Washington Commanders 'Gotta Go Out and Execute' vs. Miami Dolphins, Says Coach Eric Bieniemy

The Washington Commanders have a tough contest this weekend, but coach Eric Bieniemy wants his guys focused on what they do not what the Miami Dolphins are doing.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders (4-8) are two games out of the final Wild Card spot in the NFC entering Week 13 with five games left on the schedule.

Drawing the Miami Dolphins (8-3) who are more worried about clinching the AFC East Division than they are a Wild Card spot, the Commanders know they have a hard contest coming at home, but they aren't focusing on what the opponents are going to do according to assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

"I think each and every week there's a challenge," Bieniemy said. "You don't coach your guys and put fear in them. At the end of the day, we gotta go out and play, we gotta go out and be the very best at who we are. When it's all said and done with we gotta go out and execute our scheme, and execute our job better than they're executing their scheme."

That mentality of playing without fear and focusing on what they do best was echoed this week by Washington quarterback Sam Howell who told us, "We definitely have our hands full out on the perimeter, but we got some good wideouts and I'm going to take our wideouts vs. anybody every week."

Washington Commanders assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy walks down the sidelines during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at FedExField / Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

That focus on self could have welcome results, but at the same time, knowing your enemy's strengths maximizes your ability to know what you do best against a given opponent. 

And that mix of enemy intel and self-scouting usually leads to a winning formula in the NFL.

The good news in that department comes in Bieniemy's experiences against Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

"Vic has been doing this for a number of years. He's obviously been one of the top defensive coordinators in this business for a long time," Bieniemy said. "I have the utmost respect for him. He does a great job. He does a great job building the roster - getting the right pieces to do the things that he wants...I'm looking forward to the challenge - know a lot about his scheme - but it's one of those schemes that you have to be patient. And you gotta be patient to drive the length of the field and you have to take what is given."

Bieniemy and Fangio have faced each other going back to when the Washington play-caller was a position coach with the Minnesota Vikings.

As coordinators or head coaches, however, the duo have only faced off when Fangio was leading the Denver Broncos and Bieniemy was the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator.

In those roles, the two squared up six times with Bieniemy's group winning in each outing while scoring 28 points per game on average.

Things have changed for both sides since they last saw each other, and Bieniemy's current offense figures to need at least 28 points to help get an upset win over Fangio and the visiting Miami team in Week 13.