Coach Mike McDaniel’s Miami Dolphins have won plenty this season: They lead 9-3 for the first time in 22 years and are combined for the best record in the AFC. He has outdone his rivals 384-266, which makes the NFL a leader in passing, yard per game, rush per yard, and red-zone efficiency.
What does McDaniel think of that?
“Call me when it’s a 13-match season. “It’s all good, but we have a job to do today.” If we’re worried about anything other than the Tennessee Titans when planning the game… Then all those conversations and stories literally don’t matter.
Hosting a playoff game is the Dolphins’ long-term goal as they try to close out their first division title since 2008. The only focus of the week is on beating the Tennessee Titans (4-8) on Monday night.
The Titans have registered just one win since October 29 and have not been able to win on the road.
Coach Mike Vrabel has insisted that his team will not reach the finish line of the season despite performing below expectations.
“You put a lot into it every week, and sometimes you put too much into it and you lose a close match and it’s frustrating,” Wrabel said Wednesday. But you have to get yourself back. You have to answer the bell. No one will feel sorry for us, especially the dolphins. It’s a very good football team. We have to be ready and prepare. There are a lot of different looks, so there’s a lot to cover.
The Dolphins have won three games in a row and are yet to lose at home, where they average 38.8 points.
Tua Tagoveloa has passed for 3,457 yards and 24 touchdowns. For his career, he is 18-4 as a starter at Hard Rock Stadium. This .818 win percentage is the best among active quarterbacks, with at least 20 starting at home.
Tennessee young starter Will Lewis has 1,266 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, and he has caught the attention of McDaniel.
“You see how the guys play with them on the field and you can say they’ve earned the respect of experienced players. “And you either have it or you don’t.” As a quarterback, there’s nowhere to hide. So it’s good to see him progress and I think he’s capable of doing well in every throw.
Limiting Hill
Tyreek Hill is coming off a game in which he caught five passes for 157 yards, with touchdowns of 78 and 60 yards. His 1,481 yards receiving are the most by a player through 12 games in the Super Bowl era.
“He’s having an MVP-caliber season,” Titans defensive back Elijah Molden said. “I feel like we have to simplify our defense and make Tua check it down and be great tacklers on the perimeter.”
Vrabel said the Titans won’t be able to replicate Miami’s speed in practices leading up to the game, but they’ll need to work on being sound in their tackling and being in the right spots to limit Hill’s production.
“We’re going to need some extra people to help,” Vrabel said, “and to take great angles, and use your leverage and your help, and all those different things that we talk about when tackling.”
Longest game in NFL history
Tennessee and Miami last played at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 1 of the 2018 season in what became the longest game in NFL history at 7 hours, 8 minutes because of two lightning delays. The Titans had someone getting miniature pizzas from a concession stand to help keep players fed during the delays.
The Dolphins won, 27-20, helped by two kickoffs returned for touchdowns in Vrabel’s head coaching debut.
“Certainly interesting and unique way to start my NFL coaching career,” Vrabel said.
Special concerns
Vrabel fired special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman on Monday after the Titans had two punts essentially blocked last week against Indianapolis. The first was returned for a touchdown, while the second — on Tennessee’s next attempt — was knocked away before the rusher crashed into punter Ryan Stonehouse’s left leg. Stonehouse will have season-ending surgery, and the Titans signed undrafted rookie Ty Zentner to the practice squad Wednesday.
New special teams coach Tom Quinn, who will oversee the group the rest of this season after joining the Titans as a special teams assistant this offseason, said Zentner will be the team’s holder Monday night.
Protect Levis
The 33rd pick overall out of Kentucky now has as many starts as Ryan Tannehill this season, and Levis has been sacked just as many times as his predecessor. The Titans gave up six sacks last week, and Miami comes in tied with Buffalo and the Chargers for the third-most sacks this season. The Titans are hoping to protect Levis better with an offensive line that has used eight starting combinations through the first 11 games. This will be the third straight game for a unit anchored by a pair of rookies in left tackle Jaelyn Duncan and left guard Peter Skoronski, the 11th overall pick.