OVERALL SUMMARY:

With a 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football yesterday, the Dolphins clinched a playoff spot for the second year in a row and erased much of the sting of last week's loss to the New York Jets. In a game where Miami's strengths were never more evident, the Dolphin Defense was terrific and Dan Marino threw 4 touchdown passes to lift the team over last year's SuperBowl Champions.

The game was played at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 76 degrees. There was a light wind from the east for the game, but weather was not a factor for the game. Dolphins' inactives were QB Damon Huard, QB Dan Gonzalez, CB Ray Hill, RB Ron Moore, LB Larry Izzo, OT Richmond Webb, TE Hendrick Lusk and DE Danny Stubbs. Lamar Thomas started in place of Oronde Gadsden, who was being disciplined for missing a team meeting.

The Dolphins took the opening kickoff and Avery returned the ball from the 7 to the 34 before he was stopped. On 1st down, Karim carried but lost a yard. Dan then hit McDuffie for 11 yards and a 1st down at the 44. Karim carried again and lost 3 yards this time as well as being shaken up on the play. It was later determined that he suffered a mild concussion on this play, but he played the rest of the game. Avery managed to pick up 10 yards on 2nd and 13 behind Brent Smith, but Marino's pass was knocked away from Lamar Thomas on 3rd and 3 and the Dolphins punted.

After the ball went into the endzone on the punt, the Broncos started from their 20. On 1st down, Terrell Davis was knocked down for a 1 yard loss by Kenny Mixon and on 2nd and 11, Elway dropped back to pass and was pressured into scrambling, but Jason Taylor got him at the line of scrimmage and the Broncos were faced with a 3rd and 11 at their 19. On the next play, however, Elway found McCaffery for 12 yards and a 1st down at the 31.

Davis carried for 3 yards on 1st down and when Elway passed to Howard Griffith over the middle on 2nd and 7, T-Buck was there to knock Griffith down and strip the ball at the same time. Even though replay showed that Griffith had caught the ball and that T-Buck had caused a fumble that the Dolphins would have recovered, the referees ruled that it was an incomplete pass and the Broncos retained possession on a 3rd and 7 at their 34.

On the next play, Elway dropped back to pass and found Shannon Sharpe for 10 yards to give the Broncos a 1st and 10 at their 44. Davis carried again for 3 yards and on 2nd and 7, Davis ran around the Broncos left end for 8 yards and a 1st and 10 at the Miami 45. From there, Elway hit Sharpe for 15 yards to the Dolphins' 30. On 1st and 10, however, the Broncos tried to sweep Davis wide left and Zach Thomas knifed through the middle of the Bronco's offense and took Davis down in the backfield for a 4 yard loss. On 2nd and 14, Elway missed Rod Smith and on 3rd and 14, Elway's pass to Chamberlain was knocked down by Sam Madison, leaving the Broncos with a 4th and 14 at the Dolphin 34.

The Broncos elected to try a 52 yard field goal from there and Elam nailed the ball perfectly, giving the Broncos a 3-0 lead. On the kickoff, Avery took the ball at the 1 and returned it to the 23. From there, Marino threw to McDuffie for 10 yards and a 1st down to the 33. Now at their 33, Marino dropped back and threw the ball deep down the middle to Troy Drayton deep in the Bronco's secondary. Drayton hauled in the pass and rumbled for a few more yards before being caught and dragged down at the Broncos 32 after a 35 yard gain.

From there, Karim came back in the game and ran for 1 yard to the 31 on 1st down. Marino dropped back and found McDuffie for 18 yards as the Broncos came after him with a zone blitz and that gave the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at the Bronco's 13. Karim carried on the next play for 3 yards, but when Marino dropped back to throw on 2nd and 7 at the 10, no one was open so he threw the ball away. Then, on 3rd and 7 at the Bronco's 10, the Dolphins tried the wide receiver screen that they have run this year, but instead of the ball getting to McDuffie, it hit Parmalee in the back as Parms was trying to get set up to throw a block and fell incomplete.

This left the Dolphins with a 4th and 7 at the Denver 10 and the Dolphins tried a field goal, but the ball sailed wide right and the Broncos took over at their own 20 still leading the game 3-0.

After two false starts by the Broncos pushed them back to their 10, the Broncos faced a 1st and 20. They ran Davis on 1st down for 3 yards, but on 2nd and 17, Elway tried to go deep to Chamberlain but Derrick Rodgers broke up the play and on 3rd and 17, Elway tried to throw to Ed McCaffery again. However, Patrick Surtain had perfect coverage on the play and McCaffery couldn't figure out how to reach around Surtain and get the ball, so the pass fell incomplete. Faced with a 4th and 17 at their 13, the Broncos punted to Buckley at Miami's 42.

From there, on 1st down, Marino hit Perry on a shallow crossing route and Perry carried his defensive back with him for a total of 12 yards and a first down as time ran out in the first quarter.

To open the second quarter, Avery was nailed in the backfield for a 4 yard loss. He carried again on 2nd and 14 from the 50, but only gained 3 yards and on 3rd down and 11, Marino set up in the shotgun. He began to walk forward to direct some blocking but as he was moving, Ruddy snapped the ball too soon and it bounced off of Dan on to the ground, where it was recovered by the Broncos. It was not what you might call a "pretty" play.

The Broncos started at the 50 after the fumble recovery and Davis was stuffed on 1st and 10 after just a yard gain by Darryl Gardener. On 2nd and 9, Elway dropped back to pass, but was forced to scramble as pressure built. He got 11 yards and a 1st down at the Dolphins' 38 before Jones touched him down. Davis carried again for 5 yards to the Dolphins 33 and then Elway dropped back to pass, but was forced to scramble again for 7 yards to the 26.

From there, on 1st down, Davis picked up 9 yards to the 17, but on 2nd and 1, Shane Burton stuffed Davis and the Broncos faced 3rd and 1. Elway then ran the play-action on 3rd down and hit Rod Smith for 10 yards to the Miami 7. On 1st and goal from the 7, Davis picked up 3 yards before he was pushed out by Sam Madison. However, on 2nd and goal from the 4, Elway fumbled the snap and even though Terrell Davis recovered for the Broncos, they now faced a 3rd and goal from the 9.

On the next play, Elway dropped back to pass, but coverage and pressure forced him to scramble up the middle. Just as he reached the 3 yard line, Jason Taylor caught up to him and knocked the ball out of his hand from behind. However, the ball bounced into the endzone right to Rod Smith, who fell on it for a touchdown that gave the Broncos a 10-0 lead.

Brock Marion fielded the kickoff from Denver and returned it from the 4 to the 22. From there, Karim ran for 3 yards on 1st down, but after two short incompletions, the Dolphins punted on 4th and 7. The punt was returned by the Broncos to their 38, but a holding penalty moved the ball back to the Denver 28. A play fake on 1st down did no good as the pass didn't get to Shannon Sharpe and after Davis was stuffed for no gain by Jason Taylor and Robert Jones, Elway dropped back to pass on 3rd down, but a corner blitz by the Dolphins forced a poor throw and the ball fell incomplete.

The Broncos punted to T-Buck at the Dolphins' 17 and he returned it to the Dolphins' 26. From there, Marino threw to Jacquet for 6 yards on 1st down and on 2nd and 4, Lamar Thomas came wide open on a shallow crossing route. After Marino got him the ball, Thomas added about 20 yards on his own running through the secondary, giving the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at the Denver 42.

Karim ran for no gain on 1st down, and after a 2nd down pass to Lamar Thomas and a 3rd down pass to Gadsden were incomplete, the Dolphins were forced to punt from the Denver 42. This punt was pretty bad and the Dolphins downed the ball at the Denver 23. From there, Elway's first down pass to McCaffery never got there and when the Broncos tried to run wide on 2nd down, Sam Madison penetrated the backfield to take down Terrell Davis for a 4 yard loss. Now facing a 3rd and 14 from their own 19, the Broncos did not get the play off on time and were penalized 5 yards for delay of game.

Now, it was 3rd and 19 from the 14 and Elway dropped back to pass, but the defensive line flushed Elway from the pocket and he scrambled forward. Again, Jason Taylor got to Elway and dragged him down. As he hit Elway from behind, Elway pulled his arm back to pass, but hit his throwing hand on Taylor and the ball came loose. Zach Thomas scooped up what appeared to be a fumble and ran back to the Denver 5, but the referees ruled that it was an incomplete pass, saying that Elway's arm was going forward.

Replay showed pretty clearly that this should have been called a fumble, but the Broncos retained possession and punted from their 14 on 4th down. The ball was taken by Terrell Buckley at about the Dolphins 35 and returned all the way to the 50. Immediately after the return, the 2 minute warning for the first half was called.

The Dolphins started with 1:49 remaining in the first half at the 50 and Marino's first 2 passes from the 50 fell incomplete after Dan missed Gadsden on 1st down and his 2nd down pass was knocked away from McDuffie. However, on 3rd and 10 at the 50, the Broncos blitzed hard and Marino threw the ball high down the left sideline where Nate Jacquet was running. Jacquet made a nice adjustment and leapt to catch the ball before being tackled at the 21 of Denver.

On 1st and 10 at the Denver 21 with 1:07 remaining in the first half, Marino tossed a little swing pass to Pritchett, who took the ball down the left sideline to the 9 before he was pushed out. Now having a 1st and goal at the Denver 9 with 1 minute remaining in the first half, Marino dropped back and threw the fade route to the right corner of the endzone, where Lamar Thomas leapt over his coverage and came down with the ball in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. This cut the Denver lead to 10-7.

The Dolphins executed a squib kick on the kickoff and the ball was fielded by an up man and returned to the 31 with 50 seconds remaining. On 1st and 10, Elway passed to Davis for 8 yards and then hit Howard Griffith for 14 more to the Dolphins' 47. Now there were 14 seconds remaining in the half and Elway threw the ball down the right sideline to McCaffery, who was completely flattened by an incredible hit by Brock Marion at the Dolphins' 26, but managed to hold on to the ball.

The Broncos then kicked a 44 yard field goal to expand the lead to 13-7 as time ran out in the first half. The first half stats would favor the Dolphins slightly, who outgained the Broncos 180 to 139 yards in the first 2 quarters, but still trailed by 6 points. At halftime, I thought that the Dolphins had played well, but with the mistakes and the referees, I was afraid that they wouldn't be able to win.

The 2nd half opened with the Dolphins kicking off to the Broncos and Mare's kick came down at the 18 yard line, which was picked up and run back to the Denver 41, giving the Broncos great field position. From there, Elway threw deep down the right sideline to Rod Smith, who had beaten T-Buck and was then run out of bounds after a 35 yard gain to the Miami 24. Davis ran for 1 yard on 1st down and Elway passed to Shannon Sharpe for 3 yards on 2nd down, leaving the Broncos with a 3rd and 6 at the Miami 20.

However, on the next play, the Broncos were penalized for a false start and that moved them back to a 3rd and 11 at the 25. Elway tried to go to Sharpe with his next pass, but T-Buck had perfect coverage and the ball fell incomplete, leaving the Broncos with a 4th and 11 at the Miami 25. The Broncos decided to try a field goal here, but Jason Elam had one of his rare misses and that left the game score 13-7 in favor of the Broncos.

The Dolphins took over at their 33 and on 1st down, Marino threw a little swing pass to Karim, who got 5 yards out of the play. Then, on 2nd and 5, Marino found McDuffie for 7 yards and a 1st down at their 45. From there, Karim ran for a 1 yard loss on 1st down, but on 2nd and 11, Marino dropped back to pass. Down the right sideline, Lamar Thomas had run deep enough to get behind the cornerback and Marino had frozen the safety by staring him down. Marino threw to Lamar Thomas and the safety tried for the interception in front of Lamar, but was a fraction of a second late.

This left Lamar all alone with the ball behind the cornerback with the safety falling out of bounds. From there, it was a simple matter to turn and run the 20 or so yards to the endzone for a touchdown that gave the Dolphins their first lead of the night at 14-13. That play covered 56 yards.

On the kickoff, Hebron took the ball at the 2 and returned it to the Denver 21, and on 1st down, tossed the ball to Davis but Jason Taylor and Darryl Gardener combined to drop him for a 3 yard loss. On 2nd and 13, Derrick Loville took the draw up the middle, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, and on 3rd and 13, Elway's pass to Rod Smith was defensed by Surtain, who had terrific coverage. That forced the Broncos to punt to T-Buck at the Miami 29 and T-Buck got 7 yards on the return to the 36.

With a 1st and 10 at their own 36, Marino passed to Drayton for 8 yards to the 44 and on 2nd and 2, Avery took the handoff and squirted through the Denver defense behind Donnalley for 16 yards to the Denver 40. From there, on 1st down, Marino found Drayton over the middle for a big 21 yard gain to the Denver 19 and Avery added 2 yards on 1st down to give the Dolphins a 2nd and 8 at the 17.

On the next play, Marino dropped back to pass and Lamar Thomas ran a route straight up the left sideline with Darrien Gorden in pretty good coverage. Dan therefore threw the ball slightly behind Thomas at the goal line. Thomas slowed up just enough to let Gordon run by him and then leaped forward at the goal line to stretch out completely and snag the ball out of the air for his third touchdown of the night. It was one of the best catches I've seen in a long, long time.

The touchdown gave the Dolphins a 21-13 lead and was the first indication that the Dolphins were starting to pull away from the Broncos. On the kickoff, Hebron dropped the kick, but picked it up and managed to get it back to the 19 before he was taken down. From there, Elway hit McCaffery for 9 yards on 1st down and Davis added a 1 yard carry to give the Broncos a first and 10 from their 29.

On the next play, the Broncos tried the end-around, with Elway handing the ball off to Rod Smith, who had come from his right receiver position. However, Jason Taylor had shed his block and chased Smith down 10 yards deep in the backfield, dropping him for a 10 yard loss.

Now facing a 2nd and 20, Elway dropped back to pass, but finding no one open, he scrambled for 16 yards to the 35, leaving the Broncos with a 3rd and 4 at their 35. Elway again dropped back to pass and threw to his right, but Shane Burton got a big hand up in the air and swatted down the ball, leaving the Broncos with a 4th and 4 and forcing them to punt.

T-Buck took the punt at the 19 and returned 14 yards to the 33 before he was pushed out of bounds. At the 33, Marino's pass on 1st down when to McDuffie for 9 yards, but on 2nd and 1, Avery was dropped in the backfield for a 3 yard loss by John Mobley. Facing a third and 4, Marino dropped back and tried to hit McDuffie, but the ball was tipped into the air and intercepted by Steve Atwater for the Broncos at the Miami 40.

With a chance to come back, Davis ran for only 1 yard on 1st down and on 2nd down, Elway tried to pass to Rod Smith, but Smith was well covered by Derrick Rodgers who hit him just as the ball arrived - or maybe even a little bit before, but it wasn't called as interference.

However, now with 3rd and 9 at the Miami 39, Elway dropped back to pass again and Zach Thomas blitzed from Elway's left. Thomas was pushed past Elway, but managed to come around from behind and Grab Elway just as Elway tried to pass. As Zach hit him, he spun Elway around and the ball actually went backwards as Elway was apparently trying a screen pass. The ball landed 3 yards behind Elway and the Dolphins picked it up and raced to the endzone thinking he had thrown a lateral or backwards pass and that it was a free ball. However, the referees signaled an incomplete pass and the Broncos punted from the Miami 39.

This call was the worst of a game filled with bad calls. Elway clearly threw the ball backwards and Miami picked it up, but the referees negated the turnover.

In any case, the punt was downed at the Miami 1 and after Avery carried for 1 yard on 1st down, the third quarter ended with the Dolphins ahead 21-13 and in control.

Starting the 4th quarter with a 2nd and 9 at the Miami 2, Marino hit Ed Perry for 6 yards to the 89, but his third down pass to Drayton fell incomplete and the Dolphins punted from their own 8 on 4th down to the 48, where Denver returned it to the Miami 40.

On 1st and 10 from the Miami 40, Elway's pass to Rod Smith fell incomplete and after Davis' 5 yard run on 2nd down was nullified by an offensive holding penalty, the Broncos faced a 2nd and 20 from the 50. They then had a false start and pushed themselves back to a 2nd and 25 from their own 45. Elway threw twice in a row, but in both cases, the receivers were very well covered and the ball fell incomplete, leaving the Broncos with a 4th and 25 at their 45. They punted to T-Buck at the 19 and he returned it to the Miami 27.

On 1st down from there, Karim took Dan's handoff for 3 yards, but his second down pass to McDuffie was well off-target. However, on 3rd and 7 from their 30, Marino hit Gadsden for 20 yards and a 1st down at the 50. Karim carried again for no gain on first down and Marino was unable to connect with Jacquet on 2nd down or with McDuffie on third down and so the Dolphins punted on 4th and 10 from the 50.

A fair catch was made at the Denver 12 and Elway then passed on 1st down, but the ball never got to Rod Smith. Not that it would have mattered, because the Broncos were called for holding and after the incompletion, Miami declined the penalty. Now on 2nd and 10 from their 12, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, Elway tried to go to Rod Smith to his left, but Sam Madison had perfect position on Smith and made a leaping interception in front of Smith.

After coming down with the ball at 41, Madison raced up the sideline and almost made it to the endzone before he was dragged down at the Denver 6. From there, Marino handed off to Karim, but Karim promptly lost 3 yards and after he gained only 1 on 2nd down, the Dolphins faced a 3rd and goal from the Denver 8. Marino dropped back in the shotgun and threw the ball to Gadsden, who was slanting in at the 4 yard line. The defender had good coverage and jumped on Gadsden at about the 3, but Gadsden just carried him into the endzone for a touchdown that put Miami up 28-13 with about 8:15 remaining in the game.

It almost looked like the game was over, but on the kickoff, Denver's Vaughn Hebron took the ball at the 5 and ran straight up the middle through a small hole in the coverage and sprung outside for 95 yards and a touchdown, putting Denver right back in the game. After they completed a 2 point conversion, the Broncos were down by just 7 points at 28-21.

With 7:57 left in the game, it almost looked like Avery was going to break his own touchdown run on the kickoff as he raced to his right up the sideline, but he was pushed out at the Miami 37. From there, Karim ran for 1 yard on 1st down and the Marino passed to Lamar Thomas for 14 yards on 2nd down to the Denver 48. With another first down, Karim ran for 3 yards and Denver was penalized 5 yards for illegal use of hands, which gave the Dolphins an automatic first down at the Denver 40.

Karim tried to run again, but was dropped for a 1 yard loss and after Dan completed a short pass to McDuffie, the Dolphins faced a 3rd and 9 at the Denver 39. Marino tried to go back to McDuffie on 3rd down, but the ball fell incomplete and the Dolphins punted from the Denver 39 with about 4:25 remaining. Wilmsmeyer's punt came down at the 2 yard line and Todd Doxzon caught the ball, but that turned out to be an error because he couldn't stop his momentum from carrying him into the endzone for a touchback.

With 4:19 remaining in the game, Elway's first down pass was incomplete to Green, but on 2nd and 10, he hit Shannon Sharpe for 8 yards to the 28. Now facing a 3rd and 2, Elway went to Rod Smith, who was pushed out of bounds after 9 yards at the Denver 37. After a first down incompletion to Rod Smith, Elway tried to throw to Green, but Buckley was there to break it up. Now facing a 3rd and 10 at the 37, Elway tried to throw to Shannon Sharpe on a quick down and out, but Jerry Wilson had perfect coverage and reached in as the ball arrived and grabbed it. He and Sharpe both had their hands on the ball and fell together, but Wilson managed to wrestle the ball away from Sharpe and came up with the interception to end Denver's last real threat.

Now with 3:17 remaining, the Dolphins had a 1st and 10 at the Denver 44 and Avery ran for 1 yard on 1st down. Denver also started calling timeouts at this point. Marino then passed to Lamar Thomas for 14 yards and that gave the Dolphins a 1st down at the Denver 29. Avery ran for 5 yards on 1st down, but could only get a 1 yard pickup on 2nd down, which left the Dolphins with a 3rd and 4 at the Denver 23 as the 2 minute warning was sounded.

On 3rd and 4, Karim lost a yard running to his right, but on 4th and 4 at the Denver 24, Olindo Mare' hit a 42 yard field goal that essentially finished off the game by giving the Dolphins a 31-21 lead with 1:15 left in the game and Denver having no timeouts remaining.

The kickoff was taken by Hebron 3 yards deep and he elected to run it out, getting back to the 23 before Derrick Rodgers took him down. At this point, the Broncos put Bubby Brister in at quarterback and Elway sat down. He managed to complete his first pass for 12 yards to the 35, but there he threw 3 incompletions and was sacked once by Lorenzo Bromell before running out of downs. The ball went back over to Miami on downs and Marino knelt down once to end the game.

It was the best game the Dolphins have played this year and probably the biggest win of the Jimmy Johnson era. In beating Denver decisively, the Dolphins did not back into the playoffs like last year and they established themselves as a genuine playoff contender.

GOOD STUFF:

Most of what the Dolphins did was good on Monday, especially the passing game, the pass protection by the offensive line and all of the defensive play.

On offense, the passing game was sparkling. There were no really bad drops by the receivers and Dan Marino was as good as he's been in about the last 4 years. The offensive line stiffened after last week's debacle and didn't allow Denver to sack Marino once. The receivers ran good routes and made some great catches to take advantage of the Bronco's secondary.

The entire defense was at their peak on Monday night. The line was aggressive and tough, destroying Denver's blocking schemes and pressuring Elway on numerous plays. Although the Dolphins only had one or two sacks, depending on how they are counted, they forced Elway to scramble a number of times and had him making bad throws.

The linebackers were outstanding, with both Zach and Robert Jones making plays and containing Terrell Davis. The secondary blanketed the Denver receivers and were only beaten badly on one play, which wasn't even a score. The bottom line is that the Denver offense only scored 14 points and their single offensive touchdown came on a fumble recovery that could have bounced either way.

And, unlike last week, this week the coaches did a good job in game planning. Their blocking schemes and the way they attacked the Denver defense was just right. In particular, having Jerry Wilson cover Shannon Sharpe turned out to be just the right thing to do.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

Obviously, the running game is still seriously deficient, but it isn't going to get much better this year, especially with Karim, Richmond Webb and Kevin Donnalley injured. It was marginal before, but without those three guys playing at peak efficiency, it doesn't have much chance against the defenses it will be facing.

The special teams play was unusually poor on Monday. Wilmsmeyer's punts continue to be inconsistent, Olindo Mare' missed what should have been a chip-shot field goal and worst of all, the Dolphins' kickoff coverage teams almost let the Broncos back in the game when Hebron returned that kickoff for a touchdown. I would not want to be a special teams player for the Dolphins in practice this week.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:

Dan Marino had his most commanding performance of the Jimmy Johnson era, completing 23 of 38 passes for 355 yards with 4 touchdowns and just one interception. He was poised and composed in the pocket, threw the right receivers and his throws were tight and accurate. In short, he was Dan Marino.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar had a terrible game, but he was obviously still suffering the effects of the concussion he had against the Jets and even sat out a couple of plays after he hit his head again. He only gained 5 yards on 15 attempts and caught 1 pass for 5 yards. He may not play against the Falcons to give him a chance to recover.

John Avery stepped in for Karim and according to JJ, he graded out better than he has in any other game this year. I don't know if I agree with that, but he had 2 runs of more than 10 yards, ended up with 39 total yards and returned 3 kickoffs for 84 yards.

Stanley Pritchett only touched the ball once, but it was an important pass reception for 12 yards to put the Dolphins in scoring position.

Lamar Thomas had the best game of his NFL career, catching 6 passes for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns. He showed poise, toughness and athletic ability in his receptions and was easily the most valuable player on the Dolphins offense - after Dan Marino, of course.

OJ McDuffie also caught 6 passes, but only totaled 57 yards and didn't score. Still, he was valuable for first downs and as a decoy.

Troy Drayton was finally used more in the way that he is best at - the middle to deep pass routes. He caught just 3 passes, but that totaled 64 yards.

Nate Jacquet only caught 2 passes for 35 yards in this game, but one was a beautiful leaping grab down the left sideline that went for 29 yards. He obviously has some talent.

Oronde Gadsden did not start, but ended the day with 2 catches for 28 yards and the touchdown where he carried the defensive back 3 yards into the endzone with him.

Ed Perry caught 2 passes for 18 yards and didn't drop any today.

The offensive line played much better this week with Kevin Donnalley back full time. They did not allow a sack of Marino, but continued to have trouble opening those holes for Karim and Avery.

On defense, Robert Jones led the tacklers this week with 9 total tackles, followed by Zach Thomas with 8. Both players had outstanding game, making numerous tackles for no gain or losses and really complimenting each other. When one was blocked, the other made the play. Robert Jones is clearly the best Dolphins' free agent signing this year, especially when you factor in his cost to the team.

Sam Madison had a great game also, getting 6 total tackles including one where he single-handedly dropped Terrell Davis in the backfield for a 4 yard loss. He also played some great coverage and made a huge play when he intercepted Elway's pass in the 4th quarter.

On the other side, T-Buck only had one solo tackle, but is credited with 4 passes deflected and played some pretty tight coverage of his own throughout the game.

Jason Taylor was the standout lineman on the defense, getting credit for a sack, 6 tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. He also dragged down Rod Smith for a 10 yard loss on the end-around play and was all over Elway all night long.

Brock Marion had 5 total tackles and put a hit on Ed McCaffery that must have rung his bells all the way back to Denver. He also played some good coverage.

Darryl Gardener had 2 tackles and Tim Bowens had just 1, but both players got penetration up the middle, blowing up running plays and getting some pressure on Elway. They also kept the offensive linemen off of Zach and Robert Jones to allow then to do their work.

Derrick Rodgers had a fine night in coverage and was credited with one pass defensed as well as 2 assisted tackles.

Lorenzo Bromell only had one tackle on the night, but it was a sack. He continues to play with fire and enthusiasm.

Shane Burton and Kenny Mixon each are credited with one tackle and Burton knocked down one of Elway's passes at the line of scrimmage. Mixon's tackle was of Terrell Davis at the line of scrimmage.

Jerry Wilson is credited with just one tackle, but he had the final big play of the night when he ripped the ball out of Shannon Sharpe's hands for an interception late in the 4th quarter. This pick stopped Denver's last chance to win the game. Wilson also continues to be effective on the corner blitz.

And Patrick Surtain is credited with one pass defensed, but like T-Buck and Madison, he played some amazing coverage last night, blanketing his receivers.

On special teams, Olindo Mare' had several short kickoffs that didn't work out too well, although he did put the final one into the endzone. He also missed a very short field goal in the first quarter, but made a 42 yarder at the end of the game to finish off Denver.

Klaus Wilmsmeyer continues to be the Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde of punters, hitting some exactly where they should go and shanking others pitifully short. His final average on the night was 38.5 yards per kick.

T-Buck returned most of the punts and did a pretty good job, although he slipped and fell on one return where he had some pretty good running room in front of him. He averaged almost 10 yards per return.

INJURIES:

Avery twisted his ankle early in the game, but came back to play later and looks to be OK for next week.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar got another concussion and was not up to his usual standards at all. He may sit out the Atlanta game.

Jason Taylor looked like he really hammered his arm or hand on one play, but played the whole game and is fine.

My Comments:

This game provided the fans with a number of firsts for the team - it was the first time this year that the Dolphins have come from behind against a quality team in the second half and won the game. It was also the first time in a long time that we've seen the Dolphins play better in December than they did in September.

And it was the first time that we've seen the offense really click the way it should this season.

Of course, one game does not a season make, but after all the disappointments this year with late game losses, this was such a sweet victory and so important to the confidence of the team heading into the playoffs, that it's hard to underestimate it's importance. At a time when the Dolphins looked like they might falter, they regrouped and played their best game of the year.

You can't ask much more than that.

Next week's game is important for the Dolphins for two reasons: first of all, winning will guarantee that the Dolphins will play at home in the first round of the playoffs. That would be a huge plus for them.

Secondly, beating the Falcons would prove that they can beat a quality opponent on the road, which they are going to eventually have to do if they want to go to the SuperBowl. Sure, the Falcons will probably not be at full strength and will have nothing to play for, but it's more of a mental barrier to overcome than a real test.

Fortunately for the Dolphins, their strengths match up pretty well against the Falcons' strength, so it should be a good game.

Finally, with the win on Monday night, the Dolphins' regular season record this year is guaranteed to be better than last year's. That will not silence the critics who claim that JJ is not doing the job, but it will, at least, quiet them down.

Related Info:

• ESPN.com: Game Recap
• NFL.com: Dolphins vs Broncos Gamebook
• Dolphins Endzone: From the Game