A welcome tinge of early Miami Mike McDaniel resurfaced final week as he – maybe not-so-coincidentally – drove straight previous the Buffalo Payments watch occasion within the wake of their upset defeat to his Dolphins.
It had served as one of many shock outcomes of the NFL season to this point, and one of many scarce brilliant spots amid a bleak marketing campaign for Miami. McDaniel insisted he was merely driving dwelling. That is not the McDaniel soccer is aware of.
His loveable humour had turn out to be a distinguished theme as he flexed his offensive wizardry in orchestrating one of many league’s most explosive assaults throughout his first few years in cost. As a lot has since understandably light whereas he addresses the injuries of a workforce already bracing for 2026.
On Sunday, it was seemingly again. Whether or not he needs to confess it or not.
“Man, coach Mike is the petty king,” Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb informed Sky Sports activities.
“He simply confirmed it proper then and there, man. He mentioned he was on his approach dwelling. I do not know what he mentioned, it was that he was on his approach dwelling. He simply occurred to go by.
“So I don’t know if he did it on purpose, but he is the petty king for sure.”
A little bit can go a great distance, and between a dent to Buffalo’s AFC East battle and McDaniel’s not-so-subtle jibe the Dolphins had been lastly in a position to revel within the long-lost spark that had beforehand fuelled a playoff contender.
Chubb, McDaniel and Miami comprehend it can’t cease there, for a lot of the frustration stems from a data and perception contained in the locker room of what the Dolphins may obtain.
McDaniel’s workforce have gained two of their final three, having began the season 1-6 and staring on the prospect of a wasted season. Their subsequent cease is Madrid, the place they host the Washington Commanders on the iconic Bernabeu Stadium within the NFL’s first-ever regular-season recreation in Spain.
“I would say it was rocky at first, man. Because we had, for ourselves, so much expectation going into the season,” mentioned Chubb. “All season, we talked about how we had to block out the noise and just focus on us. That mantra we used: they talk, we do. And at the beginning of the season, man, when you’re leading on that, and you get punched in the mouth, it’s like, okay, hold on.
“We gotta reinvent all the things. In a way, that is how everyone form of felt. However we simply stayed to it. Everyone stayed the course, stayed working arduous.
“And I feel like now we’re in a position where we’re finally playing complementary team football on all sides, on all cylinders. We need to continue to do that and trust each other, going out not playing to make your plays but what the team needs you to do.”
Few outdoors of the Dolphins constructing may have envisioned victory over a Payments workforce that simply bossed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. De’Von Achane was an unstoppable, field-flipping X Issue on the bottom, whereas a scrutinised protection locked down each Josh Allen and James Prepare dinner in model.
At 3-7 it could show too little too late, however Chubb deems it ahead progress as they pitch up in Spain.
“I’m using it as the catalyst,” he mentioned. “We saw what happens when we play complementary football in all three phases. I feel like we just have to use that as a catalyst. There’s no going back from that.
“If we do not play as much as that normal, we all know if we would not lose a recreation, why we would not lose a recreation. So it may be enjoyable to see how we reply to that. Such as you mentioned, an entire new nation, an entire new surroundings. I really feel like that is adversity in itself.
“We’ve been built for it all season. We’ve been going through it all season. So I feel like it’s a great out for us.”
Chubb described the Dolphins locker room as ‘delusional’ on the again of their win over the Payments, his level being that the workforce’s mindset or confidence had not altered regardless of their struggles over the primary half of the season.
“I called it that because, from the outside looking in, if we say, ‘hey, we’re going to win eight games in a row and make the playoffs,’ people are like, ‘come on, be honest with yourself’. But you have to have that mentality to go out there and do it,” he defined.
“If you don’t have that mentality, you’re not going to do it. So in a sense, to the outside world, it is delusional. But for us, it’s all belief and all what we know we can do.”
“We just continue to lean into each other. JB, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, he always says ‘a house divided can’t stand’ So being able to be one unit each and every week, I feel like that’s how we’re going to continue to move on.”
Chubb, who had been a rumoured commerce departure forward of the deadline on November 4, missed the whole 2024 marketing campaign via damage having put up 11 sacks and a league-high six compelled fumbles in his first full marketing campaign with the Dolphins in 2023. He leads the workforce with 5 sacks this season.
“I didn’t play all year, being out with a knee injury and having to come back from that. And a couple of years ago, I had another knee injury. And after that year, I made my first Pro Bowl, so me personally, I’ve been through adversity and came out on the other side of it in a positive light,” he continued.
“I kind of take that same mantra to the locker room. And we got a lot of leaders who’ve been through adverse situations.
“That is simply one other web page within the journey for us. We’re all simply sticking collectively and ensuring that we’re working it how we needed to see it run.
“Nobody has given up in a sense. We’re all approaching each and every practice with full intent.”
The Miami Dolphins face the Washington Commanders on the iconic Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, dwell on Sky Sports activities NFL from 2pm (kick-off, 2.30pm). Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.
