International trips provide NFL teams a unique experience. The gameday atmosphere is supercharged to Super Bowl levels with crowded stadiums ready to erupt for every big play, but it's also a week on the road with teammates in a destination with historic sights.
The players had a chance to explore Madrid on Tuesday, but the focus this week is clear. This is a business trip and the Washington Commanders, along with securing a third win in the last four games, is the singular focus.
A week abroad
Head Coach Mike McDaniel – "The sport of football is 11 people playing together each and every down and that cohesion is only elevated when you share off the field experiences as well. I think as far as the opportunity to have a player day off here versus home where everyone has their lives, it takes them different places, it's a residual win and we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity. Now it's back to focusing on exactly what people are here for and that's to play a game against an opponent that's going to be a complete handful, so we have a lot of work to do starting here."
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – "This is my third international game but being able to travel internationally and visit different cultures I think is a cool thing. Not just with the food, with the language, with the people as well. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go check out the city a little bit and I thought that was cool. I got to see a little bit of the Cathedral, I thought that was really cool and then checked out some spots while walking. I think I got about 20,000 steps in yesterday just walking. Nice and cool (weather), not too hot, so it was really cool."
Outside Linebacker Bradley Chubb on the facilities – "Atlético de Madrid has been amazing. They got the hot tubs, cold tubs, all those different things, sauna. The hotel we're at has a great sauna as well and gym and all that stuff that we can use. I feel like it's not as hard as it's been in the past going on these long road trips. You just got to have those people that you really need and got to drop a little bread just to get them out here and keep things rolling."
Focused on the task at hand
Defensive Tackle Zach Sieler - "The biggest thing is the old saying, never get too high, never get too low. And that's exactly it. Obviously, that was a great win last week, but to focus in on what we did to keep that going, and there are still some things we did wrong. So, to make the adjustments there, and don't do anything different – just because you won last week doesn't mean all right, we can relax here. You don't need to do the extra work or whatever – no. It's just as important. The focus is going 1-0 this week and getting the win on Sunday."
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver on the difference in preparing for Commanders QB Marcus Mariota vs. Jayden Daniels – "Both have very similar skill sets. Jayden (Daniels) is obviously electric both as a thrower and a runner. Marcus (Mariota) was drafted very high for the same reasons. He has a cannon. He can make all the throws. It's important for us to try to get back there and try to put them under distress as much as you can and then kind of limit his run exposure. They're going to try to get him on the edges of defenses just because they have so much zone read QB-driven run game and when he does, we got to make sure everybody is doing their job and we keep them corralled."
Fullback Alec Ingold on shifting gears to the Commanders – "I think the entire coaching staff did a great job of kind of framing that, packaging that up and allowing for us to protect that identity of ball that we created and leave it at that – to allow us to kind of grow through it, to win it. It was business as usual. It didn't linger very often, 24-hour rule, and guys hopped on the plane, and it felt like we were ready to go to work. It was cool to see the guys respond like that for a business trip. Obviously, there are a million different distractions but that's the same rep that we've kind of been working with all year. If we haven't learned the lesson yet, we're a little thick-headed. It's been good for the guys; flight was awesome and glad to be here."
For more on Dolphins-Commanders, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
