.

Detroit Lions defense, too: It's probably unfair that the Lions had to endure questions about their legitimacy after their first loss of the season last week, but this is the Lions we're talking about. Everyone expects the worst.

Detroit is just fine. The defense, which didn't have a good day against the Seattle Seahawks last week, was excellent against the Atlanta Falcons in a key 20-6 win. Atlanta has a lot of star players but also big quarterback questions with Desmond Ridder, and the Lions exposed that. The Falcons gained just 183 yards.

The Lions already had the win over the Kansas City Chiefs in their back pocket, and now they're 2-1 after an impressive win over the Falcons. They're back on track.

Oh, and Cleveland's defense: The Browns' defense might be the best in the NFL. The group has played like it through three weeks. Cleveland tore apart the Cincinnati Bengals in the opener, would have beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 if Deshaun Watson didn't give the game away and then choked out the Tennessee Titans in an emphatic 27-3 win on Sunday.

The Browns didn't miss Nick Chubb on Sunday. His replacement Jerome Ford scored twice, Watson played better and the defense was amazing. Myles Garrett had 3.5 sacks, including a huge one near the end of the first half when the Titans had no timeouts left. That sack ended the half and the game got out of hand after that.

The Browns will need Watson to play well, to keep the offense afloat without Chubb. But the defense, with new coordinator Jim Schwartz, might make sure the offense doesn't need to do much heavy lifting.

LOSERS

Frank Reich and the Panthers: Carolina has had two quarterbacks in three games and nothing has worked.

Andy Dalton played pretty well in place of injured rookie Bryce Young, passing for 361 yards, but the result was the same. The Panthers lost 37-27 to the Seattle Seahawks.

It wasn’t going to be a quick fix for Reich, but it’s still a bad way to start his second head coaching gig. The Panthers are 0-3 and have a lot of issues on each side of the ball. It might be a while before they win, no matter who is at quarterback.

Doug Pederson vs. DeMeco Ryans: Ryans had this team ready Sunday. Pederson did not.

The Houston Texans started 0-2 and it didn't seem like Ryans, a rookie head coach, would get his first win Sunday. Pederson's Jacksonville Jaguars were 7.5-point favorites. But the Jaguars were horrible. For the second straight week the offense missed several plays it should have made. The defense wasn't much better. It allowed Tank Dell to run wide open downfield on a 68-yard touchdown that effectively sealed the 37-17 win. And the Jaguars' special teams allowed fullback Andrew Beck to return a kickoff for a touchdown. Jacksonville wasn't ready to play in any way.

Ryans got his first win. It's a young roster that should continue to get better. Sunday should give the Texans a boost of confidence. The Jaguars, on the other hand, seem to be a bit of a mess.

New York Jets repeating last season: When the New England Patriots scored on a busted coverage, getting a 58-yard touchdown to tight end Pharaoh Brown, they led 10-0. There was more than 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter. And the Jets had to know the game was over.

The Jets can't move the ball with Zach Wilson and they definitely can't depend on scoring any touchdowns. The Jets' first five possessions resulted in one first down and five punts. They had 39 yards in the first half and were averaging 1.4 yards per play.

New York put together one touchdown drive and trailed 13-10 in the fourth quarter. Wilson had a chance to erase the memories of a bad day with one drive to win it. Instead, he threw incomplete twice and then held the ball too long in his own end zone, where he was sacked for a safety. The Patriots went on to win 15-10.

The Jets know it won't get much better with Wilson at quarterback. It wouldn't be a surprise if they start making calls this week to see if anything else is available.

The 0-3 Vikings: The Los Angeles Chargers-Minnesota Vikings contest seemed like an elimination game. A 1-2 start isn't great but 0-3 is a lot worse.

The Vikings had their chances. And somehow the Chargers didn't blow the game like usual.

But they tried. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley went for it on fourth-and-1 deep in his territory late in the game and didn't get it. Had the Vikings won, Staley's hot seat would have been scorching. But Kirk Cousins threw an interception on first-and-goal at the 6-yard line and the Chargers held on to win 28-24. Keenan Allen led the way with 18 catches for 215 yards and also a 49-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.

The Vikings were an unbelievable 11-0 in one-score games last season. This season they're 0-3. They'll start to win some of those close games, but it might be too late.

Baltimore Ravens' hot start: The Ravens looked great during a 2-0 start to the season, then were at home against an Indianapolis Colts team without Anthony Richardson at quarterback. But 3-0 didn't happen.

The Ravens lost 22-19 in overtime to the Colts, a surprising outcome on a Sunday afternoon that had a few upsets. Justin Tucker was surprisingly short on a long field-goal attempt near the end of regulation, then the Colts and Ravens traded failed fourth-down attempts near midfield in overtime. The Ravens' fourth-down incompletion, which could have been pass interference but wasn't called, led to Matt Gay of the Colts hitting a 53-yard winner.

The Ravens will be fine. But in a tough AFC North, they might regret that loss.