Dolphins vs. Bills

Before the 1 p.m. game, read our coverage.

It is difficult to think clearly when high on hope. Scarred and distrustful Miami Dolphins fans know that by now. The NFL plays such hall-of-mirror tricks on you, one Sunday to the next, the last people to believe are the ones invested in believing. “That’s who we are,” linebacker Jelani Jenkins said of the big, October win.

“We’re the team now we always should have been,” receiver Jarvis Landry said.

“We’ve never lacked confidence in what kind of team we have,” defensive end Cameron Wake said.

This wasn’t said this past week. Not in the wake of the Dolphins’ big win against Pittsburgh. This was said last year after a big win against Houston, which followed a big win against Tennessee —– both on the road to a 6-10 season that got coaches fired.

Maybe the Dolphins discovered something special last Sunday in surprising Pittsburgh. Maybe they “cracked a code” or “found their identity,” as they’ve said at various times through a decade wandering the wilderness.

But maybe the biggest change last Sunday wasn’t their offense finding a running game or their defense shutting down a top quarterback. Maybe it came after all that. Maybe it was how coach Adam Gase carried himself right from the immediate aftermath of the win.

“If we come back and think winning one game is more important than whatever

happened the previous weeks, then that’s when you’re going to put yourself in a bad situation,” Gase said. “We need to come back and start over again. When we hit Sunday, nobody is going to care what we did last week.”

This is different. Less emotional than a year ago under Dan Campbell. More conversational than anything Joe Philbin said. It didn’t draw the headlines like cutting players after a lackluster effort in a loss to Tennessee did, but it’s another shift toward a sustainable culture by the new coach.

Gase doesn’t have the roster he wants. Not when he has to bench highpriced talent like Mario Williams. Not when he has to cut players in October or trust unknown tight ends or cornerbacks.

But what has been on display in his opening season is how he can push smart buttons and navigate his team through a season. You don’t produce? You get benched, like Williams and fellow defensive end Jason Jones were last week. Like running back Jay Ajayi and cornerback Byron Maxwell were, before they became last Sunday’s stars. Coincidence?

“We’re never just going to shrug our shoulders and be OK with poor production,” Gase said.

You win a good game like against Pittsburgh? Good job. Now move on. That’s Gase’s message. You haven’t heard the Dolphins talking after this win like they did last year.

It doesn’t mean they beat Buffalo this Sunday. It does mean a rookie coach is bringing a more sustainable culture to this team.

“The talent is so tight, and every week is so different,” Gase said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re ranking in the power rankings. Nobody cares on Sunday. It’s about guys going out there, doing their job, being ready for that game.”

The Bills might be without the league’s top running back in LeSean McCoy. The Dolphins are without their best defensive playmaker in safety Reshad Jones. So the matrix shifts last Sunday to this Sunday in the manner it always does.

That’s the NFL. That’s why every week brings surprises. Philadelphia blew out Pittsburgh this season in a larger manner than the Dolphins did, 34-3. It hasn’t won since.

A year ago, after the Dolphins beat Tennessee in Campbell’s first game as interim coach, owner Steve Ross stood in the winning locker room and said, “The sleeping giant is awake!”

The Dolphins were awake, too. For two consecutive wins. They then sank to the bottom in the way the talent on their roster suggested.

The Dolphins had a nice win last Sunday. But the lasting message from Gase trickled down to the players. No talk of, “That’s who we are.” No mention of, “This is the team we should be.”

You look for small shifts in a new regime. There was another one. Now you look for what those shifts mean on a Sunday like this, too.

“We’re never just going to shrug our shoulders and be OK with poor production.” Dolphins coach Adam Gase

Dave Hyde