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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Alyssa Barbieri

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel explains why he told Bears QB Justin Fields to stop running the ball

Bears quarterback Justin Fields made life difficult on the Dolphins in Sunday’s game, where he used his unique skillset to run all over them to the tune of 178 yards, the most ever by a quarterback in the regular season.

That included a 61-yard rushing touchdown, that left a slew of diving Dolphins in his wake.

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There was one funny moment near the end of the third quarter when Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel tried to reason with Fields. After Fields picked up another first down with his legs, McDaniel was seen telling Fields on the Miami sideline to “stop it.”

On Monday, McDaniel sarcastically explained why he told Fields to stop running the ball on them.

“I just wanted him to stop scrambling and it was pretty irritating because he didn’t listen at all,” McDaniel said with a laugh. “He didn’t take the coaching.”

McDaniel was just one of many people who were in awe of Fields’ performance in Week 9. He spoke to the difficulty of defending his athleticism to the point he just flat out asked him to stop.

“I think Justin (Fields) is really starting to get a feel for when he can utilize his full scale of gifts and he’s making plays more and more and becoming more and more difficult to defend. So at that stage of the game I figured no one had asked him to stop it, so I gave that a try,” he said with a laugh. I think other coaches can learn from my experience that he does not listen, so rely on other tactics.”

Note to other coaches: McDaniel’s tactics did not work and resulted in a record-setting performance by Fields.

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