MADRID (AP) — The Dolphins arrived in Madrid for their game against the Washington Commanders looking to keep the momentum going from Miami's upset of the Buffalo Bills.
The Dolphins (3-7) beat the Bills 30-13 last week in one of their best games during a disappointing season. Coach Mike McDaniel wants more of the same for Sunday's game in the Spanish capital, and sees his players' confidence boosted by the performance last week.
“I think more than
anything, the team needed to feel the complete execution of a three-phase football game,” he said Wednesday. “I think that more than anything, less of the opponent and more of who we are and how we play football, I think that was the biggest thing for our team.”
“On the heels of putting together what we think is a complete game, now our objective is to change circumstances, go across an ocean and create the same formula to have the same outcome for this next game and that has to be earned,” he said.
McDaniel said there can't be any letdown despite facing a Commanders team (3-7) that is on a five-game losing streak. He said Dan Quinn's squad will be a handful.
“I think right now, in the National Football League, you run yourself into trouble if you look past anyone,” McDaniel said. “The parity is so real that every game you have to earn your victory, and if you look at more than the next game, it’s usually a recipe for failure.”
The victory Sunday snapped Miami's seven-game losing streak against the Bills. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and De’Von Achane added a pair of rushing scores. It was a dominant performance for the defense, which had three takeaways and three sacks.
“When you make those corrections and things start to click, you’ve got to make sure to lock in and copy, paste, repeat,” defensive tackle Zach Sieler said. "Like this week, we’re focused on doing everything we can do to keep our schedule, routine, everything the same to do what we did last week and carry that on to the rest of the season. This week is all that matters.”
The Commanders-Dolphins game will be the seventh NFL game abroad this season, the most ever in a single season since the league started making a push to expand globally. The Dolphins will be playing their eighth regular-season game abroad, second only to the 14 played by the Jacksonville Jaguars. It will be the third for Tagovailoa.
“Being able to travel internationally and visit different cultures I think is a cool thing. Not just with the food, with the language, with the people as well,” Tagovailoa said. “Yesterday I had the opportunity to go check out the city a little bit and I thought that was cool. I got to see a little bit of the cathedral, I thought that was really cool and then checked out some spots while walking. I think I got about 20,000 steps in yesterday just walking.”
He said the biggest adjustment was the six-hour time difference between Miami and Madrid.
“It felt like we had like two practices although we didn’t do anything yesterday but just land. I think the sleep aspect of it was tough,” he said. “When we landed, some guys got five hours of sleep, some guys were going in and out of napping. Then when we landed, some guys were really trying to stay up and try to get acclimated as well.”
Fullback Alec Ingold said “trying to get out of that jet lag" is definitely a challenge, as is losing some of the preparation hours in the week.
“The biggest advantage,” he said. “I think is the camaraderie. Being around the guys consistently, in the facility, through the team hotel, you’re always around your guys, always talking, always communicating so I think those little conversations is a huge plus for us.”
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