The Dolphins might finally be ‘in the hunt.’ That doesn’t matter to the team
The Miami Dolphins are back in the playoff hunt.
Turn on any NFL game on CBS and you will eventually see the Dolphins logo placed squarely under the words “in the hunt.” Log onto X and you will see ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky’s ecstasy over the Dolphins’ new “offensive identity.”
Just don’t tell the players.
“If family members want to talk about a game after this, or where you are in the hunt, put some headphones on with all due respect,” coach Mike McDaniel quipped. “Just because it doesn’t do anything for you and there’s so much season that that can occur, and there’s so many different things that take place that as long as you’re not mathematically eliminated, you should be trying to beat the next opponent so you can stay in that not mathematically eliminated focus and let the cards play.”
As much as the world seemingly cares about how the Dolphins’ three-game win streak has saved Miami from the doldrums of meaningless football, it means very little within the walls of the Baptist Health Training Facility. The team, in a sense, can somewhat resemble a horse with blinders on, squarely focusing on the task ahead of them rather than the standings. That mindset could serve the players well through December and into early January.
“It’s just the NFL,” wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “You’ve got to take it week by week. No game is guaranteed. Just go and handle our next opponent, our next day of prep, our next everything with the mindset of we’ve just got to take care of what we got to.”
That, of course, is easier said than done. It’s 2025 after all; information quite literally can be found at the click of a button. And whether via social media, ESPN or, as McDaniel said, inquisitive relatives, somebody or something could certainly break a player’s focus. Kenneth Grant, for example, cannot turn on the TV without the “in the hunt” graphic staring back at him.
“When you watch football the standings come up or whatever,” the defensive tackle said, “but we’re just always focused on the next game and always focused on just what we can do and what we can control so we’re just focused on getting one win at a time.”
That the rookie knows the importance of the “one game at a time” mantra should not be overlooked. Ultimately, the praise should go to veterans like Aaron Brewer, who have preached this message likely since training camp.
“I’m not worried about what we just did this past week or what’s in the future because those two things I can’t control anymore,” the star center said, claiming to have preached that “message every week.” “It’s literally what’s going on right now in the present this week, controlling what we can control. If we do that each and every week, each and every day, ain’t no telling what we can be just from how things are going now. We’re just taking it one week at a time and just got our mindset on 1-0.”
That mentality has certainly benefited the Dolphins over the past month and a half. After a sluggish 1-6 start to the season, Miami has won four of its last five, including a statement, 30-13 victory over the reigning MVP in Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. The tests will certainly get more difficult in the coming weeks – away matchups against the Pittsburgh Steeler and the New England Patriots as well as home games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals certainly stand out – but as long as the wins continue to stack up, it doesn’t truly matter.
“It takes a galvanized group of people, I’m talking about from just the locker room and the coaching staff being able to reach those players, to be able to pull that off,” McDaniel said of the win streak. “I think it does say everything about the guys that we have on this team because it’s easier said than done, for sure. You try not to – especially when you’re preaching, for me, conviction over perfection to the nth degree to the team – you try not to get caught up in the style of victory because the idea is to end the game in the stadium with more points than the opponent, and winning football games, you have to learn how to do it a multitude of ways.”
