Here were some of the comments that stood out after the 35-17 loss against the New England Patriots, along with some perspective:
"It's a 60-minute game. We've got to figure out a way to make a stop and make them punt again."
— Head Coach Adam Gase wasn't buying the suggestion that the fake punt on the first drive of the game demoralized his players. It clearly was a big moment in the game, but there was plenty of time left and the Dolphins had several other chances. The argument could be made that it wasn't even the biggest play, that instead it was the interception late in the first half that cost the Dolphins a chance to cut into New England's 21-10 lead. That said, the fake punt did keep the Dolphins from gaining some early momentum because it looked as though the defense had produced a three-and-out to open the game.
— Adam Gase isn't focusing right now on the big picture, more specifically the AFC playoff picture. Media members will look at the standings and see the Dolphins having a lot of teams to overcome to be able to make a run at a second consecutive postseason berth, but for Gase, his coaches and players, the first priority is trying to fix the mistakes that have hampered the team during what is now a five-game losing streak. Really, there's no sense in worrying about the playoff picture if the Dolphins don't start playing better football.
— Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh echoed Gase's sentiments about where the focus needs to be. Suh said the Dolphins understand the mistakes they've made over the past five weeks to put themselves in their current position and the priority is fixing those mistakes and beating the Broncos next Sunday.
"The only stat that matters is the win and loss. It's not how I wanted it to go. You want to go out and win a game. When you get that opportunity, you want to win."
— Quarterback Matt Moore made his second start of the season against New England, and when he was asked to assess his performance against the Patriots, he said the only thing he was concerned about was the end result. In reality, Moore had an up-and-down game against New England. His passer rating was a mediocre 70.1, but that was based mostly on his two interceptions and there were extenuating circumstances on both. The first looked as though it was the result of some miscommunication between himself and wide receiver DeVante Parker, and the second came on a desperation launch in the final minutes. Moore also was sacked seven times, though six of those came after the Dolphins were down to one running back and having to pass almost every down. The bottom line, though, is that Moore couldn't get the Dolphins into the end zone until the fourth quarter. Again, what matters most ultimately was that the Dolphins lost.
- Defensive end Cameron Wake is like his teammates is that he's not focusing on standings or playoff scenarios. Wake said he actually never worries about such things, adding he never knows the standings or even the upcoming opponent this many days in advance. Wake has echoed Gase's one-game-at-a-time approach, so the focus for him is correcting the mistakes in time for the game against the Denver Broncos next Sunday.
