On the first play from scrimmage that the Bills ran today, Doug Flutie dropped back in the pocket and while under pressure from blitzing Dolphins, threw the ball downfield to his favorite receiver, Eric Moulds. Moulds had gotten a step on Terrell Buckley and hauled the pass in for what looked like it would be a long gain. Buckley, however, caught up to Moulds from behind and grabbed Moulds' collar from with his left hand, while swatting upwards at the ball with his right. The ball popped up from Moulds' arms and as Buckley dragged Moulds down with him, the ball bounced forward on the turf where Brock Marion scooped it up and returned it to the Miami 29. This play and turnover turned out to be a sign of the kind of game that the Dolphins and Bills would play today.

On the final play from the scrimmage that the Bills ran today, the score was 24-17 in favor of the Dolphins, there were 17 seconds left on the game clock and the Bills were at the Miami 5 yard line with a first down, but with no timeouts left. A touchdown would have put them in a tie with the Dolphins and sent the game into overtime. Flutie dropped back quickly to pass, but could find no one open and held the ball while looking to his left. Coming from Flutie's right, defensive end Trace Armstrong ran over Thurman Thomas and hit Flutie hard on his blind side, jarring the ball loose. The ball bounced forward, where Shane Burton fell on it at the Miami 3, recovering the fumble with 9 seconds left to go in the game. This turnover sealed the Dolphins' victory and put an end to a history of Dolphins' losses to the Bills in the playoffs.

The reason I bring up these two plays is because they are representative of the kind of game that was played in Miami this afternoon. The game was a wild affair from beginning to end, but ultimately it was the Dolphins who got the turnovers and made the big plays when it counted the most and that proved to be the difference in a 24-17 wildcard victory for the Dolphins - the first playoff victory by the Dolphins since they beat the Chiefs in 1994.

The victory was all the more significant since it came at the expense of the Buffalo Bills, who were the thorn in the Dolphins' side for most of the early 1990s and who have never lost a playoff game to the Dolphins - until today.

This was a very exciting game, with the Dolphins working hard to build a 6-0 lead on two field goals, only to have the Bills steal it back with a touchdown. At halftime, the Bills were ahead 7-6. The Dolphins then came back and went ahead again 14-7, but the Bills tied it up 14-14 before the Dolphins came back again and built a 24-14 lead in the 4th quarter. Flutie almost pulled it out and the game wasn't decided until the next to last play, but ultimately there would be no "Miracle in Miami" for Flutie today.

I will post a more complete summary and analysis tomorrow, but in brief, this is why the Dolphins won today:

First of all, they got turnovers. They took the ball away from the Bills 5 times by forcing 4 fumbles and getting one interception by Brock Marion, who has not had a single interception this year. And when I say they forced 4 fumbles, that is not an exagerration. The Dolphins stripped the ball once each from Eric Moulds and Andre Reed and knocked it loose from Doug Flutie twice while sacking him.

Secondly, the Dolphins' offensive line gave Marino time to throw. Dan was sacked only once today and was not hurried significantly for most of the game. The return of Richmond Webb and Kevin Donnalley, combined with a decent running game gave Dan plenty of time to find the open receivers. At the end of the day, Dan did not rack up a lot of yards - he completed 23 or 34 for 235 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception - but the Dolphins offense controlled the ball and kept it away from Doug Flutie.

Third, the running game worked well enough. The Dolphins did not generate an amazing running attack, but piled up 124 yards rushing with a 3.6 yard per carry average. That was enough to keep the Bills' defense from blitzing too much. The Dolphins ran 68 plays on offense today - 34 running and 34 pass plays were called.

Fourth, the Dolphins' defense shut down Antowain Smith. Smith converted a couple of short yardage plays that were important, but ultimately ended the day with only 15 yards on 7 carries. The Bills' rushing attack never got started.

Fifth, the Dolphins' offense controlled the clock and converted on 3rd down. The final time of possession for the Dolphins was 37:32 compared to the Bills' 22:28 and the Dolphins converted 64% of their third down attempts, including a few running the ball.

And lastly, the Dolphins did not turn the ball over themselves. Marino did throw one interception, but otherwise the Dolphins did not give the ball away. That was a huge factor in controlling the clock and the tempo of the game.

Overall, it was a fitting victory in a very exciting game for the Dolphins. This playoff win pretty much puts the stamp of success on the Dolphins' 1998 season. Unfortunately, it comes at an expensive price. Tim Bowens tore his biceps during the game and will probably miss the rest of the playoffs. This could prove especially costly down the road.

But that's the future. Today, the Dolphins took another step towards the SuperBowl.