De’Von Achane – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024
Postgame – New York Jets
New York Jets RB De’Von Achane
(Where is this team’s confidence right now? Last week was disappointing, but you’ve won four out of five now.) – “Our confidence, we’ve always got the same confidence. We come out here with great confidence because we know the what type of team we can be. It’s always who the better team on Sunday is and we’ve got to come out and be ready to play.”
(How were you feeling about things when the team was down 23 -15 in the fourth quarter?) – “It was a one-possession game. We know we can have a big play on defense or offense at any time. Like you said, it’s always one play and special teams, it’s a group thing, like you said. Special teams count as well, and Malik (Washington) had a longer run and makes us go to overtime. So it’s just the little things. Anything can happen. It’s always just one play.”
(For TE Jonnu Smith not to have a reception heading into overtime and then to do what he did – three big plays – what does that say about him?) – “It says a lot. Like you said, we’ve got a lot of work on this team. Whoever can get the ball can go make plays and you say he didn’t have no receptions, so when we needed him, he came through. He was always ready and he made plays.”
(How do you keep the confidence up against Houston next week?) – “Our confidence is always high no matter who we play, but I know they’re a great team, so we’ve got the 24-hour rule. After Monday, focus on Houston.”
-DOLPHINS-
Calais Campbell – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Dolphins DT Calais Campbell
(Talking about perseverance, how did you guys just stay believing throughout this game?)– “I think it has kind of been the testament of our season – ups and downs, a tough start, but just stay believing, keep fighting, and don’t get bored with the proper techniques and the details that allow you win ball games. And I felt like once we settled down, I felt like the coaches made some good adjustments and we made plays, enough of them. It was close. They have a lot of great talent. I know they are not having the season that they could be having, but that team is one of the most talented teams in football and they made it really hard on us. But we found a way just by doing our job, making plays that came to us and not trying to press and just everybody feeding off of each other. It was a good team victory.”
(How do you take this momentum to Houston?) – “You celebrate for 24 hours, then you get back to work. Houston doesn’t care nothing about this win. But for us, getting back in the win column is huge, staying alive in this hunt is huge and we have something to play for. When your back’s against the wall and all you can do is fight, we’ll go out there and give everything we have. They are super talented, too. So many weapons all over the place, great defense. It’s going to be a battle, but we’re alive and we’re going to fight with everything we have.”
(Where does DT Zach Sieler rate as it relates to the emotional heartbeat of the defense?) – “Zach, man, he played a game. He had a day today. So many close plays early. So many close plays early, but just bringing that energy, bringing that leadership, bringing that passion and then the dam broke in that fourth quarter. He went off and made big plays that essentially called game for us or at least gave us a shot for the offense to call game. Hats off to him. I love playing next to him. Zach’s my guy. He’s a beast, and if he keeps playing like that, we’re going to be in this thing when it matters.”
-DOLPHINS-
Jaylen Waddle – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle
(What does it say about your team, it takes overtime to still get the win and still have a chance in this playoff hunt?) – “It means a lot. Winning that type of game against that type of team, we needed all three phases and everybody came through when we needed them. It was exciting. It was exciting, it was a great game – one of the best games I have been it.”
(How do you feel about offense right now? It seems like everybody is contributing – you, WR Tyreek Hill, RB De’Von Achane, TE Jonnu Smith. Do you feel this is the best this offense has been this season?) – “It’s balanced, it makes the defense defend everybody and ultimately get our playmakers in space. Mike (McDaniel) is doing a good job of calling plays and using everybody’s skill set. We’re doing good, man. We’ve got a lot more in the tank though, I know we do. We have a whole ‘nother level.”
(What was QB Tua Tagovailoa like in the huddle during overtime?) – “Commanding. He really made sure we didn’t kill ourselves with penalties; he wanted everybody to lock in and just hone in on the details. That’s was big. He came through, made big plays, was calm in the pocket, o-line had great protection, he delivered the ball.
(You set a record for most yards in the first four years for the team. I just want to get your thoughts on setting that franchise record?) – “That’s big, man. There’s a lot of great receivers that have played here. Just being anywhere in the name of those guys is always a blessing.”
-DOLPHINS-
Jonnu Smith – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith
How do you explain that game?
JONNU SMITH: The you start off – Jesus Christ. King of kings, Lord of lords. It’s my faith, it just propels me forward as a man, has me prepared for any moment – I lost my voice out there going crazy. (laughter) Just propels me to be prepared for any moment. Didn’t blink first, second, third quarter. Individually probably wasn’t the game I’ve been having these past couple of weeks. Didn’t blink at all. Just was excited, continuing to have excitement about our offensive success going forward, and when my time comes, just got to be there to make the play when it counts. Just extremely – I love this team, man, the resolve we got, no blink, no flinching. I’m just beyond, beyond proud of this team and for us getting that victory that we did today.
All three of your catches came on that final drive. Talk about how that came about. Did you ask for the ball there?
JONNU SMITH: You know, I’m kind of in my gear throughout the game, nudging, but he’s got a job to do and he does a damn good job. So I just continue to trust in him. Whenever my opps come, just capitalize off of them. We each individually got to have that mindset. It may not be your day. Every week it’s the NFL, guys are good, and we’ve got so many talented guys on this team, so opps are precious. When it comes your time to make an opp, make it count. Make it count.
Is this your first overtime touchdown?
JONNU SMITH: Yeah, my first overtime touchdown, yep.
Just that moment. You looked like you were going nuts. How crazy was that feeling for you?
JONNU SMITH: I’ve been extremely blessed. I’m a blessed man. Things don’t happen overnight. Obviously you guys see the result. You don’t see the work that’s put in, the progress. That’s what I hang my hat on. I know what I’ve been blessed with. I’m not going to let this ability go to waste. I’ve got so much more to improve on and so much better I can be as a player in this business, and I’m just trying to reach for that each and every day. You can never obtain perfection. So for me, that’s what keeps me driving, to know that the sky’s the limit. I’ve just got so much more out there for me. But I saw this moment. I envisioned this moment. It’s a process of putting in the work, seeing it, believing in it, having faith. You can never know when a time can be your time that the team really needs you. So just again, just beyond excited to be a part of this team.
Were you trying to play it cool at first after the touchdown was scored before everyone started jumping around mobbing you?
JONNU SMITH: I honestly don’t even remember what happened. I’m being honest. I remember catching the ball, just securing it, know I kind of had to extend out, kind of had my hands underneath it, and I was not letting nothing take this ball out of my hands. When I knew I secured the catch coming down, everything went blank after that, so y’all got to tell me what happened after that. But I just remember going crazy, taking my helmet off, my cap – my wave cap came off – just went crazy, just celebrating with my teammates and hugging my guys, embracing them. That’s what makes this so special. I love the fans, man. I love the city of Miami. I do. Unfortunately they’re not in this building with us every day, so they can’t really relate to how those moments really feel. Those moments right there are precious because we know the work that was put in and we know the adversity that we faced during the season and we know when our backs was against the wall and we fought, we came out fighting and it didn’t go the way that it went today. So to feel that, to feel that and embrace my teammates, embrace my brothers, that we’ve been grinding for so long with for so many months now; it’s a feeling I can’t even describe.
Was it a momentum thing? After the first catch, it just kind of had the feel you were going to march down the field. Did you feel that momentum really on your side?
JONNU SMITH: When my number is called, I know it’s called for a spark. I know it’s called for a spark, to get us going. Everybody has got different roles in this league. I’m just embracing mine. I knew I had to make a play. It was overtime. We’ve all got to make plays, don’t get me wrong, but my number was called. Especially on those screen plays, there’s only one guy getting that ball. It’s not like two guys – he has a progression to go through, waiting for guys to get open. It’s you and go to work. Just getting those type of plays going, getting the momentum going when your number is called, got to answer.
-DOLPHINS-
Mike McDaniel – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
What was the speech about resiliency? What was the speech you gave your team about resiliency earlier this week, and how did you see it play out today?
MIKE McDANIEL: There’s been a lot of very motivated passionate meetings, whether it’s led by myself or Frank (Smith) and ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) or by players. There’s a lot that I kind of shared with them in my life story, how it’s not always a bad thing when people think you can’t do stuff. I was an only child in Greeley, Colorado, which you guys don’t know what that is. It’s like 70,000 people, and I was 4’10” tall in seventh grade, so there were a lot of people that said that I couldn’t, and I see that in our team. There’s just so many people that can attest to being able to press forward regardless of who says what and wherever. But the main thing, whatever I said, the players chose to believe. The players chose to have an absolutely motivated practice week. The players chose to not give up in this game. When you do that and you survive some adversity, the thing on the other side is the – that’s the best stuff, regardless. One thing I know in life, easy is way overrated and not that fulfilling. I don’t know how you know about a team meeting. I don’t know who the snitch is. But the team meeting isn’t the headline. The headline is guys coming together. I thought the vision of the team – I couldn’t be prouder of the fourth quarter, the complementary football, when plays needed to be had, some of the biggest plays in the game were on special teams. Guys like Malik Washington, for instance, last week did not define him. An absolutely critical return. The plays that ‘33’ (Siran Neal) made. A missed extra point, does that define you? It’s the same thing as 2-6 or 5-7; only if you let it. The locker room, I think it’s important to really acknowledge the absolute non-negotiable effort and strain that we see from this Dolphins team. I think the crowd played a big part, and it was important to our guys. We’ve had a rough season. We have a lot of people paying a lot of money to come see us play, and Hard Rock Stadium is special to us. All of those things were really cool, and I was just really happy with what the team did and how they approached the week allowed them to have an opportunity to have a really cool football moment together today.
When you think of a franchise quarterback, you think of the kind of things we saw today from QB Tua Tagovailoa. We’ve seen parts of that, but putting it all together like he did today with the season on the line, what can you say about that?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, I think there are two games. For me, the game he had at Buffalo exorcised some demons for him and I, just in general, and I don’t think he could have had that game two years ago. I don’t think two years ago this game occurs. He continues to get better. But he’s really – I think he had 47 pass attempts this week. He had 40 last week. I think it’s been since the Monday night game that he’s turned the ball over. It’s a lot of work, and all of his work is paying off because he’s a naturally gifted quarterback, not only the skill sets but people gravitate towards him. He makes people better. That’s an incredibly important part of that position. I thought it was a big game for him in Green Bay, as well, because not everything played out the way he wanted it to. But what he’s doing is he’s mastering the art. The hardest thing to do, you could argue the hardest position to play, is quarterback out of all the positions in sports, and the biggest differentiator with quarterbacks is it’s a big moment. There’s a lot of stuff on you. And to be able to play clear minded and let the game come to you – case in point, 47 pass attempts and 0 interceptions again – it’s really cool to see. Not an ounce of it hasn’t been earned from him working on his craft, and that connectivity with the guys he’s throwing to, ‘10’ Tyreek Hill) and ‘17’ (Jaylen Waddle), there’s been a lot of talk about their production and stuff. They’re executing this offense the best they’ve ever executed. Their routes are the best. They’re on the field the longest they’ve been on the field. So there’s a lot of cool things coming together. That’s why you fight, because the point is it has nothing to do with how difficult the journey is, but moments like this are on the other side. So we’ll enjoy this as individuals and as a group today and then one thing I am very comfortable being confident in is that we’ll watch the tape tomorrow and then guys will start getting ready for the next week and copy, paste the way we approach it because that’s what the league is about. When everyone is all in, really cool things can happen, people can make plays in certain situations, and you can all of a sudden come up with a defensive stop that’s absolutely critical at the end of the game, and then you can do stuff at the end of the half and the end of the game offensively to get some points, which I thought was a huge area of growth. Yeah, I didn’t realize until it was live speed that I had never been in an overtime game, either, as a head coach, so that was cool. I’m glad the rules are as they are.
Did TE Jonnu Smith ever say anything to you during the game about not getting targeted? Whether he did or not, what changed in overtime?
MIKE McDANIEL: We have so many talented players that can do things with the ball. He came and he has this deal where he reminds me of a play, so it’s constructive, but I know what that means. (laughter) He did it in Indianapolis when he scored I think it might have been his first touchdown. He reminded me of a play. I did something similar, or it took me probably another series, but then I called the play, and whether it was a tip or it was a tight window, it was that screen that was incomplete. So actually he said something, we called a play, it was live speed and he would call it a drop. I’m not sure, I’d have to see on tape, but he would call it a drop. But my working relationship with that competitor, you also know that yeah, in the short term it sucks that the play wasn’t made, but I also know that, all right, in my back pocket, that bothers him more than anybody, so he will make a play. He said something, but I knew where his competitive spirit was at and how he had touched the ball, and it wasn’t a completion. I knew when push came to shove in crunch time, he would come through just because that’s what he’s shown me. He’s a very resilient individual that’s a competitor and makes all his teammates better by the way he competes.
Regarding T Terron Armstead, he’s a veteran who’s injured and has to leave the game. He was clearly frustrated. At one point he’s giving tips to T Patrick Paul. At another point he’s giving tips to LB Chop Robinson. What does that say about Terron and what does that say about this team?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think you hit the nail on the head. That’s why he has a C on his chest. That’s why he’s a special player, because it was undoubtedly very frustrating for him. But we talked this week about – I saw the same thing from Raheem Mostert. He desperately wanted to will his way to play. He didn’t. But I saw value added, and there’s a reason why the highly respected and regarded players are as such, because in this game there’s a lot of things that go on. You’re 1/11th in regards to who you are and what you’re doing, so you can only control what you can control. But there is gigantic power in adding value from energy or investment, and Terron, that’s what he does. He’s a huge piece of our locker room. I feel just fortunate to have him on this (team), to be able to sign him in 2022, because we wouldn’t be where we’re at without him. You know you’ve got something good with your team in terms of the ability to play down the stretch and play and handle whatever occurs when you have guys that are major contributors when they’re unable to, whether it’s injury or whatever the scheme is, when they’re still adding value by recognizing that they still have value, even when they’re not playing.
How would you assess and evaluate the way T Patrick Paul played?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, it felt — I can tell you that I was not calling plays around him. In games, one thing that is a big deal when you do have a lineup change on the offensive line is you know a guy is playing well if you don’t have to adjust your play calling. So I was not having to, okay, do this but run right, do this but slide left. It was not too big for him. He has a lot of room to grow in this game, and he knows that. That being said, it felt like it was a big moment for him simply because he was competing play in, play out, and was not necessitating extra help. He was not necessitating to be on the back side of things. I was able to call the game as I would normally call it, which that in and of itself is a compliment.
Two games out with four weeks remaining. Can you paint a picture of where this team stands?
MIKE McDANIEL: I know we’ve got a game against the Houston Texans, and I absolutely, positively will not have anyone on this team think about anything else, absolutely. The Houston Texans are a great team, and once my eyelids open for post-sleep tomorrow morning, our energy will be focused on our game in terms of cleaning up stuff as it applies to Houston, and the rest of the stuff takes care of itself. What you don’t want is to spend your time – I could really care less. I don’t care who plays. I don’t know who has a bye. I don’t really care. We have Houston, and we need to build upon what we did this week. They’ll certainly be deserving of every ounce of our time and effort.
-DOLPHINS-
Tyreek Hill – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
We were just talking to Jonnu about his celebration. I think you kind of kicked it off, right? (Inaudible) That moment, what was that like for you guys?
TYREEK HILL: We’ve been through so much as a team and to put it all together when it mattered the most, when the team needed us to ourselves, what we’ve been in the recent past and just to do that on that drive. It was a special moment for all of us. So it was great. Hopefully we can continue to build off that, that momentum and continue with that success going towards the end of the season.
What did you think of Tua first getting the team into field goal range for the tying field and then when you get in overtime with that drive?
TYREEK HILL: Tua, man. He’s been playing lights out. I think he doesn’t get enough credit for the things that he does outside of making plays whether that’s getting us lined up correctly. Me and him had a moment whenever I ran a route the wrong way. He came up to me and told me exactly how I needed to run it. He’s been playing lights out. He’s been a great leader for this team, not only on offense but also for defense, getting those guys going. We’ve just got to follow him, man, like follow his standard because the standard is the standard, and he’s been playing at a high level and guys around him just got to match it. I feel like we’ve been doing that, but it’s got to be every play, though. That mindset’s got to be every play. It just can’t be whenever you’re getting the ball or whenever it’s time for you to be like the star or whatever, but it’s got to be every play.
Was there like a turning point for you guys today, any sort of come-to-Jesus moment on the sideline where you guys said, the season is on the line, we’ve got to wake up?
TYREEK HILL: Yeah, there was. Actually when we were down 23-15, when we were trotting back on the field, everybody knew what was at stake at that moment. We know if we lose, it’s over. Our season is over. Unfortunately we’ve got a lot of great guys on this team who don’t want to end our season in January and watch other teams play because we have the capability to play with a lot of teams in this league. We just played ball, man, when it mattered the most. We executed. Guys lined up in the right spot, guys played fast, got guys playing for each other, and that’s what it’s all about. When it’s on the line, give us your best stuff. That’s what everybody did. No questions were asked, no fingers were pointed. That’s the beautiful thing about it. It allows guys to play fast, and it allows Tua to process things faster because he doesn’t have to worry about getting guys lined up. He doesn’t have to worry about guys being in a certain spot for him so it was great.
It looked bleak, I think it was first-and-10 on the 27 with a minute and change left and they had the ball. Are you surprised that they let you back in the game? Because they run the ball three times, you might not get the ball back.
TYREEK HILL: Exactly, I was kind of surprised by that, but those coaches, those guys – I have no idea. My thing is just to focus on what we got over here. I’m just glad that they did what they did: Passed the ball. I feel like Kendall (Fuller) won’t get credit for what he did on the Davante Adams catch. People will just see the catch, but Kendall did a great job of pulling Davante Adams out of bounds on that play, so that was a great job by him. But besides that, they gave us another shot, another opp, and Tua did his thing.
Malik with that return, your thoughts on that?
TYREEK HILL: Oh, man, I told him, great job, bro. It’s because of him, bro. He got the team going, he got the crowd into it, and once – the way he bounced back, I knew he was going to do that during the whole entire week because he’s been so locked in. Malik is that kind of player. For him to do that, I’m happy for him, and it was great, man. I’m happy for him, man.
-DOLPHINS-
Zach Sieler – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
DT Zach Sieler
Without that sack near the end of regulation, you probably aren’t standing on this podium right now. What was that moment like for you and the team?
ZACH SIELER: It was a great moment. Obviously it took all of us out there. I think Calais (Campbell) really made him step up and work back into the pocket. I think it just shows the resilience of our team. That whole drive – defense, offense, coming back – because even then, they took the lead then. So we had to go back out there and do some things. For (Malik) Washington to make that play on kick return and then for the offense to go out there and kick that field goal to tie it up, it was incredible.
Were you surprised they were throwing the ball at the 27 yard-line? You guys had a time-out issue there.
ZACH SIELER: Honestly, I don’t know.
What did you think of QB Aaron Rodgers’ mobility? Obviously it’s not exactly what it was back in 2010, 2011, but it looked like he still had a little bit of —
ZACH SIELER: Yeah, I think at one point I might have told him he’s still got a little bit of wheels, old man. I said, you’re probably the only one out there older than Calais (Campbell). Respect it. Obviously at 40 something years old or whatever he is, it’s not easy, so that’s awesome he’s out there still playing. But it was good to be able to play them and play how we did.
What was your perspective seeing QB Tua Tagovailoa – you were on the sideline – to lead that drive for Jason Sanders’ tying field goal and then to win it in overtime —
ZACH SIELER: I loved it. To be able to get that toss to go our way and our offense to go out there and just keep rolling was awesome. I think they had amazing momentum. Tua and them were just clicking on offense. Jonnu (Smith) with that final catch was just incredible. I loved seeing that.
This was the week of My Cause, My Cleats. Can you talk a little bit more about what you were supporting.
ZACH SIELER: Yeah. Thank you. It’s actually for my foundation that my wife and I started about three years ago, which is getting kids outdoors and helping show just what the outdoors can be and hopefully spark a passion with youth in the local Miami area. Her and I are both from Michigan and Missouri, so just show the importance of getting outside and exploring. I think sometimes we get so stuck inside and stuck on our phones or whatever that I think it really takes us back to reality, and that’s one of our big passions.
Zach, when you see your team perform a gritty performance like this, what does it make you think about its fighting spirit, what it’s made of?
ZACH SIELER: Absolutely. I think it was an amazing game. (Mike) McDaniel had a meeting earlier this week which, at the time I kind of was mad because I’m like, man, I don’t want to hear this anymore, but it’s just the resilience of the team, and he hit the nail on the head. Today was just – it just showed all three phases, the resilience. We had issues on all three phases, but we were able to bring it back in and finish the game how we did, which was awesome. I need to tell him that was probably the best meeting now. (laughter)
What made you mad about it?
ZACH SIELER: Nothing, it’s just, to me, I guess I’m just – I just want to hear, ‘hey, what are we going to do to go win.’ He was right. He read the writing on the wall and he was able to say, ‘hey, look, you guys, we’re a resilient group. We’re whatever we were before this week, and we just need to go out there and play our game, they’re going to throw punches.’ I’m like, ‘man, let’s just go take it to them.’ He was right. It was ebbs and flows of the game, ups and downs, and to be able to go out there and finish the game like we did was incredible, and it took all three phases, starting with the defense, then to the special teams who returned it to almost the 50, offense to go put it up there, and then to have Jason (Sanders) kick that last field goal to tie it up, and then to go out there again on offense and go drive the whole field to score a touchdown, that was incredible. Probably one of my top wins here so far.
-DOLPHINS-
Tua Tagovailoa – December 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Knowing how important every game on your guys’ schedule is for the rest of the season, how big was it to be able to get the plays that you needed down the stretch to be able to win this game?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, it was really big. It was really big. And I think it’s a testament to our team. It’s a testament to the guys that were in there. We had a big amount of rotation with guys that were in there with receivers. Sometimes that’s how the games work. If their offense is doing well, we’ve got to answer with the same amount of points or points in general. And there were times where we didn’t do that, but thank the good Lord we had an opportunity to go back out there and show it. So that was fun.
Jonnu had one target the entire game, overtime, all of a sudden he’s the main guy, he’s the guy that wins it for you. What flipped there? What happened?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think Jonnu came up to Mike (McDaniel) and had to have said something to Mike to get him more included maybe, and that’s what ended up happening. It’s super cool because throughout the game, he never said anything. When he got targeted once, it wasn’t a drop, it was like, that was on me. After that, not seeing the ball; that can be discouraging, but he never blinked, and we gave him opportunities. Off that first screen, that was a tipped ball. Just the focus that he had to still catch that was great. That’s Jonnu being Jonnu. This is a different Jonnu that you guys have seen. This is the new-and-improved Jonnu.
What’s the mindset when you have to take over those drives when it’s 44 seconds left to force overtime and get into field goal range and then also when you have a chance to knock a team out with an overtime walk-off touchdown?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say what helped with that was our special teams, the return by Malik Washington. Great job by him, great job by those guys on special teams, and they gave us an opportunity to go down and hopefully tie the game up so we could go into overtime. The mindset was just that, just get a field goal, get into field goal range for Jason to kick the ball, and there you go.
(Inaudible) these websites have like win probability. When they had the ball at first-and-10 at the 27 with like a minute left, it wasn’t very high for you guys. I would imagine you…?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: What was it?
I think it was over 80 percent. So just your surprise they let you back in the game the way they did, and you guys taking advantage, what did it take to do that?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Well, I would say it’s a testament to our team. They go, they kick the field goal. Maybe on their sideline, they’re thinking, oh, they’ve probably given up already, it’s 50 something seconds or 40 something seconds after Malik returns it, I don’t think they’re going to be into it, given previous times that we had opportunities to do that, to go win the game or tie the game. You’ve seen what we were able to do, and just the mindset of the guys, like Tyreek had a lot to say in the huddle about us finding a way to go down, drive the ball, and get points so that we could go into overtime, and Waddle, the same thing, just getting our guys going. Like this isn’t the same Dolphins. That’s sort of the mindset, like come on. Like a prove-it mentality always.
What does this win mean for the team? I don’t have to tell you what a loss would have meant. So what does a win mean?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: A win means a lot. It means a lot because we have no room for error to lose another game. So we control our own destiny by focusing on the next opponent, and we’ve got to find ways to win all of our games down here at the back end of this stretch.
Two games out of a playoff spot with four weeks remaining. What do you think of the team’s playoff hopes right now?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think right now we’re just focused on this victory. We’re going to enjoy it. We’re going to move on to our next opponent, and we’ll go from there.
You touched on it and Tyreek spoke on it a little bit earlier. When you take the field down 23-15, what was that mood in the huddle? What were you guys saying right before stepping on to the field knowing that you don’t get points here, like we’ve said, the season is probably over?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I probably wouldn’t want to share some of the things we were saying, just to get everybody going, but just know we were getting after everyone inside the huddle to make sure that you’re blocking the way you need to block, you’re running the routes where you need to be. You need to be in the right spots. Just all of that. I thought it was super cool that on a fourth down you’ve got to find your best player, give it to your best player, and that’s what happened. Then we came back to our next best player on the two-point drive. That’s what happened.
To follow up on that because Tyreek said he ran a wrong route at some point and you got after him about it. Was it you leading the charge there going into that game-time drive?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I’m not going to say – I’m not a big ‘hoorah, like I got on this guy, I got on that guy.’ This is football. We’re all grown men. If I tell you, you just need to be there; if he tells me I need to throw it somewhere — like he got the respect from me, I got the respect from him. That’s how the communication I think works and how it should work in a professional level, in a professional setting and especially when the game is on the line. You’ve got to be where you need to be, and we’ve got to go do it. That’s it.
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