Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle goes 84 yards for big Christmas Day touchdown

MIAMI — For the second week in a row, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle showcased why he might be the best No. 2 passing-game option in the NFL. Waddle took a pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa 84 yards to the end zone for the Dolphins’ longest play of the season.

On the first play of their second drive of the game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Tagovailoa found Waddle on a 10-yard slant, and Waddle took it from there, hitting a top speed of 21.68 mph — tied for the sixth-fastest recorded time of any ball carrier this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

His 69 yards after the catch over expectation is the most for any player this season and the most by a Dolphins player since 2016, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Waddle entered the game with the eighth-most receiving yards in the NFL.

Tagovailoa tied a franchise record on the play with his fifth touchdown pass of at least 50 yards, tying Dan Marino and Bob Griese. He has thrown a touchdown of at least 60 yards in each of the Dolphins’ past four games. Miami also leads the league in such touchdowns after completing just one last season.

The aerial display continued in the second quarter when Tagovailoa found wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a 52-yard completion that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeff Wilson Jr. on the next play. The reception set both a single-season career high for Hill and a franchise single-season record with 112.

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