The Dolphins don’t have much time to dwell on the beating they took from the Ravens on Sunday.
Week 18 will bring the Bills to Miami for a Sunday night game that will determine the winner of the AFC East and drop the curtain on the NFL’s regular season. The Dolphins will need to quickly move past the 56-19 licking they took from the AFC’s top seed and get in the right head space to take out their divisional rivals.
In his postgame press conference on Sunday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said he wasn’t concerned about his club’s ability to do that.
“I’m firmly confident that guys are going to approach it the way I would hope,” McDaniel said, via a transcript from the team. “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.”
While the team’s mental state may not be a concern, their physical condition could be an issue. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back Raheem Mostert didn’t play on Sunday and the Dolphins saw quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, edge rusher Bradley Chubb and cornerback Xavien Howard leave with injuries during the game.
Chubb is believed to be out for the season, but the Dolphins would benefit from good news about the rest of the group ahead of their showdown with the Bills.