Watching his team respond admirably from a 1-6 start and a drubbing in Cleveland, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel on Sunday cited the team’s “best line of scrimmage game” of the season among the highlights of an impressive 34-10 win in Atlanta.
“The coaching staff and players did a great job being focused,” he said. “The results, it’s nice to finally get them in it feels like forever. We have to replicate them in the coming weeks.”
He said the defense did a “great job” holding Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson to 25 yards on nine carries
“We knew they were going to try to give it to a dangerous player,” McDaniel said. “And we knew we had to have multiple players around the ball… It was going to have to be.. a pack mentality, a lot of population around the ball.”
Miami set the tone early.
“Trying to keep them one dimensional was a priority,” McDaniel said. “The opening drive was three and out. To get a stop and have clean execution on special teams — we had some frustrating penalties we cleaned up — the outcome of the game is much different if all these phases weren’t working in concert.
“It continued throughout the game. It was cool to see the most complementary football played in the most complementary practice week of guys investing into each other and the plan.”
The Dolphins ran 10 more times than they threw. Miami ran 37 times for 141 yards (3.8 per carry).
“I’ve liked how we’ve blocked in the run game, but the games haven’t played out where you are able to fully lean on that development,” McDaniel said. “There were some really good plays by the runners, in particular on third down, the extra yardage that Ollie Gordon and De’Von Achane were able to get. And Jaylen Wright’s late drive, we were able to incorporate all three and that helped us a lot.”
He said Tua Tagovailoa’s swollen eye “was one of those random things.” Tagovailoa, who threw four touchdowns, said he’s not sure why he woke up with a swollen eye but took antibiotics Sunday morning.
McDaniel inserted Daniel Brunskill as a sixth offensive lineman (he was essentially handling a tight end role) on more than a handful of plays, and that paid dividends.
“We had a couple injuries and we saw the opportunity to dive into some of the things Dan has done, knowing him [back to] 2019 in San Francisco,” McDaniel said. “I know what type of professional he is and his versatility. Having not done that one time since he’s been here, I knew they [the Falcons] wouldn’t be preparing for it. For him in a week’s time to digest the play calls and assignments and alignments, it takes a special breed. It was his sixth position he’s started at in the NFL.”
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith, typically in the booth during games, was on the sideline. The reason for that?
“Frank did a phenomenal job staying on the guys and they responded to him during the week, so I wanted them to have an extension of the work week in practice [during the game],” McDaniel said. “Frank is a problem solver, a solution man. He invested in the players and they responded to him. When you start the season out 1-6, you’re looking for things to change up. Very proud of the job he did.”
Here’s my game column with 10 thoughts and notes.
Here’s my piece on how McDaniel changed last week.
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
