Christian Wilkins – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
DT Christian Wilkins (Transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q: What did you say to Josh Allen to set him off like that?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: It’s just competitive out there. You get a lot of guys, you get 22 alpha males on the field, it gets competitive, it gets chippy, it’s a division opponent that have beaten our butts the last six times we played them. It just gets competitive; it just gets chippy and that’s just how the game goes when we play each other.
Q: So what does that mean – just said they beat your butts X number of times, what does that mean for you guys to win this game?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: To me, this is how I look at it. Our goals as a team are bigger than beating the Bills. It was a great win today. It was an awesome, gritty, gritty win. It took a lot of grit. That’s what those southern grandmothers make on Sundays, grits. It was gritty. It took a lot. It showed the character of our team. But, like said, our goals are bigger than going 3-0 and beating the Bills. This is just a stepping stone to where we want to go. That’s how I look at it.
Q: Defensively as a team you were out there on the field a lot. I think 40 minutes. It’s hot, obviously. What was that like, the emotion of making all those stands?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: You are telling me. I was out there playing. It was definitely hot. It was definitely tough, but like I said, it was just gritty. We knew last week that wasn’t the defense we’ve been, and we didn’t play to our capabilities, so we definitely had the mindset of just coming in this week and just rectifying that because that’s not who we are, that’s not how we played last week, and we were able to did that.
Q: There was one time-out there in the third quarter, and I took notice of it. There were five offensive linemen on their knees during a time-out. I noticed nobody on your defense was on their knees. Did you sense that heat was starting to wilt them down a little bit?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: We practice in this every day. This is what we do. We were able to play tough the whole game and just able to squeeze it out.
Q: Did you pick up on that? Did you think that maybe they’re…
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Everybody is pros. When the ball is snapped, you’re competing as hard as you can go. You’re not thinking about how hot it is or things like that. You’re trying to compete your butt off and try to do the best you can for your team.
Q: Take us through the goal line stand there at the end. What’s going through your mind? Any play in particular stand out to you?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: It was just gritty. We needed all four downs to stop them, and we did just that. We stepped up as a defense. When our best was required, we stepped up. It was just awesome.
Q: Tua (Tagovailoa) goes out there in the first half, he comes back. Can we just talk about that?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: All year Tua has been the heart of our team. He has been leading us and doing a great job. He just showed his toughness and his grittiness just to be able to come back, bounce back off of what was going – I don’t know exactly what was going on. He knew we needed him and he did a great job.
Q: I’m curious about if there was any messages going around after the fumbles or after the punt situation at the end with the safety. What was the message going around to the team?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Hey, we just didn’t flinch. All right, well, next play mentality. That’s really all you can do. You’re not going to sulk on that. We’ve got to go out there and get a stop. That’s the mindset, the mentality. You try to get guys up going on the sideline. You don’t flinch. We still have the lead, so they still have to score to win. If we just did our job, which we did, and we were able to get a win.
Q: What does it mean for you for your team to be the last standing undefeated team in the AFC?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Like I said, like I alluded to earlier, our goals are bigger than being 3-0. Our goals are bigger than just winning today. Again, we started back in April. We knew we had a chance, and we’re going to keep working the same way we did since April 4 moving forward. We’re just going to go back to work. Quick turnaround. No 24-hour rule. It’s the 12-hour rule. We just get tonight, and tomorrow we’re already getting ready for the next opponent so we can turn the page and get ready for Thursday night.
Q: I know you have your own concerns on the last play, but did you notice what Melvin (Ingram) was able to–
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Oh, absolutely. You can’t tell me nothing bad about Melvin Ingram ever in life. After seeing what he did on the last play, he has the ultimate respect. An 11-year pro beating a rusher, missing a sack, then making a play 10, 15, 20 yards down the field, that’s just a
dawg mentality. That’s leadership. That’s ‘want-to.’ That’s will. Again, he is not the only player like that on our team. We’ve got a lot of guys that are just gritty and just compete. I’ve got the ultimate respect for him after a play like that because that takes a lot. That’s will to win.
Chase Edmonds – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
RB Chase Edmonds
(There were many up and downs in today’s game. Obviously, you had two very important touchdowns. What was it like on the field?) – “Football is always about ups and downs, and that’s what’s so beautiful about the locker room we have right now. The culture that (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) has really done a good job of bringing in here. Before my second touchdown, when I dropped the ball, that’s something that nine times out of 10 times I always catch. Just to have teammates to have your back and coaching staff that has your back and kind of teach a method of just adversity is always opportunity and really not to really hang your head and just find a way to find to make that adverse situation that you’re facing into an opportunistic moment. I think that’s something we try to really hone in on as a team and continually, we will do so during the length of the season.”
(There was a lot of hype about this game before it started. After you guys get the win, there was a lot of excitement outside. Do you think the excitement of the fans outside matches what you were feeling in the locker room?) – “For sure, we put blood, sweat and tears into this thing. It’s a beautiful thing right now. Nobody really saw the hard work we were putting in May, June, July and August when it really counts. And again (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) has done a great job of bringing this culture here that we bought into, quite frankly, and continue to find a way to lean on each other, continue to find a way to make one more play than the other team to make a win”.
(To be 3-0, what does that say about this team on a national level, because Dolphins fans, they might not notice it but you came here because of how special this team could be?) – “(Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) said on Wednesday in a team meeting, ‘Either two things are going to happen Sunday. Either we’re going to win the crown NFL of the world, (laughter) or everybody is going to say, ‘See, I told you the Dolphins aren’t straight.’ Obviously, the first is happening right now, but I think it’s really just another game. We have a Thursday game coming up. We’ll obviously celebrate this one tonight, but just finding a way to win a game every week. The NFL is a week-in, week-out league. You guys report, you guys journal. One week it’s an overreaction, the next week you settle back down. So it’s about taking the wins and not staying too high and taking a loss and not staying too low and just continuing to find a way to win.”
Xavien Howard – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
CB Xavien Howard
(Is there special satisfaction in beating the Buffalo Bills?) – “No. It is not only about the Buffalo Bills. We have to keep going. We have the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, so we have to prepare for that.”
(Where does this rank in wild finishes in games that you have played in?) – “They have been crazy in back-to-back weeks, so like I’ve said we just have to keep going and keep going.”
(It was the second largest crowd in seven years, what did you hear on the field of the crowd noise?) – “I couldn’t even hear the calls over the crowd at one point. I’m like, ‘what the hell is going on!’’
(What are finishes like this, like you said ‘back-to-back weeks’—late adversity. What do games like this do for a team especially when it gets later in the season?) – “Like I said, we just have to keep it going. We build our confidence each week, but like I said we just have to keep it going.”
Melvin Ingram – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
LB Melvin Ingram
(What was it like out on the field today, especially on that last drive?) – “The atmosphere was amazing! We thank every fan that was out there screaming and everything that had us feeling the matchup. It was electrifying, and it is something that you love to play in. We feed off of them – without them, there is no us.”
(They run that last play, you guys know the clock is ticking down. Were you guys looking up at the clock there or are you fully locked in?) – “No, we’re playing football – you definitely have to be aware of what the clock is, but we’re just playing football, baby.
(Were you surprised they couldn’t get a play off there?) – “No, no. It was only fourteen or twelve seconds. You run around, throw the ball. He runs all the way around, that clock is going to down. Then you have to get on the ball and get set, that’s kind of hard.”
(QB Josh Allen threw 63 passes today. Obviously, that’s a lot for the corners, but for the front seven and the pass rush, what is that like?) – “That’s a lot, but we love it. Every opportunity to get a sack – we were just out there playing ball.”
Jaylen Waddle – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Back to that third down play, were you surprised that you were that open? Third-and-22, they have to cover the deep middle, you would think.) – “I was hoping, wishing and hoping that I was open. Tua (Tagovailoa) threw a great ball, and I caught it man.”
(When you see Tua go down at the end of the first half and then come back out in the third quarter, what does that say to you about your quarterback?) – “That he’s tough, but I already knew that already. He’s tough mentally and physically. I kind of figured he was going to come back and fight with us.”
Tua Tagovailoa – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Transcribed by ASAP Sports)
How are you feeling?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I’m feeling good. It always feels a lot better after a win, so I feel good.
From your perspective, can you just kind of break down what happened towards the end of the first half with you getting shoved, hit your head? Team said it’s a head injury, but now Head Coach Mike McDaniel just said it was a back injury. He said your back was kind – what happened from your perspective?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: On the quarterback sneak, I kind of got my legs caught under someone, and then they were trying to push back and then kind of felt like I hyper-extended my back or something. Then on the next play I kind of hit my back and kind of hurt. Then I got up and then that’s kind of why I stumbled – my back kind of locked up on me. For the most part, I’m good. I passed whatever concussion protocol they had, so I’m good.
Can you tell us about the 45-yard bomb to WR Jaylen Waddle? At that point, were you feeling anything throwing-wise? Or were you able to throw the way normal will you do?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It was uncomfortable going in. I guess you could say it was the adrenaline that was keeping me going with the throwing. But (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) called a play that he thought would work, and if we got a certain look, we wanted to take advantage of it. So, it looked like they ran a quarters coverage, and they played really deep, so I tried to hold the boundary – or the field safety to Tyreek’s (Hill) side. I tried to hold him and then I came back to (Jaylen) Waddle, trusting that Waddle would beat his guy, which he did.
It was kind of a weird game, not getting a lot of plays, a lot of possessions, but when you were out there, you were able to move the ball. From your perspective, what was it like kind of sitting on the sidelines for so long just kind of waiting to get the ball in and then having just so few opportunities and even with some guys coming in and out?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say that was the toughest part of the game. We never knew when our next (opportunity) would be, and then when we did get an opportunity, we had penalties on those, and then we would go three-and-out in some instances. Against a good team like this, you can’t do that. I think we rallied. You really look at it – the defense came through, and it kind of tells a picture story of what our team is capable of. It’s not just our offense being able to help win a game, but it’s the defense as well. And we’ve seen that today with their performance.
Buffalo has had your number of late, and now you guys are 3-0. You beat them. Where are you at as far as the season? Have expectations changed or raised at all?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, expectations haven’t been raised, haven’t changed. For us, this is what we believe. We believed in each other. We believed in ourselves. It might be new to a lot of the people that are watching, but for us, we don’t do anything more than what we’re asked out there on the field as well as practice, and that’s what we do. We just trust each other, go out, and play football.
Tua, you’re now 3-0, the last undefeated team in the AFC. How do you manage the celebration of this game, but then preparing for a short week getting ready for Cincinnati?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I mean, you enjoy it. You enjoy it now, but it’s a quick turnaround. So you have to move on quick and get ready for Cincinnati. For me, I’m just worried about getting my back right.
Tua, you guys, obviously, had great resolve at the end there after the safety. Can you talk about maybe your role now as a captain too? Were you stepping up and talking to people about how to stay and maintain the intensity at the end of that game?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It’s kind of hard to get the guys riled up after they just came off. So I think we can do better offensively in a situation like that backed up trying to help end the game with the ball in our hands. But the defense went out there. They did their thing – really hats off to them. They played an outstanding game – tough. That’s a really good offense, explosive offense.
How would you describe your back injury? … What was that exact feeling?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Right now, it’s tight. It was sore when it did happen, but any competitor that would have never wanted to come out would’ve done the same thing. I just tried my hardest to get back up and get the next play and run it.
So to clarify, did you hit the back of your head when you fell down on that play?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yes, I did. I did, but I think I really hit my back first because that’s what I felt first.
Can you talk about the O-line and how they kept the pocket relatively clean for you today?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: They did a great job. I think they did a great job within the run game as well, and then within the play-pass, I think they did a good job operating that way. There’s still some miscues that we had from me communicating to those guys, but for the most part it was clean.
What did you think of the defense stepping up on two separate occasions as of late? And what your thoughts were as you’re watching on the sideline and can’t really do anything about it and just kind of watching?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Man, just let the defense do their thing. We’re always hoping for the best. We’re always hoping for a turnover. Our defense gives us a turnover, but you think of the drives that Buffalo had. They had some long drives. I don’t know how many plays, but they took a lot of time off of the clock. The stamina and then kind of going through it running around in the heat, a lot of guys were cramping up, but they stuck with it, and they helped us pull off this win.
Did you notice the Bills doing anything in particular to make up for the loss of their starters in the secondary?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, there were some things. There were some coverages that we didn’t see that Micah Hyde would be kind of orchestrated in, but they ran whatever the guys in the backend felt most comfortable, I would say. They tried to disguise some coverages. But for the couple of rookies that were out there, they did a good job playing today on the defense. You, obviously, have someone like Von Miller on their D-line making it tough for us to run the ball and then pass. I think our O-line did a great job kind of containing him and keeping him away from the quarterback.
Are you concerned about the back stiffening up overnight or anything? Do you think it will be pretty manageable?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: We’ll have to see. I don’t want to say I’m a genie and I’m going to feel good tomorrow. We’ll see. So, we’ll go get some tests, and then we’ll come back tomorrow.
Mike McDaniel – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q: You warned everyone to check their pulse before you came to Miami. How does it feel knowing that you’re the only standing undefeated team in the AFC East and just transitioning to a short week getting ready for Cincinnati?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, again, people take me way too literal. I don’t like these shock endings., but I’m just really, really happy for the team because this much I do know: Teams win football games, and if you are going to have success over the long haul, you have to have confidence that whatever phase can win a football game for you, can go ahead and do that, and it takes a collection. Every play is almost as equally as important as the next. So to guys persevere in a tough situation in a game that they took very serious, I knew that we were going to get our best effort from everybody. Then to be able to finish the game with two unbelievable efforts by the defense, I think I couldn’t have written a better script for what we’re trying to do. It’s an exciting day for the team, and we’ve had three opportunities, and we’ve won those three. So, that’s also a strong perspective for us because three wins doesn’t do anything at the end of the season. You need a couple more than that. But right now very proud of the guys. We have a short week, so we can enjoy it for maybe a half hour. Then, it’s on to the next.
Q: Mike, time of possessions, yards, first downs, you guys were underdogs in all that today. Can you talk about what you learned about the team, especially at the end of the game when they had the punt situation? What did you learn about the way they held their heads high and were able to overcome that?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think we have a lot of team – I learned a lot about the resolve. You don’t know until you have it happen. The team got a lot of confidence in the offense last week. So when you worry that when push comes to shove and you’re trying to finish the game that if you get a first down, the game is over, and you can’t get a yard, you worry about the team’s resolve.But I see much better than I hear. I was hoping, but to see the way they came back with confidence and played attacking football, I learned what I would hope to learn. You never know until you’re in those situations, but I was very happy with the entire team and how they pressed forward because even special teams, you know, we have an unfortunate situation. We were trying to get some yards at the end of the game to at least, worst-case scenario, punt the ball from our own back end line. We have something that doesn’t totally go our way, but we don’t win that game if we don’t completely flip the field on a punt previous in that half. It’s a great experience for guys. I’m happy that they were able to come out with a win because they definitely did everything in their power to get that done.
Q: When Tua goes out with the I guess head injury and some of the offensive linemen going in and out, how does that affect you if at all in terms of kind of getting the offense running again? How did you adjust to that?
MIKE McDANIEL: That was live-speed action. Now, Tua, he went out with a lower back, and I hadn’t had that rep with him yet. He kind of got bent back pretty significantly on a quarterback sneak earlier. I was kind of with everyone else. When he hit his head on the ground, I assumed it was a head injury, but his legs got wobbly because his lower back was completely loose and as he described it, he said his lower back was like Gumby or something. That is a challenge. That happens all the time in NFL games. It was kind of fast and furious. We had some skill position players get dinged. We had some linemen fight through it, but those are things that you just have to be able to adjust on the fly. Your whole staff better be in concert. You better have contingencies, and you better know some plays you want to go to if things happen. We were able to do the best we could, but it was a lot better when we had everyone back. That’s for sure.
Q: You weren’t here for seven straight losses to Buffalo like a lot of these guys were. What was your impressions what this meant to them?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think it meant something to everybody. I talked to the guys about it, and you’re not there, but you’ve been in the league long enough, and I’ve been on both sides of the coin where you’ve had a streak against a team and then you’ve been on the poor side of the streak as well. I just told the team that it doesn’t matter that we weren’t here. That at some point or just because now moving forward we’re a part of that streak, so at some point in time we’re going to have to handle that. Otherwise, we’re going to keep hearing about it, but I think it’s important for them. So it was special for everyone involved in that regard, as special as a Week 3 regular season game can be. I will say that much, but we know that we’re going to see them again. If they at all took us lightly at all, I promise you they won’t again, so we’re going to get their best shot. That is a really, really, really good football team. So that’s why what I’m happy about most is that our team battled against what’s as good of a team that exists in the National Football League.
Q: A minute ago DT Christian Wilkins said when we brought up the 3-0 part, and the first place in the AFC, he said 3-0 is not our goal. I guess what I would like to ask you is, are the goals being raised as you go along? Is that the impact of the start that you’ve had, or are the goals of this team the same as they were back in…?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think you make it a little more abstract because to me I think everyone can identify what you don’t want to do in this situation in any year of your career, but particularly one where we have an opportunity to play some games with a team that we feel pretty confident in is, you don’t want to do yourself a disservice and fall short of your potential. So you just want to be as good as you can get and continue to grow. I think you bring up things as they’re pertinent and to me because if you don’t, if you are talking about goals that happen 15 weeks from now, you’re just going to get hit in the mouth because every single week in the National Football League everyone is giving you their best shot. So I think now we can talk about not sneaking up on people, but realistically whether we’re 0-3 or 3-0, we’re playing the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, and somebody is going to come out with a win and somebody is going to come out with a loss so you have to do everything you can in your power to make sure that you continue to progress in your game and give it your best shot. I think they will change when our circumstances change. Right now there’s no difference really between Game 4 and Game 1. We have to do our best to win football games, and if you win football games, you can kind of control whether or not you get to play playoff football or not, and that’s kind of our objective.
Q: Can you take us through what’s going through your head through all the final sequences whether it was Josh Allen and then fourth down close to the goal line, punt that goes for safety and then also time running out?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s what you call a roller coaster, that’s for sure. When you are the head coach, it’s a lot easier to stay balanced ironically, because you’re taking in the entire portion of the game. What I did know I was watching the defense and hearing the calls and seeing how they’re communicating, they were not giving up. I knew they were going to have to earn the touchdown. Once they got to two-minute and we knew we were going to rip off the time-out and going to try to keep them from scoring a touchdown, so then a couple of those things happened. We were very excited. Me, as the offensive play caller, I immediately knew we were on or minus-2. We felt pretty good about a run play the first down and got minus yardage, so you are trying to make sure that you don’t get a safety. And when you quarterback sneak it, I think we might have lost a quarter of a yard, too. At that point I didn’t want to have to pass the ball, but I thought that was the only way we could protect the team with the way the line of scrimmage was playing out right then. And you get an incomplete. It’s not a safety, but it’s almost the worst-case scenario. You would rather just take a zero yardage kneel and run time off so that was not an exciting moment, definitely. And then we get a redirect off of a punt when we’re backed up. Something that was kind of caused on our own end. And yeah, it’s not exciting, but I was very encouraged. I knew they had to go the length of the field, and I knew our defense was ready, that they’ve been working for this for a long time, and they enjoy those opportunities. So I thought they were going to bail us out, and they sure did. So that was pretty exciting.
Q: Third-and-22. Early in the fourth quarter. There’s a lot of time left. You’re losing – possessions haven’t been — that 45-yard pass, where what did that say to you about Tua? Obviously, it was a huge play. Then, was he playing with any pain at that point? Just what did that play…?
MIKE McDANIEL: No, I think that’s one that’s a big play that I think Tua will always remember, that a lot of his teammates will because he was battling through and that’s really hard. Especially with how he throws, he uses such great base and balance that he uses his whole core to throw. And he had to be on time and on rhythm. He saw the coverage the right way. He attempted to move the field safety as best he could, but I think it goes to show how important it is to him, how gutsy he is, how tough he is. He can sense when big moments are on the line, and just very happy that him and (Jaylen) Waddle came up with the play to get us into scoring position that Chase (Edmonds) ultimately ended getting the score on. That was a big one that I think we’ll all remember for sure.
Jevon Holland – September 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Postgame – Buffalo
S Jevon Holland
(What was that final countdown like to hear all of the fans shouting ‘3, 2, 1!’ to end the game?) – “I did not hear any of that. I was locked in. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought they were going to get a play off, and I then looked up and it was 0:00 on the clock. It felt great.”
(Just the range of emotions for you guys making that stop at the goal line and then the safety and then having to make another stop. What was that like, that whole sequence?) – “It was exhilarating, man. That’s football. It’s what we play. It’s awesome. I was having a blast, fans out there loving it, it was great.”
(What was your approach – you can’t shut down Josh Allen, but to kind of keep him under control, what was the approach today?) —“Just do my job. That’s basically what it is. Just really do my job, execute the game plan that the coaches put out there for us, and go out and make plays.”
