Miami Dolphins Postgame Transcripts – September 19 – Head Coaches and Players

Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

Q: How is Tua doing?

COACH FLORES: We’re getting some tests run. I just asked. They don’t know the severity of the injury right now. But we’re going to run some tests tonight and tomorrow morning, hopefully have a little bit more information.

Q: How do you explain what happened out there today?

COACH FLORES: I mean, we didn’t play well in any area. We beat ourselves, you know. Penalties, dropped passes, missed tackles. That starts with me. I got to do a better job. I got to do a better job getting us ready to go.

That wasn’t the case today. Give Buffalo credit, they’re a good team. They played well in all three phases. We need to do a much better job from an execution standpoint and give ourselves an opportunity to be in the game, which I thought early we missed a lot of opportunities, so…

Q: You’ve obviously spent a lot of draft capital on the offensive line in recent years. How did the offensive line perform in your view today and where is that rebuilding process?

COACH FLORES: We didn’t do well enough really in any area today. Offensive line, defensive line, coaching. I think we just need to regroup, make the corrections, and do better.

Q: You get the big crowd and the excitement and your quarterback goes down early in the game. What does that do for a team and how do you regroup from that after Tua goes down?

COACH FLORES: I think we have to regroup. We have to regroup. We didn’t do a good enough job of that. I mean, we talk about it, kind of a next man up mentality. Jacoby has to go in the game. It’s a team effort. Really across the board, O-line, running backs, tight ends, receivers. We didn’t get good enough execution across the board.

Including defensively, we didn’t get enough good execution, or in the kicking game. When you don’t execute, you miss opportunities, you don’t have success.

Q: How do you assess Jacoby’s game?

COACH FLORES: Not good enough. That’s across the board. I think as an offense, as a defense, as a special teams, as a coaching staff, we didn’t do anything good enough today.

We’ll go back, we’ll make the corrections. We need to perform better if we want to give ourselves a chance to have success.

Q: They came out with seven or eight-man front blitzes, right from the first play. What went wrong schematically with you? Or was it individuals?

COACH FLORES: I got to go back and watch the film. We got a lot of protection issues. I know they were up on the line of scrimmage. When they weren’t, we still had some issues. I have to go back and watch the film to have a lot more understanding of what happened from that standpoint after I watch it.

Q: Is there anything prep-wise this week that would give you an indication that you guys would play like this?

COACH FLORES: I thought the preparation was good. We didn’t execute. I mean, that’s really what it boils down to in any phase. When you have drops, when you have missed assignments, mental errors, when you have fumbles, when you lack ball security. We didn’t play well.

I thought the preparation, I thought we had a good week of prep. Obviously not good enough. I got to do a better job of getting us prepared. But we didn’t execute. That was what it was more than anything.

I think — yeah, we got to do a better job executing. I got to do a better job of getting us to a point where we can execute better.

Q: What can you tell us about Jesse Davis and Jakeem Grant that were hurt as well?

COACH FLORES: Yeah, I mean, we’ll have more information tomorrow. Both tough guys, I know they’ll do everything they can to get back out there.

Q: Do you think a lot of dropped passes today had something to do maybe with wide receivers not knowing Jacoby’s rhythm or anything like that?

COACH FLORES: I mean, there’s a lot that plays into it. But throwing and catching, that’s kind of a fundamental that we talk about. If the ball is there, I think we should have an opportunity or give ourselves – if we’re given an opportunity to catch it, we got to catch it. Whoever is throwing the ball. We get enough reps with Jacoby and the other receivers. I don’t want to use with that as an excuse.

Q: You have a veteran backup in Jacoby. Where is the team’s confidence if you need him next week against the Raiders?

COACH FLORES: I mean, we’ll see where we’re at with Tua. Like any position, if he’s not able to go, I think we’ve dealt with this with COVID, injuries, it’s something that’s not new to anyone. The next guy’s got to play. That’s the case with me as well.

Q: What is the mood like in the locker room when you talked to the guys after the game?

COACH FLORES: Look, I mean, guys are disappointed. As you know, I mean, any conversation I have with the players I try to keep private. But guys are disappointed. I’m disappointed.

I think we need to just regroup, come in tomorrow, make the corrections, and start fresh Wednesday and get ready for our next opponent, which is going to be another tough game on the road.

Q: Considering how the last few years have gone, is there any sort of mental hurdle this team needs to get over playing the Bills?

COACH FLORES: I think we need to just do a better job of executing. I think if we do that, things take care of themselves. It’s hard. Every week is hard in this league.

But give them credit. They did a great job today. They played well in all three phases. We’ve got to be better.

Q: Was there any chance, I guess, today for Tua to come back once he got hurt?

COACH FLORES: No.

Q: If Jacoby were to have gone down, do you have an emergency quarterback?

COACH FLORES: We’ll talk through that this week. I’m hopeful that Tua is back and we don’t have to go into that. But we’ll talk about that this week.

Yeah, I mean, right now on the roster we don’t have anyone. We have Reid Sinnett on the practice squad. We would have to make a move to do that. Hopefully we don’t have to.

Q: But today – it’s looking back but if Jacoby would have gone down, who would have…

COACH FLORES: Yeah, we had a plan. We have a third quarterback.


QB Jacoby Brissett (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

Q: What are the emotions like for you after you see QB Tua Tagovailoa get hurt and know you have to go in? – “I mean, obviously you never want to see a player go down, especially one of your teammates. I’m thinking about him right now. I don’t want this to sound bad, but it’s part of the game, just being ready to go. My number was called. It wasn’t my first time in this situation, so yeah.”

Q: Have you had a chance to talk to QB Tua Tagovailoa and how he’s doing? – “No, we just got off the field, I showered real fast, got here. I’m sure I’ll talk to him later.”

Q: How are you feeling? You got hit pretty hard too. – “Still standing up here smiling (laughter). Got another game next week.”

Q: Were you able to get any practice time with guys like WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Albert Wilson that you ended up throwing to during the week? – “Yeah, for sure. I mean, in the NFL you don’t throw the ball to everybody. Like I said, it was one week. Get an opportunity to correct it, go out, get better from there.”

Q: What happened with the pick? – “As far as what?” (What went wrong on that play aside from the throw?) – “Well, yeah, that’s what went wrong (laughter). I mean, I can’t tell you right now. I got to go back and watch the film to really be able to assess it. Yeah, can’t do that.”

Q: What was going on offensively that you couldn’t get clicking at all? – “It’s hard to put your thumb on it right now. I mean, like obviously everything didn’t go right. Everything didn’t go wrong. But we just got to find a way to see what we did well, build off of that. Going to be very important we watch the film, be critical of ourselves, try to build off that and build off our good plays.”

Q: What stood out with the way that the Bills were rushing you and applying pressure to you? – “Say that again.” (What stood out to you from the way that the Bills were rushing you?) – “What do you mean by ‘stand out’?” (What stood out to you? What were you seeing on the field with some of the blitzes and the way they were rushing you?) – “That’s hard. They were just coming. I don’t know how to answer that. Sorry.”

Q: Were you expecting that level of aggression from this defense? – “Oh, yeah, of course. It’s the NFL. It’s a Division game. Yeah, I’m sure we’re going to go back and we’re going to see it. We’re going to see the small things we missed up on that we could have did right, myself included. Correct it for next time.”

Q: You see the game differently than we do. What was Buffalo doing at the start of the game, seven, eight men on the line of scrimmage, blitzing. – “I mean, they do that. That’s Buffalo’s defense. You turn on the film and they show that on film. We were prepared for it. Obviously, it didn’t show that we were prepared for it. Like I said on the last question, you go back and look at those small details when we said we had the answers for those plays, just going back and correcting it.”

Q: As a backup when you see a starter go down, is it instinctual that you grab a football and start warming up? What kind of goes through your mind when you see the starter go down like that and you’re standing there? – “Well, I don’t refer to myself as the backup quarterback, for one. Two, I’m always throwing the ball, keeping my arm loose. You never know. Like I said, injuries happen in this league. You always got to be ready. Just on the sideline, I’m throwing constantly, as much as possible, keeping my legs warm. Obviously you guys seen me go the quarterback sneak, so I still got to be ready, yeah.”

Q: We don’t know yet if you’ll be starting next Sunday or multiple games. How would you describe your comfort level at the moment with your teammates, with the offense and operating the Dolphins’ offense? – “I mean, obviously it’s a work in progress. You’re never done until you’re done. I feel good. We build off of good plays from this week, go back to work, go back to the drawing board. We got a good game coming up. It will be interesting.”

Q: Were they blitzing you as much when you process what they did against you at the start of the game? Were they blitzing you as much? – “I pretty much got in at the start of the game. They came out and played what we saw on film, honestly. It was no different. I mean, probably a couple more extra pressures. But for the most part they came out and played what we thought they were going to do.”

Q: How would you approach the week if QB Tua Tagovailoa can’t go? – “Like every week. I’ll prepare as a starter. I know that’s cliché, but that’s how I live my life. You never know. Like I said, I’ve been in these situations before. I think that served me well.”

Q: You said earlier you don’t think of yourself as a backup quarterback, what do you think of yourself? – “I’m a starter.”

Q: You had a lot of dropped passes today, did you say anything to your receivers? You guys haver a conversation about that at all? – “Yeah, we’ll get better next time. It’s not always on the receiver. Sometimes it’s on me, bad ball. Like I said, go back and watch the film, get another week of preparation to get out there, continue to throw and catch balls. I mean, it’s early in the season, second game of the season. It’s not like the house is burning.”

Q:There was a big one in the endzone that went through WR De/Vante Parker’s hands, is that deflating? – “No, that’s not deflating. It’s too early in the game. It’s never deflating. It’s part of the game. Drops are part of the game, bad throws are part of the game. I think he responded well. He came out and made some more plays, so yeah.”

Q: You see yourself as a starter. Why not go to an organization that will give you a chance to compete for the job? – “I think in the NFL nobody gives you anything, right? You have to go out there and compete, be ready whenever your opportunity comes, however it comes. You got to go out there when you get your opportunity and make the most of it.”

Q: What approach have you taken throughout your career in communication with the offensive line? Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don’t. How do you as a quarterback try to help the situation? – “I mean, it’s not just on them, it’s on me, it’s on the receivers, on the running backs. As an offense, that’s what we understand. It’s not just on the O-line. You go out there, the O-line. It’s not them. Sometimes I got to throw the ball, sometimes somebody has to get open. It’s a mixture of everybody. I think in my career when those types of things have happened, it’s always going back, just like, Hey, let’s not finger point and put this on one group or person, let’s see how we can all help the situation.”

Q: It seems like the Dolphins have built this offense around QB Tua Tagovailoa, how do you view your skillset with some of the scheme you run?) – “I mean, like I said, go out there, prepare and make the most of it. I mean, yeah, a starter. No shock. I think they do that around the league. That’s no excuse. You go out there and compete and work hard. Obviously, it could be geared toward me. You just go out there and play football.”


CB Xavien Howard (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

(Can you talk about going up against Bills WR Stefon Diggs – you got him, he got you, just facing off against a receiver like that?) – “It was good. I look for the matchup every week. Obviously his team did a good job. They won.”

(What’s the mood in the locker room after a loss like this?) – “Like a funeral.”

(What was that little interaction between you and Bills WR Stefon Diggs at the end of the game?) – “It’s football. We respect each other. After the game he was like, good job, stuff like that. But just a lot of respect.”

(What happened on the touchdown catch? It looked like he lost his footing and you lost a shoe?) – “Yeah, I think he had fell. Josh Allen being Josh Allen and scrambling. That’s what he does. We were looking forward to him scrambling and throw the ball, so he did that.”

(It seems like despite Tua going down and the early 46-yard touchdown run you guys were able to get some stops and get some turnovers. What happened in the second half where they were able to drive down and start to really convert the drives into touchdowns?) – “I feel like we didn’t win in all three phases. We just got to get better each day. Take it one game at a time. Learn what we did, what we messed up in this game and move on.”

(Where is this team’s level of confidence in Jacob in term of him being able to lead you to victories?) – “We’re very confident in Jacoby, man. We’re talking trash at practice, me and Jacoby. It’s the next man up mentality. Whatever he leads us through, we’re going to do it.”

(Are you surprised the way you played today?) – “No, not surprised. Just playing against him at practice and seeing that from him. I’m not surprised about what he is doing.”

(No, I mean like you guys as a team.) – “No.”


G/T Robert Hunt (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

Q: What’s the emotions with the guys in the locker room after a game like this?

ROBERT HUNT: Probably exactly what you can imagine. Like we have to be better. As a whole team, that’s why we are going to come back tomorrow, focus on what we have to focus on and get better.

Q: How much responsibility do you put on this loss as an offensive line?

ROBERT HUNT: It was a rough day for us. Everybody saw that. We just have to, like I said, come back tomorrow, be better, man. Put pressure on ourselves, put this loss on us, because it is what it is. We know we need to be better. We know we have to have some issues. We’ll come back and we’ll work to correct those issues.

Q: It seems like they were sending a lot of blitzes to you guys early. Did any surprise you with maybe the type of pressure they sent?

ROBERT HUNT: I can’t say it surprised me. We did our film study, stuff like that. It was a rough day for the Dolphins, you know what I mean? That happens sometime. We’ll go watch film tomorrow, see what we (expletive) up at, come back and try to be better.

Q: What was the team feeling when you saw QB Tua Tagovailoa go down?

ROBERT HUNT: It was a tough feeling. You never want to see any of your teammates go down, you know what I mean? Hopefully Tua is all right. I’ll reach out to him when we get done. You never want to see any of your teammates go down.

Q: How long does it take guys in the O-line to mesh so they can work as one unit?

ROBERT HUNT: I want to say, I mean, it doesn’t really take time. You have to work with the guys, trust the guys next to you. We’re a young line, trying to improve. That’s no excuse. We can’t keep saying that (expletive). We working to be better, we will be better.

Q: What is the communication like for you guys up front? It seemed like there might have been some times where pressure should have been slid one way or the other and it may not have happened?

ROBERT HUNT: I mean, communication is communication. Once we get the communication, we try to go the right way. It didn’t happen as well today. We’ll watch the film, try to correct it.


T Austin Jackson (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

Q: This was your first game to be back after dealing with your situation. How did you feel physically being back out there?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Physically I feel fine. Felt fine, felt good, felt ready to go.

Q: Was there any catch up period for you when you returned to the team to get your lungs back at all? Or did you just have to get back into shape?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Yeah, you know, I did some extra conditioning. Practice is conditioning in itself, so getting back to that was what I needed to get back on the field.

Q: It seems like the Bills sent a lot of pressure especially on your side. Were you ready for that?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Yeah, I’m always ready for pressure, especially playing offensive line. The thing about the NFL is there’s a lot of disguises, a lot of hidden things. But, you know, I got to look at the film to see what they did. They definitely did some different stuff than they put on tape.

Q: How do you feel the line performed tonight?

AUSTIN JACKSON: You know, you never want to see your quarterback hurt or on the ground. Those are two terrible things that we all kick ourselves over. I think there’s definitely a lot of things we can get better at, things that we will get better about. Let me say that, too. We’re not hoping, going out there and praying. It’s hard work that we put in. We’ll do it.”

Q: You mentioned you never want to see your quarterback hurt, what was the emotions for you when you saw QB Tua Tagovailoa trying to get to the sideline and not be able to make it?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Tough. Sucks. Hurts. But in the moment, next play, next play. Whoever’s next up, do a better job of protecting them, or do everything you can in your power as 11 people. I think as a team we all struggled, clearly. Especially you hate to see stuff like that.”

Q: Did you expect seven and eight men fronts and blitzes like that?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Did we expect seven and eight man fronts? Yes, we did. There’s a lot of variation with the seven and eight man fronts, but yeah.”

Q: Is communication, is that something that is the center and quarterback’s responsibility to let know where the pressure is coming from?

AUSTIN JACKSON: Starts with the whole offense. Receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, quarterbacks. In terms of what the O-line has to do protection-wise, we try to move with each other and communicate. Kind of like all five talking. Center is not just barking orders out to us because he can’t see everything that we all see out on the field.


DE Emmanuel Ogbah (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

(What went wrong today?) – “I don’t know. We will see when we watch film.”

(What’s the mood in the locker room? Obviously you don’t ever want to lose a game like. What’s the mood in the locker room after that loss?) – “It was a tough loss. We just got to get back to film and study and be better next game.”

(Did you get an explanation for your penalty call there late in the game?) – “I don’t know. The ref called a penalty and I don’t know. Guess we will have to see.”

(Were you surprised at how you all played today?) – “Yeah, we could have definitely done some things better, but like I said we got to go back to film study and fix what we did wrong.”

(Very early in the game there was the lone run for a touchdown. I know you have to study the film but in general, do you have an idea about what needs to be better in that spot?) – Like I said we have to go back and watch film. I didn’t really see what exactly happened but just got to do a better job of executing the game plan.”

(Did you notice anything in the week to game preparation that went wrong?) – “No, we had a great week of practice.”

(When you lose a quarterback early, how does the team regroup from that? What was said on the sideline?) – “This team has a next man up philosophy. But yeah, it hurt losing Tua, but hopefully he’s back next week.”


DT Christian Wilkins (transcribed by ASAP Sports)

Q: What can you tell us about the touchdown run?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: We just got to start faster. I mean, they did a good job of doing what they do. They broke one. But we just got to do a better job starting faster, making the necessary plays to win.

Q: Any loss obviously isn’t … but how surprised are you the way you lost this game?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Well, they just really came ready to play. They started fast. We didn’t. We work really hard every day at practice. We’ll just make the corrections. 24-hour rule in the NFL. Win or lose, 24 hours, flush it, got to get better and make the corrections for next week.

Q: We hear that that 24-hour rule exists, but is it more difficult when the loss is like this…?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: 24-hour rule regardless, win or lose. Doesn’t matter.

Q: I don’t think you’ve beaten the Bills in your career. What is it about this team that gives you guys such trouble?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Like I said, we’re just going to regroup. 24-hour rule, get better, prepare for next week.

Q: What can you take away from this game to help you guys improve going forward?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Really biggest thing is just going in, watching the tape and being intentional. Not just watching it, not just going through the motions or anything like that. I’m not saying that we were or anything like that, but you got to be intentional. That’s the only way you can improve. You can always learn from a loss. It’s never a failure. It’s always something you can learn from.

Q: As a pass-rusher, do you feel you got the type of pressure on Josh Allen that you wanted to at the end of the game?

CHRISTIAN WILKINS: I feel like we did a solid job, but we can always do better. We’re just going to have to keep improving in all areas every day, one day at a time.


Buffalo Bills
Sean McDermott
Visitors Postgame Presser
Q. Is that about as complete as it can be? Turnovers and special teams, offense was pretty good. Defense
shut them out.
SEAN McDERMOTT: It was good. We definitely did some good things as far as completeness.
Q. I was listening to the guys a second ago, Micah and Jordan, and they talked about how prepared they felt,
that they knew — obviously, it was aggressive, get after the quarterback type football, like from the get go you
got immediate results, and they felt like they were fully prepared for this game. Can you maybe speak to that,
the design of the game plan and this execution?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I thought Leslie and Brian and Heath did a good job during the week getting them ready.
Divisional opponents, they know us, we know them. Really with our situation, we have a little bit more continuity with
Josh than they do with Tua leading into this game. Obviously, we were trying to figure out a little bit more who
they were. But, yeah, I thought our offensive line, defensive line did a really good job. Our offense got going in the second half there with good halftime adjustments. Defensively, they held us in the game early and made some big fourth down stops.
I think we got stops after the turnovers as well, the two turnovers we had. I thought the drive after the half was big
by our offense.
Q. Forcing turnovers this week, I know the guys were really upset they weren’t able to force in last week
against the Steelers. They said, look, we’ll put on emphasis on that during practice this week.
Obviously, the results were there today.
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yeah. That’s an important part of the game, winning the turnover battle. We still put the ball
on the ground too many times, and that’s going to come back to haunt us if we don’t get that corrected fast.
Q. Sean, you said a couple weeks ago, we’ve done our stories about the pass rush, now it’s time for them to
show up. What did you think of that unit today?
SEAN McDERMOTT: What did we have, six? Six sacks. Looked like, when given the opportunity, they were
affecting the quarterback early. I like that, just in terms of what they were doing. I thought Leslie called an
aggressive game and did a nice job letting those guys go, too, with the four-man rush once in a while.
As I always say, the rush and the coverage have to work together. I thought the back end was doing their part also.
Q. Especially the offense, up 14-0 at the half and could have been up more than that. You said, made some
adjustments, kind of found its groove. Talk about that process and how the game played out.
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yeah, I thought there was good communication leading into halftime and then at halftime
by our offensive staff. Came out and got into a better rhythm in the second half there. I thought Brian did a really
good job there, and Josh seemed to find his rhythm as well.
I didn’t think we were really into a rhythm the first half even though we scored 14, so it was good to see that in the
second half.
Q. In the first half, especially your receivers, didn’t see that they were winning on routes. Josh had nowhere
to go. That was part of the problem. What were you seeing from the sideline?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Well, there’s going to be times when that happens. They’ve got two really good corners that
play outside. In particular, I think they’re the highest paid corner tandem in the league, in fact, so they’re really good
players. We’re going to win some of those, we’re going to lose some. I thought the second half, we came out with a
different type of mindset and won some of those.
Q. For Zack Moss to rebound the way he did in the second half after losing a pretty tough fumble at first,
those were impressive runs down near the goal line. What did that say about him, and what can he take
away from that?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I thought it was important he was able to reset and mentally tough and come back. He made
some tough runs, particularly on the last one at the end on the touchdown.
That’s a great message to everyone and anyone on our football team, you’re going to make some mistakes, and
you’ve got to be able to come back and get your game back. That’s what your teammates need from you.
Q. I tried to ask Jordan about Taron Johnson, he cut me off. Two tackles, forced fumble, a sack. How good
was he today?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Just very active, very active. He’s really growing in our system. It’s fun to watch him kind of
understand the intricacies of the game. How he prepares himself during the week. It’s really a credit to him, what
Jimmy Salgado, our nickels coach, does with him and him getting ready to go.
Q. Talk about responding to diversity. Week 1, to lose the home opener, what does it say about this team to
answer back like this on the road in a division game?
SEAN McDERMOTT: This is how the NFL works, right? We understand that. That’s why we have to stay humble. I
saw a hunger in our football team this week. We’ve got plenty to work on though. That’s what we’ve got to get
back to. We’ll start on the plane as coaches, start watching the film, and try to improve every week. That’s the goal.
Q. Greg Rousseau hasn’t put together a game like this before in the NFL. What stood out about him?
SEAN McDERMOTT: He had two, Rousseau? Yeah, again active. Sometimes they come in bunches, right?
Like turnovers. Again, it’s got to work together. The coverage has to help the rush, and they have to work
together. I thought we did that. I thought we did a good job of just rolling fresh bodies in there also, when we were
get them in some passing situations. I thought any time you can get to a quarterback like they
did today and get six, that’s a good sign.
Q. Obviously, it’s a long game, but what’s it like for you after a tough loss in the season opener to see the
guys come out here. Not only the defense gets two sacks on the first series, but then Singletary takes it to
the house.
SEAN McDERMOTT: I’ve been around those before, where it’s a long game. So that’s the approach and the
mentality you have to have as a coach and a player and a team collectively.
I did like the start. Like I said, I could feel them in pregame. I could feel they were ready and give credit to
our guys. They put in a really good week of work. More importantly, the focus and the mindset. That’s what we’ve
got to take that humble and hungry approach as we always talk about around here.
Q. Talk about knowing the Dolphins and them knowing you, but this series has been really lopsided.
You’ve won six in a row against them now. What has worked for you guys and this team?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I’ll just focus on this game. They had their quarterback go down, so hope he’s all right. We
came in with guys that were focused. We came in ready to go. That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to respond. It
doesn’t mean we’re perfect. It doesn’t mean we’re where we need to be. Our job as coaches is to get them the
adjustments they need moving forward after this week because we didn’t play a perfect game.
Q. Is it one thing for a coach to say you’ve got a lot of things to work on, which you do, but you won 35-0.
That’s got to be a good position to be in as a coach and a team, isn’t it?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yeah, I’ll take the win. I’ll take the win. Happy for that. I’m blessed to be sitting here with you
guys and coaching these guys. I don’t want to jump over it like it doesn’t matter. It does matter.
But it’s a journey too. It’s about how you grow every week, how you get better every week and your mindset and focus
every week. That’s why the NFL is the way it is.
Q. In the passing game is kind of the team’s fastball, how important is winning this way kind of relying on
the off-speed stuff?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I’m not really a baseball guy (Laughter). I’m confused up here what pitch you’re
throwing. Yeah, look, you have to be able to do that. You’ve got to be able to make in-flight adjustments. You’ve got to be able to win left-handed at times or play left-handed at times or be good enough and execute at a high enough level where you have something else. I saw some of that today, but again, that’s one of the areas that we have to — we have to be aware of making sure that we continue to grow as an offense but also in all three phases.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Josh Allen
Dion Dawkins
Visitors Postgame Presser
Q. You won 35-0, that’s a pretty good position to be in. Not playing your best and to win by that much.
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, we’ve got some stuff to work on. We really do. Just myself trying to find a rhythm early on. Hats
off to our guys early on and trying to establish a run game early that helps us out so much. Did a hell of a job
protecting all day, and our guys made some plays. To feel the way we feel, knowing we could have played
better, winning 35-0, that’s a good problem to have.
Q. Could you take us inside that statement, trying to find a rhythm early on? We talked about that last week
after you didn’t hit that deep ball early or whatever against Pittsburgh. Out of the half, you got the drive
together. Talk about that process today and maybe where your game is at.
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, just finding some comfortable plays that the entire offense likes. Our receivers are comfortable
with some of the stuff we’re running the second half. I know I was. Not saying I wasn’t early on, but we had more
game plan stuff trying to put in. Hat’s off to them. They’ve got some really good players
over there, and they made some really good plays today. There’s some things we need to do better
communication-wise, and it starts with me. There’s going to be a lot of stuff to learn from on this tape.
Again, winning the way we did, it feels good.
Q. You probably played two of the best secondaries in the NFL, right? Because early in the game, your guys
were having trouble winning, the first half especially. Can you kind of describe having to play these two
secondaries the first two weeks?
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, they got some players. They get paid on that side of the ball too, and they’re supposed to
make some plays. They did today. Again, we can clean some stuff up, especially with myself,
just finding some stuff early on and then getting off quicker, off the first read a little quicker, just forcing them to cover
everyone on the field.
Q. I know the offensive line as a whole was really disappointed last week in your performance? How do
you feel you guys responded this week?
DION DAWKINS: Definitely, we put the right foot forward. We still have a lot of things to clean up. Everybody sees
the score, but there’s a lot of little things that go into it that we take personal and we’ve got to do a better job because
it will hurt us in the long end. As long as we stay on it and just keep pushing, the O-line will be all right.
Q. Devin’s touchdown run, I don’t think he got touched. When the O-line is able to get blocks like
that, what does it feel like on the sideline?
DION DAWKINS: It’s a great feeling. We care about our running backs just as much as we care about our
receivers. For any time that a running back can run without getting touched or even just getting in the end
zone, we also take very personal. So hat’s off to Motor and those running backs, the skinny
guys I call them, and we’re going to continue to get them in the end zone more and more and more times without
getting touched.
Q. More repetition of the offensive line playing together, preseason didn’t really play together an awful
lot. You guys looked really more in sync, especially on the run plays.
DION DAWKINS: I guess you’re talking about the rotation, like of the guys?
Q. The repetition of how you guys seemed more in sync.
DION DAWKINS: Like that all helps. Anytime you can practice what you’re doing, I mean, it helps, yeah.
Q. Josh, Tua’s in his second year. Obviously didn’t get to see much of him today. You were one of those
players that really made that leap in your second year to where you are now. Can you talk at all looking back
to that second year. Do you remember what was most important to you then to make that leap?
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, the game just kind of slows down a little bit. I don’t know if he’s got the same OC or in the
same system or not, but that helps, camaraderie with your teammates helps. Just trusting what your coaches are
telling you and trusting the guys around you. I think that was a big thing for me, not trying to do too
much. I still took my lumps in my second and last year too. I’m going to take lumps and learn from them as we go.
I’m going to say something about the O-line, to that question: We changed stuff yesterday into our run game,
put in new plays, and our guys rolled with it and figured out a way to go out there and apply it. Being an O-lineman is
not easy by any means. There’s so many different bullets flying at you. They get the blame sometimes when they
really shouldn’t.
People don’t know our blocking schemes and our run schemes and where our fits are supposed to be and stuff
like that. So, again, these are my guys.
Q. Dion, to that point, how hard is that to do, what Josh is talking about, just to throw stuff in on
Saturday? How difficult is that for you?
DION DAWKINS: Any time stuff goes in late, it’s hard, but we’re all pros. We learn how to deal with it, and we have a
great quarterback and great guys on the offense that make it easier for us. They’re up there, and they — well, I think
that the quarterbacks are the most smartest guys in the building. So when they can like put like little hints, and
they’re like, all right, guy, this is what we’re doing, that’s cool. That’s exactly what Josh did to keep us all with that
right foot forward. Hat’s off to Josh.
Q. You’re six in a row against the Dolphins with a win. What is it about playing Miami that kind of brings the
best out of you or a winning effort out of you when you do play them?
JOSH ALLEN: We got 52 other guys on the team that contribute to this and going to the scout team as well.
We’ve got 60-plus in the building that are working their tail off. Division games are the ones we need the win. You
gotta win a lot of other ones too. You can’t lose in the division. That’s our goal, to win every game in the division.
I don’t know if it’s an extra added effort, but we work really hard, especially when we play teams in the division.
Q. What was talked about at halftime when you came out in the third quarter and took the offense right down
the field?
JOSH ALLEN: We knew we needed to get six there. We had a couple plays early on in the first quarter that helped
us get a couple scores. We wanted to put something together that was long, sustaining, and really — putting us
up 21-0 coming right out of the third quarter, I think that’s huge for a team to have that sense of like, okay, we still
can play aggressive here, and we don’t have to worry about any consequences. We don’t have to be afraid.
Let’s just go and pin our ears back and play hard, and that’s what our guys did. Hat’s off to our defense too. A shutout in the NFL, that doesn’t happen too often. We’ve got to appreciate these moments and the types of plays our guys made today, that was awesome to see.
Q. What was the reason for the additions?
JOSH ALLEN: Just stuff in the game plan. Coaches see different things. Again, we don’t really have much say of
what goes in.
DION DAWKINS: Absolutely.
JOSH ALLEN: I think I have most say, but I still don’t have much say. Whatever they put in, we’ve got to run it. It’s
our job to go out and execute.
Q. It’s one game, you guys are like, don’t panic, you’re not panicking. What does it say for this team to go out
there on the road and get the divisional win? What does it say about this team?
DION DAWKINS: It just says that we learn from our mistakes and that we know how to let things go and move
on to what’s next. That just shows the type of character of the guys that we have in our locker room that we did not let
what happened last week destroy us because something like that can destroy a football team, any loss, especially
home. You know like with the media and itself, there’s a lot of different parts that goes with it. For the guys that we have in our locker room, to put that to bed and move on with a fresh start, that just shows that we have the right guys to get this thing done.
Q. There was a hunger in this team. Did you guys feel that? Was it different this week than last week?
JOSH ALLEN: Absolutely. I think, especially the first week, it’s such an overreaction from really everybody,
media. People see that. Coaches see that. So around the facility, just slightly different feeling. As a team, we’re like,
calm down and take it one game at a time. That’s exactly what we’ve got to do with this week as well.
After we look at the tape tomorrow, it’s gone and put to bed. We’ve got a really good team in Washington coming
to Buffalo next week. So we’ve got to find a way to put together a good game plan and go execute for that game.
Q. What did Moss show you guys coming back from that fumble to score twice in the second half?
DION DAWKINS: It just shows that Moss is a guy of character and he flushed that as well. Moss said, look, in
the next time I touch this ball, I’m going to make it count, and he did that two more times, and he ran behind his big
guys, and he just put his head down.
JOSH ALLEN: That last one was sweet too.
DION DAWKINS: And he kept on chugging along.
Q. (No microphone) about the touchdown today?
JOSH ALLEN: Obviously, just scramble, making a play. Again, me and Diggs just kind of have that rapport of like I
see something, he sees it too, and he made a good play. He was running that way, he came back and ran the other
way. Just one, two, and three really weren’t open. The running wasn’t an option. Just trying to give my guy a
chance.
Q. When you see that play on film, is that something where you’re like, oh, man, I probably shouldn’t be
doing something like that, or are you just happy at the result?
JOSH ALLEN: We call those “atta boys.” You complete it, atta boy.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Jordan Poyer
Micah Hyde
Visitors Postgame Presser
Q. Could you have scripted a better defensive performance than that one?
JORDAN POYER: No. I feel like we left some things out there last week, as you guys heard us throughout the week
talk about it. Basically adjustments. We want to go out with some energy, and we were focused all week. It was
just great preparation. Went out there today and just had a blast. We emphasized having fun, and winning is fun, and
our defense played well. Just great execution by us.
Q. When you left the podium last week, you said a lot of football to be played. You said don’t panic. Take us
into practice last week. Just the refocus and the energy you’re talking about.
JORDAN POYER: That’s exactly that. That’s exactly what it is. 24-hour window. The whole — it’s one game, don’t
panic. We learned from that film. We watched it. We spent the 24-hour window on it, and we moved on it. This
team has been together long enough to where we dealt with wins and we dealt with losses. We learn how to do
both.
Coming out today just kind of shows what the team is about. We took a tough loss last week, and we were able
to bounce back and play defense and special teams. We’ll continue moving forward.
Q. As much as the defense gave the team a chance to win last week, you were quick to point the finger at
yourself. You didn’t take the ball away. That changed today. That seem pretty obvious right from the get-go,
how aggressive you were. Talk about that mindset.
MICAH HYDE: We talked about last week takeaways are a big part of the game. You win the turnover battle, you’re
most likely to win the football game. We wanted to come out here this week and wanted to do just that. I’m not sure
how many takeaways we had, but a lot of fourth down stops. Just defense getting off the field. That’s what we
preach and that’s what we weren’t able to do last week in the second half.
We were just men on a mission this week and wanted to come down and get a win.
Q. You guys had two sacks on the first three plays. Both came out of the secondary. What can you say
about the way Leslie Frazier was diagramming the game plan this week?
MICAH HYDE: Fraze was dialing it up. A few times we came off the field and I was just dabbing Fraze up because
just excellent calls. Mixing it up, sending guys. We were able to get a lot of pressure on first and second down, also
on third down. The guys up front were eating. Just an excellent job by Fraze. We had that
communication throughout the week of what calls we were going to make. Whether it’s first down, second down, third
down, we all have a good understanding from the coaches to the players. This is how we come out and execute. This
is how we play well.
Q. Did you guys notice them get deflated as soon as Tua was knocked out of the game? Did you notice he
took a step back or was hindered?
JORDAN POYER: You don’t want to say you sense that, but you want to continue to put pressure on the offense,
understanding the starting quarterback is out. The backup may not have gotten as many reps that week. You want to
continue to put pressure on them, show different looks, and try to confuse them.
I thought our defense throughout the whole — we made adjustments throughout the game. It was an incredible
way to bounce back after last week. Like I said earlier, we just want to continue that momentum.
Q. Wins are big in this league. Road wins are even bigger. Road wins against a divisional opponent. How
big is this one?
JORDAN POYER: It’s big. It’s one game. We want to continue to carry that momentum into next week.
Obviously, any time you get a win on the road in the division, it’s huge. Like I said earlier, a 24-hour window.
We didn’t play perfect at all. There was still some football left out there on the field that we can learn from and move
forward and put our focus into Washington.
Q. What is it about you guys playing the Dolphins that you guys have the edge over them like this? This is
six in a row overall, five since — I think six overall that you guys have beat the Dolphins. What is it about
them that kind of brings the best out in you, and how has it been so lopsided the past couple years?
MICAH HYDE: Honestly, we just focus on the game. I honestly even didn’t know 6-0. I didn’t know that. We don’t
talk about that. We just talk about this game and who they’ve got. They’ve got a lot of weapons on offense. We
knew that coming in, so we had to find a way to get pressure on the quarterback so we could limit their
weapons.
We were fortunate enough to get win number one. We’re thankful for that. Like Po said, 24-hour window. We’ve got
to move on from that.
Q. Taron Johnson —
JORDAN POYER: He’s a dog. Pound for pound. Best in the league. Dude comes to work every single day
believing he’s the best. He went out there, to me, it was amazing watching him play today. Don’t even have to
finish the sentence. The way he played today, it was incredible.
Q. For Greg Rousseau to get a couple of sacks coming back to Miami as a young guy, what does that
say about him and what he can mean for the pass rush? As you guys said, that was a focus in the
off-season getting a little more beef in the pass rush.
MICAH HYDE: Happy for Greg. We got some guys up front that can get after the quarterback. Anytime we can
get up by a couple of scores and force them into one-dimension football, front passing the football, those
guys up front are going to eat. Good for Greg. Happy to see those boys up there eating.
Q. Why did you laugh about Greg? Did something happen in the locker room?
MICAH HYDE: No, I didn’t know he had a couple of sacks. Good for him coming back home and getting a couple of
sacks.
Q. When Singletary scores on the second snap from scrimmage, how does change your perspective, to
play with you getting the early lead?
JORDAN POYER: It’s a long football game, regardless if they score on the first play or the tenth play, our defense
has to continue to execute at a high level. Continue to keep pressure on them. It gives us a jolt. Let’s go. Our
offense is moving. Let’s get our side of the football moving too.
Today was a day where offense, defense, and special teams, all came together, and everybody was making
plays.
Q. Can you put into words what it’s like riding a wave like that defensively? Getting out there — maybe it
takes a few series when you feel things are falling into place, but clearly, I mean, you look back and it seems
as though this was just going to be your day. When do you feel that, and what does that do for you?
MICAH HYDE: Honestly, we felt like we felt during the week. I think we were just so focused and the plan we had
in place — you know, the plan that coaches put together, we felt it. We loved it. We loved the calls that Frazier was
making throughout the week, and we knew that, once we get into the game, we had a clear understanding of what
they do and what we’re going to do against them. Obviously, the game comes rolling around, you’ve got the
nerves. You’re not sure how you’re going to perform. But it all starts during the week, and got to give it to the
coaches for putting a plan together that we can play fast, play smart, and go out there and execute.
Q. New England had so much history running this division. You guys won it last year. I think today you
showed again you guys are the team to beat in division. How does that feel? Do you take pride in
kind of being the best team in the division?
JORDAN POYER: One game at a time. That’s it. One game at a time. Appreciate you.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Zack Moss
Gregory Rousseau
Visitors Postgame Presser
Q. Zack, Dion was just saying that after the fumble, you talked to him on the sideline and said, next time I
get the ball, I’m going to make a difference. Do you remember that conversation? What kind of — what
was in your mind that made you say that kind of thing to him on the sideline?
ZACK MOSS: I had a long weekend. I buried my aunt yesterday morning. Then coming out here 24 hours later
and have a fumble in a big game we definitely needed, I had to get my mental right and kind of switch over. So I
was able to do that just from that conversation and just knowing that I had to pick it up for this team.
Q. What went into that? You obviously weren’t able to attend. How were you able to deal with that?
ZACK MOSS: I actually did attend yesterday morning. Just obviously pretty sure everyone understands being at a
funeral and all the stuff that goes around it, even in the weeks before and all that. I just wanted to come out here
and just play the game.
Had a rough start to it, but just being able to go out there and finish right away, Coach is allowing me to go out and
do that is big.
Q. Sorry for your loss.
ZACK MOSS: Appreciate it.
Q. Greg, for yourself, first two career sacks to get them here in your hometown, what is that feeling like?
GREGORY ROUSSEAU: It was a blessing. It was a lot of fun out there. Really even though I might get the sack, really just a testament to the secondary, linebackers, D-line, all of us getting there. It was really like a group
effort. Some people might get the numbers, but really it’s all 11 of us.
Q. The pass rush as a whole, I think you guys had six sacks today. It seemed like it was really rolling right
from the very start, first play of the game.

GREGORY ROUSSEAU: Just going out there and executing everything that Coach McDermott, Coach
Frazier, Coach E, what they tell us to do, get off, active hands, hands and hips, just the whole nine yards.
Q. At some level, though, to be able to come back here and perform like that, that has to be special for
you on a personal level.
GREGORY ROUSSEAU: Yeah, it was pretty cool. Playing all my home games at this stadium in college. I
had a lot of great memories here. I had my whole family here. It was just a blessing to be able to come back and
play in my hometown and have a solid game.
Q. Zack, when you put one on the ground like that, a lot of coaches would just say, sit the rest of it out.
What’s it say to the coaching staff that they went back to you, and how much did you think to yourself, I’ve
got to pay them back for that?
ZACK MOSS: For one, I need to pay myself back first and this team. I mean, something like that happened similar
last year in my rookie year in San Francisco on a Monday night game, we had a fumble on the exchange deep in the
red zone coming out, and I got benched that game. So that was a big learning curve.
For Coach McDermott to continue to say he trusts me every time I come and seen him was big for me. So I just
knew I definitely needed to come back out and just do what I need to do.
Q. Zack, what was the emotional ride for you out there? I can imagine it’s got to be as high and as low
as it gets all things considered. To be able to finish it the way you did and literally finish at the goal line, how
good did that feel?
ZACK MOSS: It’s life. You know what I mean? I think, if I had to put it in one word, it’s life. I mean, going from
having ups and having downs in this 24 hours. So I’m just thankful for being able to play this game
because a lot of other things in life that’s way more important, but I get a chance to come out here and play
this game. So super happy and super blessed just to be able to play like I said and have the game that I did have with the rebound.
Q. Zack, both of those touchdown runs were not to be classified as easy. Those were pretty physical runs.
What was going through your mind on each of those?
ZACK MOSS: Just make them count. We know as running backs, if you don’t make them count down there,
the chance of getting another one is very slim. So there’s a chance it might go in the air. I just wanted to make sure
when I did get it, I made sure that I had crossed that white line so we couldn’t throw it in the air and I didn’t have to
block anyone.
Q. Defense had two sacks on the first three plays. Was there a sense pretty early on like you guys were
going to eat today?
GREGORY ROUSSEAU: Yeah, I’d say there was. Just really all about just going out there and playing hungry.
Obviously, we lost last week. We didn’t have our best game. We knew we had to come out and start fast. That’s
what we did.
Q. Greg, how do you describe that momentum when the pass rush really gets rolling? It definitely feels like
it’s one after another?
GREGORY ROUSSEAU: It means everything. Momentum in football is a huge, huge part of the game,
and then when your unit is coming up big, you just feed off each other. A.J. makes a play. Jerry makes a play. It gets
you more excited. Now you want to go and get one. It’s really like a snowball effect.
Q. Both Sean and Josh were talking about even when the team was up 14-0, the offense still needed to get in
a rhythm. What’s it like when the points are there but you feel like there’s so many adjustments that need to
be made?
ZACK MOSS: We got off to a fast start, and we got stalled really quick. There was a lot of things going on, and you
don’t want that to happen in the offense. I mean, we know who we got as guys on our team, we know how everyone
is going to play and how they’re going to respond. So it was kind of just continue like, if it didn’t happen this
time, it’s going to happen next time. If it didn’t happen this time, it’s going to happen next time. All the guys on the
offense are leaders and things like that, just kept preaching that on the sidelines, and everyone followed suit. We were
able to do that, finally getting back in the end zone and scoring a few more times.
Q. Two weeks in a row, this defense has given this team a chance. They’ve only allowed one touchdown,
and today obviously no points. What can you say overall about the job that side of the ball is doing right
now?
ZACK MOSS: They’re doing a great job. Obviously, we have one of the better defenses in the league, so as an
offense, we make sure we do our job to allow those guys to go out there and play more free.
When they’re playing the way they’re playing, 0-0, and we put up 14 points, it allows them to go out there and have
more leverage and make plays for themself and stuff like that. As an offense, we try to feed them as they feed us.
Also in the special teams, that’s what we preached all week definitely coming out of the week 1 game.
Q. Mentally any differences from Game 1 to Game 2 of your career? Any less jittery or things like that?
GREGORY ROUSSEAU: I’d say it’s about the same. I would say it’s really cool playing here and having more
people come to the game, so that was cool, but it wasn’t too different.
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