Dolphins coach Joe Philbin post game press conference after Bengals win

Miami Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin

OPENING STATEMENT: I told the players, I thought it was a real team win. I thought our guys hung in there and competed. That's a very good football team and well coached team. I knew it was going to be a tough game and our guys competed from start to finish. It was a good win.

(On if tonight's win ‘saved' the season) - "I didn't know we were lost, but it was a big win. Every time we have an opportunity to go out and compete...every single game is important. This one was a very, very important game and I thought our players responded well. I thought their effort was excellent. I thought their focus was very good. Every game we've got on the schedule is important.

(On the last defensive play of the game) - "We just called one of our pressures - I'm not going to go too in depth, but we called a pressure and the guys executed it well. Cam [DE Cameron Wake] got good pressure on the quarterback, I thought, on a consistent basis throughout the evening and we were able to make a play to end the game."

(On if it appeared that Cameron Wake is fully returned from his injury) - "He played well. He played well. He did a good job."

(On the play of the offensive line) - "We said in the meeting that we had to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I thought, especially in the first half, we were able to do that. We didn't have a ton of rhythm offensively in the second half. You've got to give those guys credit. Nate Garner [T] stepped in there and really contributed nicely and [RT Tyson] Clabo came back in and played a good football game as well. I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage."

(On the run game in the second half) -"I think part of it was we had a hard time stopping them in the second half. I don't have the time of possession in front of me, but the second half - they had the football a lot. We didn't do a very good job on third down ourselves. We just didn't have a lot of opportunities."

(On the play of CB Brent Grimes) - "We talked to our guys, [told them] that they needed to step up and make more big plays in the fourth quarter...in this particular case in overtime...it was good to see him. He's played well throughout the course of the year but it's nice to see him have an impact play like that."

(On RB Lamar Miller and his rotation out after the fumble) - "That was just the natural rotation. I thought he ran the ball hard. I thought he had good vision and balance and obviously we'd like for him to hold onto the ball better."

(On the off field issues the team has faced this week) - "We talked to the guys. You have to have faith and confidence in one another. The staff in the players, the players in the staff. We talked to them again on Monday, that we've got to have each other's backs. And I thought that was demonstrated by the way they played tonight."

(On the possibility of going for it in the fourth quarter) - "There was definitely a temptation until the lost yardage. When we lost yardage on that, I told Mike [Sherman, offensive coordinator] we've got two down territory here and I was going to go for the win there. Then we got knocked back. I felt the right thing to do was punt the ball. I want to say that Cincinnati was in a very similar spot that we were, right around the 40-yard line, if I'm not mistaken."

(On the play of K Caleb Sturgis) - "He's a hard worker. He's a guy who's very professional about his job and we talked to him - I don't profess to be a kicking guru, but we talked to him on the sideline. Just get back to fundamentals. You've done this stuff hundreds of thousands of times, and I told him, look, we're going to count on you. You'll need to kick another field goal during the course of this game."

(On if this was a needed win) - "When you sign up for an NFL season, it's a long season, and you never like losing four games in a row. When you have an excellent football team that's coming into town, it was time for us to step up. I told the guys, we've got to make a decision about where we're going to be. I felt they answered it pretty well tonight."

(On the takeaways in the game) - "Takeaways are a huge part of what we do on defense. As I tell the players all the time, the things that you invest your time in on the practice field have to show up on the game tape. Today, it was great to see that we took the ball away and I believe we only had one on offense, that one fumble. But that was positive."

(On Jonathan Martin) - "I'd like to say, in regard to Jonathan, that any play with an injury or illness, our primary concern is for the health of the individual. And with respect to Jonathan, he's been excused with a non-football illness. Our concern and support are with him, and really that's all I'm going to say on the matter."