Trips to Houston haven't been fruitful for the Dolphins over the years. In search of their first win at NRG Stadium (0-5 previously), the Dolphins can find themselves right in the mix for an AFC wildcard spot with a quality performance Sunday.
Here's what the players and coaches are saying ahead of the Week 15 road trip:
Matching up with the Texans
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the Houston Defense 鈥 "They play really well. Sound football. They get some depth in the back end, so they try to mitigate a lot of explosives, but you've got to have your Ps and Qs when you're dealing with a rush that they have. Very similar structure to the team that we just played, but they don't necessarily play the same way, if that makes sense."
Head Coach Mike McDaniel on Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans 鈥 "What DeMeco coaches 鈥 it's the nuts and bolts of coaching that actually matters to players when you're talking directly impacting how well they play the game. So much of it is consistency of fundamentals and details and mindset that it's helpful to a degree, but I know how well-prepared he'll be."
Running Back De'Von Achane on the Dolphins' Confidence - "We've always got the same confidence. We come out here with great confidence because we know the what type of team we can be. It's always who the better team on Sunday is and we've got to come out and be ready to play."
Team's Mindset for December Football
Wide Receiver Jaylen Waddle on Last Week's Win, Preparing for Houston 鈥 "It was a hard-fought game; it was a game we really needed to win. It just showed what this team could do. It definitely gave us a lot of confidence, but it's a whole other team, a whole other gameplan. We're just going about it like any other week."
Defensive Tackle Zach Sieler on December Football 鈥 "It's more of our backs against the wall. Every week is a playoff week and I think it's, 'Hey look, we've got to do everything we can in our power.' Stay late, extra tape, extra tubs, whatever you need to do to get the win. I think we did that last week and we need to do that this week."
Cornerback Kendall Fuller on Keys to December Football 鈥 "Health is definitely one of them, just having everybody out there healthy. And then I don't think it's a secret, it's just a matter of 11 guys on the field doing their job and winning their matchups. Football is always going to be football. When you have guys going out there and making their plays, whatever team makes the most plays is going to win. It's just a matter of it's December, every game counts in December, but at the end of the day, it's still football."
For more on the Dolphins-Texans, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
