Better communication, better result
Flores credits his players’ ‘awareness’ as big key in win
The Miami Dolphins avoided going 0-3 for the second consecutive season under coach Brian Flores — and did so in convincing fashion in their 31-13 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
While looking like a much-improved Dolphins squad, the offense made an impact early and often, with Miami scoring on its first three drives and dictating the tone of the game.
The Miami defense contained Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew and forced two turnovers after having two combined takeaways in its first two games.
“That’s why we practice, prepare and put the time in to win ballgames,” Flores said Friday afternoon. “I’m excited for our players and coaches to see the fruits of their labor. They worked extremely hard.
“Now the goal is to try to string them together. After watching the tape, there were a lot of good things and a lot of things we could correct.”
Flores credited the Dolphins’ improved defense performance against the Jaguars in comparison to their first two games to “better communication and awareness,” and the offense giving the team an early lead that forced Jacksonville to change its game plan.
The Jaguars recorded only 17 carries, which was about half as many rushes as the Dolphins, who had a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Jacksonville only ran the ball four times in the second half, with the Dolphins getting three of their four sacks after halftime.
“Rushing the passer and having the lead is different than rushing the passer when you don’t have the lead,” Flores said. “We put ourselves in a position where we played well early, got a lead and that kind of changed their game plan,where it became more of a passing game.
“We were able to put pressure on the quarterback and we created a couple of turnovers. That’s how we want to play.”
Xavien Howard recorded the Dolphins’ first interception of the season, and his 13th dating back to December 2017, to seal the game.
He appeared to be holding the back of his right leg after the interception but told reporters Friday he was “fine” and only had a slight cramp. Howard, who had surgery on his left knee in December 2019 — his third knee procedure during his NFL career — responded that he’s feeling great when asked if he feels as he did physically in 2018, the same year
he was named second-team AllPro.
“I feel like I’m improving each game and [I’m] just focused on staying healthy and getting better each year,” he said.
As for ways to improve, Flores said he wished the Dolphins did a better job of maintaining the offensive momentum they had at the beginning of the game, but he credited the unit for “spreading the ball around, getting the run game going” and forcing the Jaguars to “guard everyone and defend every inch of the field.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed passes to four receivers on the Dolphins’ 12-play, 84-yard open
ing drive that ended with him finding Preston Williams in the end zone with a 3-yard touchdown pass.
The Dolphins’ rushing attempts (36) and yards (138) were both season highs.
“That’s what you want to do offensively,” Flores said. “We were able to do that early, but I wish we would have sustained it a little better in the second half.”
While the Dolphins have had to deal with their fair share of mobile quarterbacks in the first three matchups, they’ll have to deal with one who presents a different set of challenges in their next game against the Seattle Sea
hawks (2-0) on
Rock Stadium.
Flores called Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson “one of the best players in the league,” with Wilson leading the NFL in touchdown passes (nine) and completion percentage (82.5) through Seattle’s first two games.
“We’ll do our due diligence on scouting and evaluating him, and the rest of the team, and try to put ourselves in the best position to contain that offense,” Flores said. “We’ve seen some quarterbacks who are mobile over the last few weeks, but this is one of the best guys in the league, so it’ll be a challenge.”
Oct. 4
at Hard