Tyreek Hill believes he is enjoying the best season of his NFL career after he took another major stride towards a historic 2,000-yard campaign in Sunday's win for the Miami Dolphins over the Washington Commanders.
The Dolphins receiver made five catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the 45-15 victory to raise his numbers on the year to 92 receptions for 1,481 yards and 12 touchdowns through 12 games.
He made note of his desire to post 2,000 yards ahead of the campaign, and come December that target remains feasible as he remains on course to break Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving record of 1,964 yards. No player has ever posted 2,000 receiving yards in NFL history.
Hill, who recorded a career-high 1,710 receiving yards in 2022, not only boosted his pursuit of the milestone but enhanced his outside MVP case amid the possibility of a first non-quarterback winner since Adrian Peterson in 2012.
"I believe I am having my best season, even if I didn't have the numbers, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I'm doing a great job of being in the right spot for the quarterback and making sure I'm doing a great job blocking and just understanding this whole offense," Hill told media on Sunday.
"This past offseason, I really had a chance to just look back and just understand my mistakes from last year and I took it head on. I'm the type of player, I put a lot of accountability on myself and I feel like as one of the leaders on this team, I just had to step up and be better.
"Obviously, the stats looked good last year, but there was a lot of room for improvement, and I was like, 'you know what? I'm not going to settle for that. I feel like I can be a whole lot better.'"
Miami's star receiver torched the Commanders in the first half with a 78-yard catch-and-run touchdown during which quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had the option of both Hill and De'Von Achane, who had bought himself six yards of separation on the opposite side of the field. Hill explained how Tagovailoa had quickly switched his receiver's route to a fade after spotting the lack of safety help over the top, underlining the pair's on-field understanding.
"Those guys (the defense) are great at what they do, and they also get paid. But at some point, it's like, I don't know man. I just appreciate it. Thanks for not respecting me, I guess," said Hill of Washington's coverage.
The duo later teamed up again for a 60-yard touchdown on third-and-seven to put the game out of reach before half-time.
"The second touchdown was surprising, I believe it was Cover 3, the way I ran my route I thought I ran it perfect but I had to adjust. Tua does a great job of throwing the ball exactly where it needs to be, I thought he was wrong but I went back and watched the film and was like 'bro you threw the ball exactly where it was supposed to be'," explained Hill.
With his pursuit of a landmark personal goal comes Miami's continue push towards Super Bowl contention, as they rise to 9-3 armed with an offense capable of dunking on the league's frontrunners.
"It's all about taking it one week at a time, each week is an opportunity, that's how we'll take it, one step at a time. We'll practice hard, play for one another and be deliberate. 9-3 is a beautiful thing, the way this league is, if you start getting complacent or feeling yourself it will catch up with you fast," said Hill.