With another standout performance, Tyreek Hill is off to the best start ever for a wide receiver
One hundred fifty-yard performances and creative touchdown celebrations are becoming the norm for Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill this season.
The latest came in Miami’s 42-21 win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. After catching a 41-yard touchdown pass toward the end of the second quarter, Hill raced behind the end zone and grabbed a cellphone from an NFL content creator with whom he has personally worked. Hill then hit a backflip while holding the phone, adding to the list of notable prop celebrations in the history of the league.
“It’s just one of those things that kind of happened,” Hill said. “I saw the camera and I just took it from him and he didn’t want me to take it from him. So I just called my shot.”
The act, which was recorded on the phone and surfaced on social media midgame, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Hill, his second in as many weeks. And after the victory, Hill acknowledged another sizable fine was likely coming from the league office.
“I know the NFL is going to fine me for [it], but it’s worth it, though, just being able to create memories I can look back on when I’m done playing is always something I think of each and every time I play this game,” he said. “Every time I step on the field, I’m going to try to make it memorable.”
And it was another outing full of highlights for Hill. He caught six passes for a game-high 163 yards, his fifth game this season with at least 150-plus receiving yards and the 13th in his career. And Hill’s 814 yards is the most by a wide receiver through the first six games of a season in NFL history.
Before the season, Hill on multiple occasions stated his desire to achieve the league’s first 2,000-yard receiving season. And he remains on track for that feat, on pace for 2,306 yards. Calvin Johnson currently holds the record for most receiving yards in a season, totaling 1,964 in 2012. Hill’s 130.2 receiving yards per game — if maintained over the rest of the season, would also be an NFL record, besting Wes Chandler’s 129-yard-per-game mark in 1982.
“Obviously the credit doesn’t only go to myself,” Hill said. “Like we have such a tremendous team, and it’s so well-rounded that it gets me open with the offensive creativity that [head coach] Mike [McDaniel] draws up each and every week, him and [offensive coordinator] Frank [Smith], they do a great job, and also having the playmakers around also plays into that.
“Obviously, the offensive line is playing great ball up front, so that’s also a key, and then [quarterback] Tua [Tagovailoa]. Like Tua, I just feel like the way he’s been playing over the past few weeks — well, ever since I’ve been here, he’s been lights out. All of that plays into me playing well. I know a lot of people will say, ‘Reek, it’s all because of you.’ It’s not, man. It’s really because I’m on a really good team.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2023 at 5:44 PM.
