INGLEWOOD—The most thrilling game of opening weekend of the 2023 NFL season was  between the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tyreek Hill’s 4-yard touchdown catch from Tua Tagovailoa with 1:45 to play served as the game-winner as the Dolphins survived a back-and-forth fourth quarter and prevailed 36-34 over the Chargers on Sunday, September 10 from SoFi Stadium.

It was a duel starring Chargers Quarterback Justin Herbert and Miami Dolphin QB Tua Tagovailoa. Tua won this shootout in the final two minutes.

Tagovailoa racked up 466 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 28-of-45 passing, and Hill finished with 11 catches for 215 yards and two scores for Miami (1-0) in the ecstatic season-opening victory.

In his first game under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, the Chargers offense was in rhythm and effective. Keenan Allen had six catches for 76 yards. Austin Ekeler accounted for 164 yards from scrimmage, recording 16 carries for 117 yards with a touchdown and four catches for 47 yards.

Joshua Kelley had 16 carries for 91 yards with a TD, as the Chargers ran the ball well throughout.

The game saw seven lead changes and two ties, but the Chargers (0-1) had control early in the fourth quarter when Joshua Kelley punched it in from 2 yards out for a 31-27 lead with 14 minutes to go.

The Dolphins answered with Jason Sanders’ 45-yard field goal, and Herbert led the Chargers on a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ate up 6:10 of game clock but only resulted in Cameron Dicker’s 25-yard field goal to make it 34-30.

Herbert went 23-for-33 passing for 228 yards as Los Angeles thrived in the run game, though, as Ekeler took 16 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown, and Kelley added 16 for 91 yards and his score.

The Dolphins had plenty of offensive success against the Chargers on Sunday, but still found themselves down 34-30 late in the fourth quarter.

On third-and-10 from Miami’s 25 with 3:47 left, Tagovailoa stepped up in the pocket and found Hill streaking down the right sideline for a 47-yard gain. He got the team to first-and-goal on the 9-yard line with a 15-yard completion to River Cracraft.

On third-and-goal, Tagovailoa somehow found Hill in the back of the end zone, with Hill making a terrific grab to secure the score.

Herbert had one final opportunity to march the Chargers down the length of the field for a game-winning field goal, but the Chargers QB was flagged for intentional grounding when he fired a pass to no one on the right side to avoid the pass rush. He was sacked on second-and-21 for an 8-yard loss.

While a completion to Mike Williams made it a plausible fourth and twelve, Herbert was overwhelmed by the pass rush and sacked again to effectively end the game.

The Chargers will attempt to get on the winning column on Sunday, September 17 as they play the Tennessee Titans on the road with kickoff at 10 a.m.