McDaniel won’t let Dolphins overlook ‘frustrated’ 49ers in Week 16

McDaniel won’t let Dolphins overlook ‘frustrated’ 49ers in Week 16 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Mike McDaniel knows better than anyone what the 49ers bring to the table – although not at full strength.

The Miami Dolphins coach who spent five seasons with San Francisco is preparing for a week 16 game against his former team missing several of its key players. Nevertheless, he plans for a competitive Week 16 showdown on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

“The NFL is tough. Success breeds tough times ahead, because when you’re a good team, especially as long as the San Francisco 49ers have been, there’s not one team that’s going to come up on Sunday and take them lightly,” McDaniel said to reporters on Wednesday. “It’s kind of a litmus test for every team you play. Every team has different kinds of injuries. And you have different kinds of consequences because of those injuries. I know one thing about the San Francisco 49ers, having worked there for five years , knowing the coaching staff and a good portion of the core of players there. It’s a team that takes a lot of pride in playing good football.

“When you go through it, sometimes you have success, sometimes you have failures in this league, but it’s the consistency with which you attack things. Do you let things define you or do you take things away so you can further define the future I certainly think they’re frustrated like we are, but by no means do I expect anything but their best to find a way to make their best version of themselves.”

The 49ers, like McDaniel’s Dolphins, haven’t had the season they — or the rest of the NFL world — might have expected.

San Francisco, which has ruled the NFC West for years, has dropped to last place in the division with a 6-8 record.

Miami also has a 6-8 record in Week 16, but is in second place in the AFC East.

The 49ers’ playoff hopes are clinging to a very, very thin thread with three games left in the regular season. But that won’t stop them from showing their best football on Sunday in South Beach – and McDaniel knows it.

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