Dolphins 16, Commanders 13
DAN QUINN: I was just talking to the team after the game. It's tough. This one stings. Guys are definitely hurting, and I thought in a lot of spaces they battled, and we had our opportunity to go win it. We didn't get that done.
I liked the energy going into the game. That felt right. Some of the things, I liked seeing some goal line stops, some defense. That certainly brought some energy. That felt right. Liked seeing some big scramble by Marcus. That was a cool play to see us battling.
I think you've heard me talk about winning time moments and the missed opportunities, and that's what it felt like to me afterwards.
It doesn't all come up at the end or in the last seconds, but creating a takeaway on defense when you have a chance to go do that or missed chances at a touchdown in the low red zone, missed kicks, getting a chance to get a lead and not being able to close it out, obviously that's the part that stings the most, because we gave ourselves finally a chance to put ourselves in a spot to go win.
So that was kind of my message and where I was at. Got to heal the team up and fix that inconsistency that we're seeing that jams us up, whether it's a penalty or, like I said, a missed op in the spaces. So that's what we intend to do.
Glad to open it up to you guys for questions.
Q. (Question about the strength of the offense). Can you tell us what happened there?
DAN QUINN: Not yet, but I can say the foul -- you know, we were going to go for it again on fourth. Definitely disappointed not getting it at the 1. Felt definitely good going for it in the fourth down op, but to have those trips down low and to end up with field goals, like, oh, man, that's the part that we got to be able to count on to get that done.
Like I said, that's been a strength of ours getting to that spot. We've been struggling in the fringe to get into the red zone, into those spaces. So we'll look, we'll grow. I don't have a good insight on it yet, but I will.
Q. Was there ever a consideration to kick instead of going for it there?
DAN QUINN: If it was further back, there were definitely considerations, but depending on what the yard line was, that was the spot to go. Liked the play, but you know, didn't love the execution out of it.
Yeah, I don't love the result, but I don't second guess the call. Going in, I really thought this isn't going to be a field goal game, so I was pleased to see at the half that it was close like this and then getting the lead. So even at the end of the half, I was pleased we could kind of use some clock knowing we were going to get it again.
That hadn't been one of our strengths, so being able to do that felt right. No, I didn't hesitate on it.
Q. The defense, what was really working?
DAN QUINN: I was pleased to see them make some plays, and I thought down in that inside the 5, inside the 1, hang in, keep battling, go fight for the next one. We talked about even at the half, I had kind of spoken to the team about last night is what's next matters. That's what you can influence. Not what was.
So I said, We're all mad over the month that has been, but you have a chance to influence this tomorrow. It's going to take speed. It's going to take tackling. Not to create the takeaways, that would have been the one thing that I thought that would have been a real spot to go give ourselves a better chance to go win it.
Q. What more can you do to -- make a bunch of changes? (Off microphone).
DAN QUINN: I think I'm just going to keep battling. That's the attitude that I take to say where do you find the space to get better, and that's what you dig into.
I thought there were strides, man, and so that's what I want to see. Yeah, I don't like one step forward, two step backs, but just going to continue to try to put guys in the right spot to go do their thing, see if we can tighten up the things that need it, you know, like a foul or a false start. Those are ones that can be handled, John, so we got to get that done. That's what we intend to do.
But, yeah, it's frustrating, but that's part of pro ball and figuring it out and dealing with things that come up and finding guys in new spaces and seeing how we go give ourselves the best chance.
Going into it, I liked the op that we had at the half. Okay, we're here to go get it. So not getting it done, John, that's probably the thing that stings the most.
Q. (Indiscernible). There's a physical part to that. Is there a mental part?
DAN QUINN: Yes, that's a great question. Where it was was a mental part, also to the physical part of the healing, I think that's absolutely true. Give yourself space to breathe, to come back. You also have to be thoughtful individually, all of us. I challenged kind of all of us, What can we do better? That's me. That's the coaches. That's players, all of us.
Yeah, there's definitely a spot to both getting better. I'll have a better update for you after the bye on who is back and where we are. It would be too early to call some of those things, especially not knowing exactly where we're at, but the main thing is setting our course on what we want to improve upon and let's go do that.
Q. Do you have an update on Jaylin Lane?
DAN QUINN: I don't have an update on him. He wasn't able to come back and return, so -- let's call it a hip. Not hip pointer. I don't know all the information yet, so I don't have an update other than he wasn't able to finish, but I don't know the extent past that today. So I don't want to guess one way or another.
Q. How do you guys think about people in Madrid this week and especially today in the match?
DAN QUINN: I hope that Madrid and all of Spain saw the competitive toughness that the NFL stands for, and the energy that was supplied by the fans here and by the city, we couldn't have asked for anything more.
I'm certainly glad they got to see five quarters, what could look like to go all the way into overtime. That type of battling, that's really what we love about the NFL, and we hope that the fans here, and whether it's just in Madrid or all of Spain, they get a sense for that. Whatever team they're backing, just knowing that this is the fight and this is how it goes down.
Q. What did you see from Chris Rodriguez today?
DAN QUINN: I'll have a better sense for it as we go through tomorrow. Chris is consistent. He's downhill. He's tough. We know that.
I thought Jeremy had another conversion on third down. That is something that he is known for, to find that play that can go.
We'll keep digging, man. All three guys are going to battle and play. Bill had some first downs as well. I'll have a better sense. I just don't know enough today, John, honestly. I don't see all the offense in this space that you would normally, so I'll have a better answer as I evaluate all of it.
Q. (Off microphone).
DAN QUINN: That's the challenge, Nicki. That's the challenge, because the emotional part, not just the physical part. Not getting what we want in those spaces, so how do you pull yourself up and find the space?
Self-pity is not going to fix it. Disappointment, all those things are natural things. So I'll do my best to make sure this is how we're going to go play and this is how we're going to go do it. The group will fight, I'm certain of that.
Q. Just managing both calling all the defensive plays and being the head coach, how did that feel like at the moment? Did you feel like a little extra stressed?
DAN QUINN: Not really. Probably in the week I was, but it felt familiar. I had done it some in Atlanta, and actually one time in Dallas Mike had COVID, so I did it in a game there. I kind of felt like I needed a rhythm.
The game wasn't as difficult as probably the week of getting there, and then maybe adding on traveling and going to that space, that might have been it.
Joe certainly helped me a lot to make sure I'm organized, to get to spaces to go in game and the passing game. So it felt familiar, but different.
Q. One of your goals was as a team to get stronger. Mission accomplished? I know there's stuff that we don't see being a trip abroad.
DAN QUINN: It's probably too early to call right now. Sometimes the lessons don't get applied that moment. You know, you got time to think about it and go. So I'm hopeful of that, but sometimes you don't know right away. Sometimes it's later on that you find out, okay, that was important, but I don't know if I'm there tonight.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports