On a third-and-goal snap at the Las Vegas 8-yard line on Sunday, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa stepped out of a sack attempt by diving Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson and rolled to the left. The former Alabama All-American briefly tucked the football as he scrambled, then slowed to a passing posture and nailed wide receiver Tyreek Hill running parallel to him along the goal line for a touchdown.

Tagovailoa’s second touchdown pass of the game gave Miami a 17-6 lead with 4:13 to play in the third quarter on its way to a 34-19 victory and illustrated an element of Tagovailoa’s abilities that has come to the forefront since he returned from a four-game absence caused by a concussion.

“My biggest thing is he’s not fat anymore, so he can move,” Hill said of the quarterback. “He’s more mobile. I don’t know what more to say. He looks amazing.”

In the 2022 season, Tagovailoa missed five games because of two concussions. After that season, he worked on learning to fall and putting on weight in an attempt to better withstand the rigors facing an NFL pocket passer.

But this season, a leaner, more nimble QB has been on display for the Dolphins.

“I think what he’s done is a great job of knowing where I’m at in my progression, where do I need to get the ball,” Miami offensive coordinator Frank Smith said, “and then when you break the pocket and you move: Where are my people at and how are we distributing towards it? Because that’s the big thing. Playing with (Ben) Roethlisberger in college, it was constant, that back-and-forth and we learned how to block for him because we all worked down. Our guys learn, ‘OK, hey, if he has to vacate the pocket’ — like you saw in the touchdown — ‘how do we get in phase to it?’ So a lot of growth from last week for the guys and just working together and understanding.”

Since Tagovailoa’s return to the field, the Dolphins have split four games, with the two losses coming on field goals on the final snap and with five seconds to play.

During the four games, the Miami offense has scored 21 times – 12 touchdowns and nine field goals – on 35 possessions. That scoring rate of 60 percent has been the best in the NFL during the four-game span. The rate is even better if four end-of-half/end-of-game possessions that weren’t played to a score, punt or turnover conclusion are removed from the calculation.

The victory over the Raiders was the second in franchise history in which Miami did not punt or lose a turnover.

Hill said Tagovailoa’s ability to extend plays with his feet has played a part in the Dolphins’ scoring success. The former West Alabama standout thinks the speed of Miami receiving corps makes the Dolphins more dangerous in scramble mode.

“I think that’s where the big plays happen,” Hill said, “and, obviously, Tua knows that whenever we’re down the field and he breaks outside the pocket, it’s very hard for a defensive back to keep up with whoever it is — me, (Jaylen) Waddle, Odell (Beckham Jr.), Jonnu (Smith), De’Von (Achane), whoever it is — down the field, because those extended plays are the ones that we really want and something that we’ve been harping on this whole entire offseason.”

The Dolphins will try to build on the momentum of their first back-to-back victories of the season when they play the New England Patriots in an AFC East game at noon CST Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

New England has a 3-8 record while the Dolphins are 4-6. In the AFC playoff standings, Miami is the second team out and trails the Denver Broncos by 1.5 games with seven games remaining on the Dolphins’ regular-season schedule.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.