Alec Ingold – January 1, 2024
Monday, January 1, 2024
FB Alec Ingold
(This team has been good at shaking off losses. Did you sense any hangover today over yesterday among the guys?) – “No. I think we’ve been trained for this. I think we’ve been preparing all year for this and one thing, one of the team rules – you guys probably hear it all the time – is adversity is an opportunity. And for me, going back to my upbringing, I was taught that in life, you’re either walking into a storm, you’re in a storm or you’re walking out of one. That’s life. It’s a series of storms. And this team and this season, I mean, you could feel like you’re in a storm. And the trust and calm and confidence and courage that you have in that storm throughout the tough times – the highs and the lows, the tough weather, the adversity – you grow from that. You find solace and confidence and courage to put yourself back out there because you have strength in numbers, because you have a team, because you’re trained for it, because you’re created to play this game. And when you get a bunch of guys that don’t hesitate, don’t blink in the storm, they trust each other. That’s why you can bounce back from a lot of things that we’ve bounced back from this year. So I think it all goes into how we’ve been trained, how we’ve come together and it’s another test, and it’s another opportunity for us to learn from whatever happened yesterday and use that to move forward in the storm. I don’t want this storm to end anytime soon. I want six more weeks of this thing. And I think if you think that way, you embrace it, you lean into it, that’s where you can find that wild confidence of like, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. You have the courage to put yourself back out there.”
(Wanting the storm to run through Hard Rock Stadium?) – “One hundred percent.”
(How much of the focus is it to make sure that happens for at least two games in the playoffs?) – “Yeah, I mean, it’s huge and that’s the goal. You get an opportunity to go play basically another playoff game. And that’s the approach that you can have to play for the AFC East, to play a Buffalo Bills team that we’re really familiar with that we haven’t gotten to play since however long ago, and a lot has changed since then. So to be able to use this game as everything that you need moving forward into that playoffs, you don’t want to you don’t want to let off the gas. It’s not time for that. It’s Week 18. You want to play your best football. I’ve talked about this multiple times in here. In December and January, you want to play your best football and to get another opportunity to do that with the guys in the room like, man, sign me up. I’m excited. I can’t wait. I’m just going to be waiting all day for that Sunday night football game.”
(When that schedule came out, did you get a sense that Week 18 against the Bills was going to have a lot riding on it?) – “You’re saying at the beginning of the year?”
(Yeah, when you see the Bills the last game, did you feel like this game was going to be important, a lot riding on it probably?) – “Yeah, any time you’ve got the Bills, it’s a great time. It’s a division rivalry. We played them three times last year. You get to play them a couple times this year and that’s what’s guaranteed so when you look at the schedule and you see where the division games are and you get one of those guys late in the season, it’s a great opportunity for the guys to show the growth from the entire season and put it all out there the last regular season game.”
(In both the Baltimore and Buffalo games, the two games that got lopsided on you guys, we heard the term pressing a lot from the offense in terms of the game kind of got wonky on the defensive side, you guys pressed and mistakes happened, the score gets to be what it is. How do you approach removing the idea of pressing? How do you attack not getting yourself into that situation in the future?) – “That’s a good question. I think when you talk about pressing, it sounds like a lot of guys really trying and caring about making every single play. And when you are allowing the game to come to you, when you are relying on your fundamentals, technique, playing smart, fast, physical, elite technique football, pressing isn’t in one of those key words, right? I think it’s just a lot of guys that really care about ball, really care about each other. And then just having that ultimate trust that when it’s your time and your number’s called, that’s your play to make. I think that’s what it’s going to come down to, is the fundamentals and in trusting one another to be able to put out good stuff and good execution.”
(We saw LB Bradley Chubb get injured when I guess you could say the game was out of hand. What are your thoughts on staying out there on the field and in those situations as a starter? Do you want to be out there or would you rather sit and take the work off your body?) – “I come from a place where the opportunity of a lifetime is only there for the lifetime of the opportunity. The NFL is not for long, right? I’m five years in and I take every single day, every single rep, every single practice, I live with that and I give it my all. So I think the standard here that’s been set is you want to play as much as you can. You want every single opportunity to be – that next play is going to be the best play of the day, best play of the year, and every single opportunity to be at where your feet are. So I don’t think anybody here takes the opportunity to play, to execute, to be there for one another, lightly. And I think that’s the standard we’ve set. The injury rate in the league is 100 percent. You feel for Bradle and all the circumstances that are because of that situation, that circumstance, your heart is ripped for that guy. Such a great year, such a great leader. But every guy in the room, now it’s another guy you play for. It’s another person that embodies what it means to be a Dolphin and every time we get that opportunity to strap up, you’re playing with that training, you’re playing with that guy with you. And I think that’s the strength in numbers.”
(Did you see the Ravens do anything different adjusting to your motion pre-snap?) – “Yeah I mean obviously the Ravens are a really well-coached team. Zach Orr is their linebacker coach and I played with his little brother Chris Orr, who I know very, very well. And any time you have in-game adjustments, that’s the chess match that goes on in the game. So adjustments are made and obviously they made them throughout the game of motions and snap points and defensive fronts. And that’s everything that you train for. That’s why you watch tape. That’s why you prepare so much. That’s why we’re in the building all day, every day, all week. So I think whatever a defense wants to put out there, whatever play they want to call, we got to execute with it. Just rolling with those adjustments as best we can is going to be a challenge for us moving forward. But like I said earlier, you lean into that. You want it. That’s why you play ball.”
(How different is the offense from I think it was Week 4 when you played the Bills versus to where you guys are at now?) – “That’s a good question. I think any time earlier in the year, especially September football, it’s going to be good weather. You’re still trying to figure out who’s going to be the playmakers, what types of techniques we’re using, what plays you get to call and the amount of wrinkles that get added throughout it. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of our fundamentals, our techniques are the same. The assignments might look a little bit different, but I think you build confidence in the amount of reps that you go through and I don’t think anybody’s taken reps, just out there just doing whatever they want, right? Every single rep is intentional. It builds towards something. It’s purposeful. So I think that’s what we get the opportunity to do Week 18, is show all of that intentional work and how it’s grown throughout the year, to have an identity on offense and to play to our skill set.”
Cedrick Wilson Jr. – January 1, 2024
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Monday, January 1, 2024
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.
(What would you say is the mood of the group today?) – “I mean, anytime after a loss you come in and you watch the film and see what the problems were. I feel like everyone is definitely hitting on that right now and just soaking in what happened, because it definitely was not our standard. All we can do is move forward because we’ve got an even bigger game this week.”
(What do you think led to the offense or the passing game being out of sync?) – “I feel like we just got off schedule. I think the one drive where we didn’t go down and drive like we did the first drive kind of got us off schedule and then we started pressing and didn’t hit the plays that we needed to hit. Everybody has to be accountable for their own plays and I feel like once we get everybody back in the groove and everybody’s moving forward, then we’ll be back to what everyone’s used to seeing.”
(Did the Ravens do anything unique to maybe shift towards your motion with their signals?) – “I feel like they had their defensive plan and they came out there and obviously ran it to the best of their ability and the outcome was that.”
(When you’re pressing in that situation, what do you guys say to one another in terms of – I guess the score doesn’t help the pressing, but how do you say to one another, ‘let’s say composed and let’s stay and be who we are?’) – “I mean, we say exactly that. Just going off of what Coach Mike (McDaniel) says, not one person’s going to win the game. Not one person’s going to lose. Let’s all work collectively and that’s what we have to do in those moments. I feel like we caught ourselves in that a couple of times when we didn’t need to. That moment is going to come up again and we’re going to have to handle it the right way because the game is going to matter.”
(It seems like in the locker room, you guys are really close. How does that closeness help you, knowing what’s in front of you and where you’re at this season?) – “I feel like way back to OTAs, when you’re with a group of guys and you know the person next to you is going to give all-out effort – you don’t know the rhyme or reason, you don’t know why he does it, but you know he’s going to give his all. That’s the type of guys you want to play with and I feel like that’s from top to bottom.”
(Knowing that it comes down to the division in primetime, is there any added pressure for you guys, knowing how well you also have played at home?) – “I feel like there’s no pressure. The pressure is go out there and win the game. Don’t lose. I feel like that’s the only pressure there is.”
(What was different offensively yesterday? You guys didn’t have WR Jaylen Waddle or RB Raheem Mostert. I think that’s the biggest skill player deficit that you’ve had going into a game. What was different? Was there a different feel or a different way you had to attack?) – “I feel like those are two big playmakers in this league, not just on our team. So when you take guys off the field like that, that are a big play away from when they touch it, it’s definitely going to hinder you in some sort of way. I feel like we know what bullets we’re going out there with on game day and we’ve got to use them the proper way.”
(What do you like most about a Sunday night matchup?) – “Personally, I like primetime games. Everybody is watching. That’s what you fall in love with as a kid. Primetime games, that’s what you’re watching around the holidays and you want to see big plays be made and you want to see a good game, and you want to come out victorious.”
(What do you do with the extra time on Sunday?) – “Stay off my feet because they’re going to be in use.”
(What’s this stretch been like for you? When you got here last year, you were kind of a sparingly used punt returner and now you have a prominent role in the offense, and you’ve had one for a while. What has this process been like for you?) – “It’s kind of been the same as my whole career just in general. I was in Dallas for four years and didn’t really get to play much until my last two years. Just like here, I’ve only been here for two (years). When the time comes and plays need to be made, that’s what I prepare for every day even if it is not getting an opportunity on game day.”
(From having played the Bills four times in the last 16 months, any comfort in terms of knowing their defensive system from an offensive player and receiver’s perspective?) – “Just knowing the plan they’re going to have of what they’re going to stop. Simply going out there and trying to execute against their execution, because they’re going to have a defensive plan that they’re going to know to a T and we have to go out there and perform our offensive plan.”
DeShon Elliott – January 1, 2024
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Monday, January 1, 2024
S DeShon Elliott
(This team has really been good at shaking off losses, the limited number there have been, and responding well. Do you sense that will be the case even though yesterday I’m sure was disheartening?) – “I think we are a resilient team. I know we’ll bounce back because I believe in the guys. I think with that bad taste being in our mouth, it’s just going to fuel us to be better. We made a lot of mistakes yesterday, but a lot of those mistakes I felt we did to ourselves. We’ll get back to the drawing board and try to be the best version of ourselves and I think we can do that.”
(What was the message today?) – “I was talking to Jevon (Holland) last night. I was just like, it’s like when you go to school, you have a bad day at school, you come home and your parents bring out that belt. They put that belt on us yesterday. It just makes you realize that you’re blessed. You’ve just got to get back to the basics and do your job. When we do our job at a high level, that’s when we’re the best version of ourselves. We’ve just got to play within yourself. Don’t try to do too much.”
(On that play that Ravens WR Zay Flowers got open, the 75-yarder. What happened? It looked like you were on the field and you guys were looking at each other like somebody was where they weren’t supposed to be.) – “Miscommunication. Like I said, we weren’t playing within ourselves. We weren’t playing team football the way we’ve been playing the last eight or nine weeks at a high level so I think that – and I want to apologize for my frustration on that play – I shouldn’t be showing that type of frustration on the field, but I did. It shouldn’t happen. But it happened. We’ll get it fixed. We’ve gotten it fixed. We’ve just got to move on.”
(Playoffs secured obviously, but now it’s going to be down to a primetime game against a division rival, the Bills. Is there extra motivation knowing it’s at home, it’s primetime, you guys want to finish at least the regular season hopefully clinching the No. 2 seed. I know sometimes that doesn’t matter, but is there any added pressure to that?) – “Of course you want to win the division and also you want to play as many games as you can in the playoffs at home so it means a lot. Being able to do that would be big for us. Just getting that bad taste out of our mouth, it would be great for us to finish the season with a win going into the playoffs. With what happened with (Bradley) Chubb, I’m praying for my dude, but with that happening, we want to be able to move on and hopefully something good can come out of that. We’ve got young guys on our team who can step up, rise up, and I think with this next game, with our preparation, if we go into it the right way, that it won’t be a snowball effect. We’ll just be able to play at a high level again. So I think it’ll be great, not just for us individually but us as a team and as an organization.”
(With Bills QB Josh Allen – I know last week Ravens QB Lamar Jackson had a perfect passer rating. Josh actually had a perfect passer rating against you guys last time you faced him. How much ownership do you as a leader of the secondary take for when quarterbacks have that kind of level of success?) – “I mean, high. It’s all three levels – d-line, linebackers and DBs. When we are not playing together, that happens. I think that this is a different team than we were when we faced the Bills the first time obviously. With our preparation, I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be ok.”
(How big of a loss is LB Bradley Chubb?) – “Huge. I mean, Chubb was having a career year. Double-digit sacks. I think he was leading the league in forced fumbles. His energy, the approach he brings to the game, his fundamentals, just everything. He’s a great player, great teammate, great friend, great brother of mine. I think that’s going to go a long way. But he is also a leader in that d-line room. He has some young guys behind him who can step up, who can make plays, who can contribute to this team. I think with that being said, I think everyone will play harder, not just for each other but for him and for JP (Jaelan Phillips) as well. I think we’ll be ok.”
(I know it’s a next-man up league, but you guys have had bad luck with a run of injuries with LB Jerome Baker and LB Jaelan Phillips and now LB Bradley Chubb and CB Xavien Howard. How do you go forward when you know some of your best guys are down?) – “Shoot we are all in the NFL, so those other guys are here for a reason. They’re given an opportunity to make plays. Some guys that have wanted an opportunity all their life, they’re blessed to be here and never got a chance to get the opportunity. Now they have it. So with the right preparation, hopefully they will step up and do things that I know they can do and hopefully they believe in themselves that they can do.”
(What are your feelings on being out there on the field when LB Bradley Chubb got hurt? Overall, a player being out there on the field in those situations, do you want to stay out there as a defensive player or would you rather save the plays on your body?) – “Man, I’m blessed to play ball however many plays. I’ve been hurt a lot since I’ve been in the NFL. If they let me go out there on that field and touch that grass, I’m playing no matter what. If they are going to pull me out, I’ll come out. But shoot, I’m not coming out unless you’re going to tell me to come out. It is what it is.”
(And that’s the feeling for most of the defense from yesterday?) – “For sure, yeah. It happens sometimes. Injuries are part of the game. It doesn’t matter what the score is, injuries are part of the game. Of course we wish Chubb didn’t get hurt. We actually all did come out after that play, but it happens, man. It’s sad, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Mike McDaniel – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
On Bradley Chubb Injury Update: “We will have to get more information tomorrow. One of my least favorite things in this sport and for my role is seeing a competitor go down and then have to get a cart. It’s pretty emotional just in general but, we don’t really have the information exactly what it is. We’ll be able to find out tomorrow.”
On the decision making of playing starters late in a lopsided game: “It’s me. I mean, in hindsight, I would absolutely not have one of them out there if I had known that he was going to get hurt, for sure. That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look smart at all. The thinking behind it is the same as it kind of was last year against this team in this place, where I think we were down 35-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. When you are as close of a team as we are, and you know the players inside and out, there’s times in football games where it’s not about winning or losing or [if we] can come back. It’s about finishing the football game and having a taste of what our expectations were going into it. The team was very confident in themselves going into the game, with good reason. Our expectations fell very short. Hats off to the Ravens for really taking it to us. The guys were very frustrated. I think that my role on gameday is; you know, the players wanted to go back in and play and finish the right way heading into next week. I have the ability to tell them no on everything in this situation. There’s plenty of decisions that I’ll cross examine. It’s hard not to. I do that every week. It’s just with the amount of regard that I hold this position and the decisions I do make. The intent is always purposeful, and I made the call that the guys that went out there wanted to be out there. It’s one of those things that will forever be a part of the job, that as a competitor you understand that the results will always be what you have to be accountable for as they should. It’s not an exact science. There’s a part of it that you do have to literally take all of the information that you do have and make your best decision. I always do that with a high regard for everybody involved. There are times like this one, where it doesn’t look like … I would like to have a time machine for sure in that situation after the events occurred. You don’t know that when you go into it. You do the best you can. I think the players didn’t see the result of the game looking the way it did. They were hungry to get it right, and it didn’t work out for us. Right now, a lot of guys are hurting, as they should be. They’ve invested an unbelievable amount into the season. The biggest thing is that with a locker room like this, with those failed expectations, I know they’re going to grow closer, not farther apart. That’s important in this part of the year because we will have a divisional crown to play for next week. We will have to take everything that we’ve learned good, bad and indifferent and apply it next week. If we had said that after Week 4 or whatever that we’re going to play this Buffalo team again, and it will be the last game of the season for the [AFC East] division crown, I think everyone would have accepted that. That’s some perspective that I talked to the team about. Their eyes were laser focused; they will be eager to wash away this past game. The only way you can do that is to prepare for the next one.”
On CB Xavien Howard’s Injury: “We’ll get more information on that tomorrow. That happened early in the game; we know it has to do with this foot, but we are not exact on what it is.”
On his thoughts about the Baltimore Ravens throwing for touchdowns with such a big lead: “I don’t really have any thoughts in terms of the opposing team’s decision making. When you have a lead of multiple scores, you’re free to do whatever you want. We have to defend it, and we didn’t.”
On where the accountability lies for inconsistent offense play on the road: “I thought we started off fairly consistent. I think with circumstances within the game, there was a play or two where maybe we were forcing something. It did feel a little out of sorts right before the half. You have to really learn from each endeavor appropriately and not lump it into, you know, everything’s independent of each other. They had a good defensive plan. For the whole season, one of the reasons they’ve been so good as a team is defensively [is] they’ve been very opportunistic. We knew that, and ultimately, we played right into their hands. I wouldn’t say that’s a road thing. I look at road things as operations whether we’re getting out of the huddle, the communication and assignment-oriented stuff. I didn’t feel that. Maybe watching the tape, there might be some of that. I don’t know. On the field, it didn’t feel like it was, ‘Man this is something that’s caused because we’re not at home.’ I thought the orchestration of, the cadence, and the various snap counts, and we didn’t have any delay of game penalties or procedural stuff in the first half. I thought we were just going against a good defense. From that perspective, relative to the numbers that we put up this year, maybe it felt a little off kilter. Going against that defense, I thought it was productive enough, if you don’t turn the ball over, and if you’re playing all three phases cleanly. I thought the offense was doing its part. Once the turnovers came, they became a part of the problem, not the solution.”
On the defense allowing six touchdown passes: “Really for me, we pride ourselves on, ‘If you’re going to score, you’re going to have to earn it.’ What I mean by that is we haven’t had a run in touchdown or that many run in touchdowns as we had in this game, which is a function of tackling. It’s to their credit. They had a good game plan and for their players, that are pretty good, in space. I’m confident saying before watching the film, we’re not going to be happy with the way we tackled in open space. We have to get down to the bottom of that. I’m very confident that we will. We have a lot of talented, prideful, invested players that know that they’ve created with the Dolphins this season. We’ll be very highly motivated to get that stuff corrected in a short amount of time. That’s what it takes to get something like that corrected is high motivation because you don’t have that much time to do it.”
On the role of mentality and mental toughness going forward: “It’s everything. Situations like this where you go into a game with full belief in each other and the eventual outcome, but then it ends up monumentally in another direction. It’s a gut check for a football team. I feel very fortunate that I’m not nervous about it. Typically, you get nervous about guys just throwing in the towel because it’s hard to invest. It’s hard to believe and then have things fall short. Human nature is to care less, to maybe point a finger, or be in your little cocoon of security that it’s not your fault. I feel very blessed that we don’t have the people for that formula. Our guys are going to be individually very hard on themselves in a constructive manner. Throughout any NFL season that has been really successful that I’ve been a part of, there’s these types of moments. We’ve had a couple this season that had been pretty wrenching. This is probably the top of the list. Those things can be galvanizers to the ultimate end of your season. If you lean into it as a group, it brings you closer together because you just add to the list of people that don’t believe in you. What are you going to do with that? I think that’s very motivating. We have a lot of people that have chips on their shoulders in general from people saying they can’t do X, Y, or Z. This is the time to lean into that. I’m firmly confident that guys are going to approach it the way I would hope. This has kind of become our standard which is run from nothing. Own it. If you’re trying to do anything worthwhile, you have to assess, ‘Well it this hard?’ It is hard. That probably means this is your opportunity to separate yourself as a team and handle this in ways other teams wouldn’t. Not splintering, staying together which, I think with leaders the captains, the leadership council on this team, we don’t have anything to worry about. We need to recalibrate, get back together and press forward together. That’s the only way that outcomes like this don’t exist is when people really depending on each other and trusting each other and putting their focus and their mind in the appropriate direction, which is what I see all of our guys do time and time again. Expect nothing else.”
On the decision to make RB Raheem Mostert inactive: “That surprised [me]. I think you operate from patterns of past experiences. We’ve been in situations very similar. However, this time, he didn’t progress as much as he had in the past. He still wanted to go and didn’t want to hear that we were going to put him down. It was the best decision for the Dolphins and him because it just didn’t respond. He didn’t really respond the way he had in previous situations. It was kind of unanticipated. Not something I think anybody on offense or defense … There’s so much faith and trust in all of the [running] backs in our running back room that we were excited for the opportunity to try to take this one home for Raheem [Mostert] and for everybody else. It just didn’t work out that way. It was a little unexpected obviously as I talked to you guys throughout the week. We had to do right by him and the Dolphins in the past 48 hours.”
Christian Wilkins – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins
On what was wrong with the defense today: “It just wasn’t our best day; it was not a good outing. Whatever it is, we’ll get it fixed and we’ll watch the tape. Me, as a leader, on this defense, you know, and I’m one of the guys everyone looks to to take full responsibility. It starts with me; I’ve got to be better throughout the week in getting guys ready. I’ve got to be better on gameday, so I take full responsibility for everything that went on out there today. Whether I was involved in a play or not, you know, I take full accountability. We’ll be better moving forward.”
On how important next week is versus Buffalo: “We know what it could be, and you definitely embrace that. You know, 24-hour rule, like always, in this league – win, lose or draw. You know, get prepared for this one, it’ll be fun and exciting in a lot of ways. It will be a great test for us and a great opportunity for us, and you know, we’ll be excited and ready for this next one.”
On LB Bradley Chubb’s injury: “Bradley is a warrior. What he’s done this year has been great to see. I love playing with that guy. It’s always tough in those situations to see anyone get banged up. Again, I don’t know the extent of the injury or anything like that. But, you know, obviously, my thoughts and prayers and all that is with him. I had the chance to talk to him briefly and that’s my guy, man. I love Bradley and what he’s done for this team. Since, you know, obviously, joining last year.”
On the late touchdown Baltimore threw to TE Charlie Kolar: “It is what it is. You know, regardless of what they call in that situation and whatever the situation is, we’ve got to be ready to defend that. And a lot of that stuff, I mean, it is what it is. You know, we just got to put our best foot forward always while we’re out there.”
On his reaction to LB Bradley Chubb’s injury in real time: “You always want to fight until the end. Obviously, it’s a tough situation that went down and, you know, just, obviously, a tough situation. You always want to compete until the end, and you know, regardless of who’s out there, during those minutes, you’re always going to give it your all. Things happen in this game, it’s just, obviously, an unfortunate situation.”
Zach Sieler – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins DT Zach Sieler
On how the game went versus how we expected it: “[It was] just what you expect. The Ravens are going to play hard-nose football. They’re going to run the ball. They’re going to [play] their game. They did that, so obviously, we couldn’t stop them good enough today. [There is] a lot to correct.”
On the Ravens rotating offensive linemen: “It’s more to prepare for [and] to be ready for multiple different guys in similar spots. But, at the end of the day, it comes down to your technique and your fundamentals, and we just didn’t do that today.”
On his feelings about losing LB Bradley Chubb: “Prayers go out to him. God’s got a plan, and hopefully he’ll see that, and he can recover quick and come back stronger than ever. [It’s] just something you never want to see. It really kind of shook me, honestly – all of us, truly.”
On his emotions on playing a big game in Baltimore after starting his career here: “It’s always a huge game to me, no matter what. No hard feelings towards Baltimore. It’s just that I was here, so it always feels good to come here and play my best ball and show out. And sadly, me and my team [weren’t] able to do it today.”
On how they bounce back next week: “[It’s] just like any other week. Make the corrections, check the tape [and] really self-reflect. Obviously, we’ve got the [Buffalo] Bills next, and we’ve got to take it to them.”
On if the team felt like they were in the game after they got the score to 14-13: “Oh yes. I mean, you always have that feeling. I mean, last year, obviously, we all know how that went, and that’s the goal. You’re going to play every snap, no matter how the game goes, and that’s [because of] the name on the front of your jersey and in the back.”
Duke Riley – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins LB Duke Riley
On how they bounce back from a loss like this: “I have a lot of emotions going through my head right now. But at the end of the day, we’ve got a big game coming up this week. [There’s a] 24-hour rule in this league. You have got to look at the tape and look at the things that we can correct and the things that we did. Me, personally, looking at the things I could do better, you know, I gave up that first touchdown and that’s something I usually don’t do. So, I’ve got to get better. If we’re going to point the finger at anybody, we’re going to point it at me. We are not one to point fingers, so it’s just one of those things.”
On the belief in this team in the playoffs: “I believe in everybody on this team, including myself. It just wasn’t our day and that’s how the league is. The good thing about it is, you can get back to the drawing board and we [have] an opportunity against a great team in Buffalo. And, who knows, you know? If we keep going, we may see this team again. This is just how the game goes.”
On how they put a loss behind them: “Be a man and look at the film and see what you can do better and how you can do better. What can be done better throughout the week? In practice, what can be done to be better in all phases, you know? It wasn’t just one play that lost the game, it wasn’t just one person, so we lost as a team. We’re going to regroup as a team, just like we always do. A lot is going to be said, but who cares? You know, we will take it day-by-day, and we’ve got to be present every single day. Right now, I’m just thinking, you know, about Bradley [Chubb] in the moment. So, I’m just kind of messed up right now. That’s it.”
On losing Bradley [Chubb] and Jaelan [Phillips] from the defense: “Those guys are great guys, great leaders on this team. They’re guys, I don’t even know what to say. He [LB Bradley Chubb] is just an unbelievable guy, an unbelievable man. He comes to work every day, plays as hard as he can, and everyone can see it. That moment, you know, it’s just, I don’t know why things happen like that. But they happen, I guess, for a reason. I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for it. It’s just a lot going on right now, especially thinking about that man. He is a great teammate, you know, so it hurts when you lose a great man and a great teammate like that, especially somebody who’s been playing really well for us.”
On how they replace two edge rushers: “We got a lot of guys who can play ball. Our organization does a great job of picking people who can step in and play and who can play ball, you know? Those guys are obviously elite players. We got last week … I don’t know if it was last week or the week before, we pick up Melvin Ingram, we still have Emmanuel Ogbah, other guys as well, you know? And at the end of the day, it’s an 11-player game, so as long as we all do our job, which we didn’t do today, and as anyone can see, I’m starting with myself. I have to be a lot better, and I will be. I know everyone else will be as well. That’s just how we are and how we roll. We’re going to get back to the drawing board, put it behind us. We have a huge, huge, huge game coming up this week. We’ve got an opportunity to do something special with this team, [that] this organization hasn’t done in a while. That is going to be our focus, and at the end of the day, you can’t do anything about what happened, and we’ve got to move forward. That’s what everything in life, you know … Football teaches you so much about life. Especially when things hit you in the face and how you respond and how you react is who you are. So, I know the men that we have on this team and how we’re going to respond.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
On his shoulder: “Shoulder is good, shoulder is good. Just a little sore, that’s all.”
On what the feeling is in the locker room: “I think we came into this game with high hopes of playing the standard that we wanted to play. And when those standards aren’t met, it feels like it’s very disappointing. So, I would say in the locker room, that’s sort of the feel. You’ve got a lot of leaders, and a lot of the guys stepping up to get our guys going for next week and the games to follow. We’ve still got a lot of football left to play.”
On if the Ravens showed something different than what they saw on tape: “Not necessarily. We just needed to execute, and they did a better job.”
On what happened after the success of the first two drives: “It’s just staying consistent. That’s what this league is about, who can stay consistent the longest. And we weren’t able to put good drives together for a long period of time. So, we’ve just got to be better, in essence.”
On the two interceptions: “The first one, I sort of held my eyes a little long on the first interception. Then with the second interception, because of the score, they didn’t really need to do much. They try to keep everything in front of them – they were dropping, and that was just a poor decision on my part trying to throw it over a ‘backer to get that to Tyreek [Hill] when I could’ve just checked the ball down. So, I’ve got to be better on that part.”
On his thoughts on the next game being for the AFC East Division: “Any game we play, we want to win. We’ll go look at the film tomorrow, and we’ll see where we can do better. And then we’ll move on to the Bills.”
On if he feels everything is still in front of him despite losing the top seed: “Yeah, I feel everything is still in front of us for what we want to accomplish as a team. I just want to say a big shoutout to Bradley Chubb. We’re thinking of you, brother, and praying for you as well. It’s kind of tough seeing one of our guys go down. It’s unfortunate. But we know we still have everything in front of us.”
On taking advantage of the Ravens’ secondary injuries: “We had a gameplan, [and] we stuck to our gameplan of what we wanted to do. There were opportunities that presented themselves, [and] we took those shots. But it’s just staying consistent, being able to sustain drives for us offensively. And that’s what we need to do. We need to be able to finish.”
On what actually happened to his shoulder: “Yeah, that’s basically what happened. I ran, slid, and then there was contact.”
On if he feels the offense started to press: “Yep, that’s exactly what we didn’t need to do. We didn’t need to press. And I say ‘we’ as in me. I didn’t need to press and force throws down the field that weren’t there with certain looks. I should’ve just [taken] the checkdowns. Yeah, I’ve just got to be better.”
On after taking time does it feel more or like a normal loss: “You know, I think if you have the perspective of things could be worse, we could have not clinched a playoff berth, we could have not been playing in a game like this that matter for positioning with the seeding. So, if you think of it like that, we’re right where we need to be as a team, regardless of the outcome of today, and we’ll be better for it, and hopefully we’ll get to see these guys again.”
On how the offense did without having all their starters: “Tough not having your star guys out there. I think the guys that stepped up did a good job today.”
On what gave him confidence despite the Dolphins having injuries: “I think the trust that we have with one another, even with guys who came earlier in the season, just the comaraderie the guys have with one another, that’s what gives me hope. That we can do it with anyone.”
On RB De’Von Achane’s play: “Well first play, 23 yards, I think that says a lot about the trust that [head coach] Mike [McDaniel] has in him, the trust that we all have in him. You know he’s had a lot of big runs for us to extend drives in this game, so I think he’s done a great job.”
