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Miami’s offense is keeping opposing defensive coordinators up at night. Literally.
Ahead of a Week 5 matchup<\/a> with the most feared attack in the league, New York Giants DC Don “Wink” Martindale gave personal insight into how difficult it is to plan for Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins.
“My wife called me last night before she went to bed. She said she was worried about me. She said, ‘Are you getting any sleep?'” Martindale told reporters on Thursday. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m sleeping like a baby. Every two hours I wake up and cry and go to the bathroom and try to go back and get some more sleep.’
“It’s unbelievable, but that’s where this league’s heading with some of the other scores. The points have been up pretty high. I told our staff because we’re all old enough to remember the Greatest Show on Turf, this is like that, 2023, supersonic. I mean, they are fast, faster than that. … It’s not even turf there. It’s grass, and they’re still faster.”
It’s hard to blame Martindale for leaking his late-night bladder patterns to the press. The Dolphins have made DCs from Los Angeles to Foxborough look silly this season.
After dumping 70 points on the Broncos, Miami had DC Vance Joseph spiraling<\/a> and defending his employment. Ahead of their Week 4 matchup with the Fins, Bills coach and defensive play-caller Sean McDermott joked about adding Usain Bolt<\/a> to attempt to replicate the Dolphins’ speed. (Whatever Buffalo concocted worked: Miami was held to a season-low 20 points and 20 first downs in its first loss<\/a> of the season.)
How does Martindale see the Dolphins’ offense ahead of Sunday? Look to the racetrack. Not Talladega. Your local Grand Prix.
“It’s tough to do, even though you think you can mimic it,” Martindale said of replicating Miami’s speed in practice. “That’s why they’re so successful on their first drives coming out is guys got to get used to the speed of the game and the speed of those guys.
“I don’t know the best way to describe it. It’s like if you were driving a Daytona NASCAR and tried to race against a Formula 1 guy. The guys are\u2026 They’re fast.”
The Dolphins are fast — and productive. Miami has the most total yards (2,044) through a team’s first four games in NFL history. The Fins lead the league in points per game (37.5), total yards per game (511) and passing yards per game (334.3). On the ground, they pace the NFL with 176.8 rushing YPG and 10 rushing TDs.
Meanwhile, the Giants have been a sieve in the running game, allowing 133.8 rushing YPG (25th) and seven scores (T-most), and rank 29th in average pass EPA allowed.
Sunday’s matchup looks rough for Martindale’s men. The DC needs all the sleep he can get.
Heading into Thursday night with a winless record, the Bears felt some extra inspiration from Chicago legend Dick Butkus, who passed away earlier in the day. Of winning Thursday’s game in Butkus’ memory, quarterback Justin Fields said, “This one’s for him tonight.”
Amid a season overflowing with strife on and off the field, the Bears finally found reason to celebrate — thanks in large part to the right arm of Justin Fields and the gifted grab of DJ Moore — after besting the Washington Commanders, 40-20. It was the Bears’ first win since Oct. 24, 2022.
The Bears built a 24-point halftime lead and then held on to defeat the Commanders for their first win of the season thanks to the connection of Justin Fields and DJ Moore.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles used the past tense when speaking about the embattled wide receiver on Thursday, wishing Claypool luck “moving forward,” though an official move has not been made.
The NFL community was shocked and saddened on Thursday by the death of Hall of Fame linebacker and Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus at the age of 80.\u00a0
The official inactives for Thursday Night Football: Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders
Dick Butkus, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s and 1970s, died Thursday at the age of 80. Butkus, a five-time first-team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler for Chicago, spent nine seasons with the organization.
NFL.com keeps you up to date with all of the latest league news from around the NFL. Visit NFL.com’s transaction hub for a daily breakdown.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor spoke to reporters on Thursday for the first time since his offseason contract squabble with the organization and subsequent placement on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury.
Giants fans in attendance at MetLife Stadium on Monday night audibly booed their 1-3 team. Right tackle \ufeffEvan Neal\ufeff didn’t take too kindly to the fans’ response.
Running back \ufeffNajee Harris\ufeff doesn’t agree with blaming the coaches for the Steelers’ struggles. It’s about the players looking in the mirror and toughening up.\u00a0
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Digital Content EditorMiami’s offense is keeping opposing defensive coordinators up at night. Literally.Ahead of a Week 5 matchup with the most feared attack in the league, New York Giants DC Don “Wink” Martindale gave personal insight into how difficult it is to plan for Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins.“My wife called me last night before she went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n