'They're well-coached, they battle for 60 minutes'
The Miami Dolphins undoubtedly are on the upswing.
After beating the New England Patriots in Sunday’s season finale, 33-24, the Dolphins clinched their second straight winning season. While that may not seem like much, it’s the first time the team has done so finishing the campaign 11-5 in both the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
With the Week 18 win the Dolphins also earned its first season-series sweep of the Patriots since the 2000 season. Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was a part of the Patriots for much of their dominance over Miami as he coached the team in various capacities from 2008-2018, and certainly appreciated the sweep, but described it in the most Bill Belichick-esque way possible.
“I think they do a great job. They’re well-coached, they battle for 60 minutes, you saw that tonight and they play well in all three phases,” Flores said. “Like I said earlier in the week, when you’re away I know certainly for me I’ve grown more of an appreciation for the things I learned there and have tried to implement them here and really in every area of my life. But it’s always nice to win. I’m happy for our players, coaches and our support staff to go out this way.”
Flores has been a breath of fresh air since arriving in Miami and has led the squad to a 24-25 record through three seasons with 11 of the losses coming in his first season at the helm. To put it into context, the team already has as many winning seasons under Flores as they had in the 11 seasons before his hiring.