Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes of 78 and 60 yards to wide receiver Tyreek Hill as the Dolphins coasted to a 45-15 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Tagovailoa found Hill behind the Washington secondary on Miami’s third snap of the game for a 7-0 lead with 9:28 to play in the first quarter, and the former Alabama All-American and West Alabama standout hooked up for another long TD connection for a 17-7 lead with 9:14 left in the first half.

“The depth perception that Tua has down the field is pretty rare,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said, “so he can really feel when a post safety is not at the depth they need to be. And for him to be able to do that under duress is why he’s doing some special stuff on the football field.”

In the first half, Tagovailoa completed 12-of-15 passes for 215 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a passing-efficiency rating of 158.3, which is the highest that can be achieved under the NFL system.

Miami led 31-7 at halftime, and Tagovailoa gave way to backup Mike White with 9:47 to play.

Hill entered the game leading the NFL with 1,324 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions in 2023, and he added 157 yards and two TDs to his totals with five receptions against Washington.

“The connection between Tua and Tyreek in terms of two players playing together is about as good as I’ve ever been around,” McDaniel said, “hence some of the plays they’re able to make each and every week.”

Tagovailoa finished the game 18-of-24 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His passing-efficiency rating of 141.0 was the second-highest of his career, behind the 155.8 posted in a 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sept. 24.

With three interceptions in the past two games, Tagovailoa already had tied his career high of 10 entering Sunday’s game.

“Really, the whole team knew Tua was going to come out and have a day like this with the way that he operates and the way he’d been frustrated with turning the ball over,” McDaniel said. “To be that aggressive while having that burden of frustration is exactly what you hope for with your starting quarterback. We have to learn from things and have lessons, scars.”

Tagovailoa pushed his streak of games with a touchdown pass to 21, six games longer than any other Alabama alumnus has reached in the NFL.

“I just went out there and played the way I normally play,” Tagovailoa said. “… I don’t think you can go out there and be timid and expect to push the ball downfield and expect to score points that way, so I just went out there and literally took what the defense gave me.”

At 9-3, the Dolphins play the Tennessee Titans at 7:15 p.m. CST Dec. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, in Week 14′s Monday night game.

Last season, Miami also got to its 12th game with an 8-3 record. The Dolphins lost to the San Francisco 49ers 33-16 to trigger a five-game losing streak.

“I think everybody is locked in,” Tagovailoa said. “I think everyone is starting to handle their job, not more seriously, but everyone’s starting to do a little more. You see guys staying a little longer watching film together. … You see a lot of position groups meeting and staying back a little longer. You’re starting to see a lot of guys stay out on the field a little longer as well. I think that’s what Mike is seeing is everyone knows we can do something special this year. No one on our team is trying to waste that opportunity.”

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