McDaniel discusses Waller’s big Dolphins debut, defense forcing turnovers and Hill injury

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins picked up their first win of the season Monday night, holding off the New York Jets 27-21, and coaches and players spoke after the game about the victory, Darren Waller’s breakout debut and the knee injury to star wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said the night was both emotional and rewarding, but he emphasized the importance of prayer after several players on both sides left the game with injuries.

“First and foremost, and I know the guys have been hearing me talk about it lately with them in the locker room and whatnot,” Tagovailoa said. “My thoughts are out to the guys that got hurt tonight. My thoughts and prayers are also with ”Reek," (Tyreek Hill) but it’s a great feeling that we feel tonight obviously when you win."

“I would say, you know, we’re enjoying it right now. But you just gotta find a way to continue to stack those wins in the win column and continue to keep that going throughout the season,” he added.

Hill suffered a knee injury in the third quarter after being tackled along the sideline and was carted off the field.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed Hill was transported to a hospital and would remain overnight for observation.

“He’s at the hospital. I know he’s staying overnight. I know it was a dislocation,” McDaniel said.

“He was probably in the best spirits of any player that I’ve ever seen. It’s such a terrible experience when you go out and see guys when they have issues like that. But he immediately had wide eyes and said, ‘I’m good, just make sure the guys get this win,” he added.

“He was focused on the team. So that’s how much … that’s what I know about it. Outside of that, I’m sure I’ll give you more information tomorrow," said McDaniel.

Tagovailoa also praised Waller, who scored twice in his Dolphins debut.

“He played really good. Any time you get the ball in your hands and you score twice,” Tagovailoa said. “You know that shows us that you’re a viable option for us.

“But that first touchdown … yeah, I can’t remember the last time I’ve thrown the ball to a thing near the goalpost, you know, and somebody catches it like that. So that’s the kind of guy that we have in there in Waller. ”For Waller, the night carried both excitement and nerves.

“It’s a lot to process, a lot emotionally, to be honest,” Waller said. “Very exciting, very exciting, just to be out there just the whole day. A little bit of fear, a little bit of everything, you know, because I haven’t really been practicing a ton, haven’t really done a whole lot with the team, so it’s naturally like, all right, I got a ton of waiting.

“I don’t know, just get back out there and just get into a rhythm and just be somebody that this team can rely on, you know, and give a team a return on their investment, I guess. So just trying to take all that into account and then just trying to just be as present as possible,” he added.

“I feel like I know what to do and I prepare hard and just try to put myself in the right positions,” said Waller. “If a play is to be made I can make it, and if it’s not my turn, I’m encouraging my teammates.”

“And yeah, it was just fun, man. I felt like when I started playing football as a kid. You know, I feel like I lost that sometimes. But yeah, tonight was pretty cool,” he said.

McDaniel said the team will now need to press forward in Hill’s absence.

“It’s football, it’s 100% injury rate,” McDaniel said. “He’s a great, valuable, very important player to us, but every team has the same situation going on. Everybody has injuries.”

“No one cares about who you don’t have. It’s the team playing football together, and I think it would be important for us to continue to be plus-3 like we were in this game against the New York Jets. We just have to keep getting better,” he said.

The Dolphins’ defense forced three turnovers after going without one through the first three games. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who recovered a fumble at the goal line in the first quarter, said the group is starting to find its rhythm.

“Like I said earlier, we just gotta keep getting more, you know, they come in bunches,” Fitzpatrick said. “You wanna be flying to the ball, playing physical football, playing with good eyes, the feet, playing sticky coverage in the back end.

“They’re gonna keep coming, so we just gotta keep doing those things,” he said.

The Dolphins (1-3) will visit the Carolina Panthers next Sunday, while the Jets (0-4) return home to host the Dallas Cowboys.

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