The Miami Dolphins came away from last week's 20-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders with a clear mission: refocus during a short week for a road game against a divisional opponent.
That focus and attention to detail in the four days between games proved to be essential Friday night as the team improved to 8-3 for the second consecutive season with a 34-13 win over the New York Jets.
Here's what Head Coach Mike McDaniel, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle had to say after the victory.
Offensive Takeaways
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(On the team's offensive performance in the second half) – "Coming into the second half, I was very proud of how we were operating offensively. When we did get opportunities from the defense, we stayed in a long drive and ended that with points. Very proud of our O-line. Very proud of our run game. And very proud of this team. It's hard to win road games, especially against a team like this, a division game. Very proud of our guys."
WR Jaylen Waddle
(On he and WR Tyreek Hill each recording 100+ yards receiving) – "We try to go out there and perform every week. Sauce (Gardner) and D.J. (Reed) are two of the top corners in this League, so going into the week, got to prepare. Luckily for us, we have two of the best corners that we face on a weekly, with (Jalen) Ramsey and X (Xavien Howard), so really get us prepared throughout the week to face top corners like Sauce (Gardner) and D.J. (Reed)."
Defensive Takeaways
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(On the trajectory of the Dolphins defense) – "I think since Week 8, up until this game, we've been number one in the league in defense stopping the run and I think that epitomizes the whole team. What they're doing is what we've identified as what we want to do and that's progress and continue to get better as the season progresses."
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(On S Jevon Holland's interception return) – "Yeah, that was crazy. I don't think I've seen something like that before to end a half. Normally the guy either goes down, takes it to the half, or he'll return it to a certain point and then get tackled. But to see Jevon take that, that was definitely game-changing. That was very good that we could end it with points in that sense going into the half."
WR Jaylen Waddle
(On big plays from the defense) – "It means a lot, sometimes offense helps our defense, defense helps our offense. Defense is playing lights out. They haven't allowed much the last couple of weeks, so going into today we really wanted to challenge ourselves to match their energy."
For more analysis on Sunday's game against the New York Jets, listen to the latest episode of Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
