I don't think I need to go over the details of the game for you. If you are a fan of the Dolphins and you didn't see the game - trust me, there was nothing you'd want to watch. That isn't to say that the team played poorly in every area, but they play poorly in most areas and that, combined with a Denver team that looked every bit the SuperBowl champions that they are, was enough to result in a blowout.

The game can really be summarized by the first two offensive series. On Miami's first series, Dan Marino got enough time to pass as the offensive line held back Denver's pass rush and Marino had plenty of time to throw to OJ McDuffie - but McDuffie dropped the ball that was right in his hands. Then Bernie Parmalee ran for 3 yards and on 3rd down, Marino passed to Stanley Pritchett, who was open, but also dropped the ball. The Dolphins then punted.

That series symbolized Miami's offensive woes for most of the game. They got decent pass protection for Dan, but even when he hit the receivers in the hands, they didn't make anything happen. And there was no running game.

When Denver got the ball from Miami, they began to march down the field. However, on 2nd and 6 from the Bronco 33, the Dolphins had perfect coverage down the field and Elway couldn't find anyone open. He was eventually forced out of the pocket and ran to his right. Just before he was about to be forced out of bounds, he threw the ball down the sideline to Shannon Sharpe, but Robert Jones was there and made a play on the ball. Elway's pass hit Jones in the hands, but Jones dropped what should have been an easy interception.

The Broncos continued their march down the field and eventually scored their first touchdown of the day. The Dolphins defense didn't take advantage of the opportunities that they got and that allowed the Broncos to score, almost at will.

Oh, it wasn't all bad. The Dolphins offensive line protected Marino well enough that he completed 70% of his passes for 238 yards and was only sacked once and was rarely pressured. And, on the other side of the ball, the Dolphins' cornerbacks did a good job covering Rod Smith and Ed McCaffery. Smith caught one touchdown pass, but he had to push Madison out of the way to do it. Otherwise, the Denver passing game was not especially impressive.

Of course, it didn't have to be with Terrell Davis gaining 199 rushing yards. He was basically unstoppable, thanks in part to the outstanding job his offensive line did in opening holes. Terrell Davis was the story of the game.

So, how did the Dolphins go from allowing Davis just 29 yards less than a month ago to allowing him 199 yards last Saturday? Well, there are a bunch of reasons, of course, including the absence of Tim Bowens and Jason Taylor from the lineup, but I think that the real reason the Dolphins played so poorly is simpler.

I think that the Dolphins were exhausted - physically, mentally and emotionally. I think that they gave everything they had to defeat the Bills and that they had very little left to face the Broncos.

It's a long season - since August, the Dolphins have played every weekend but one and that one weekend was back in September. At the end of the regular season, the Dolphins played the toughest schedule of any team in the league. Their first playoff game was against one of their fiercest rivals in the entire league and they gave everything they had to defeat them.

Trace Armstrong said that he didn't think he could play another down at end of the Bills game. But on Monday morning, he had to be back at the training facility, getting ready to practice for the Denver game.

Rookies like Patrick Surtain, John Avery and Kenny Mixon had played twice as many games this year as they were used to. And Oronde Gadsden's total game count this season was approaching 40 games.

To me, the most telling example of the Dolphins' exhaustion was the play of Zach Thomas. When you get tired, one of the first things that happens is that you lose your concentration and Zach was not concentrating well during the game. On one play in particular, I saw him shed his blocker and then run right by the hole, overpursuing badly. This allowed Davis to cut back and run by him for about 10 yards. Zach Thomas is usually much better at maintaining his position and being in the right place at the right time.

No, I think that the combination of the tough late season schedule, combined with the emotional drain of facing the Bills and then going on the road to Denver just exhausted the team and they had no reserves left to face the Broncos. Perhaps if they gotten a few first downs on that first drive and Robert Jones had held on to that interception, the energy of those events could have carried the team to at least put up a good fight.

But those things didn't happen and with the Broncos playing their best, that was just too much to overcome. As a result - well, you all saw the results.

It's an unfortunate consequence of the playoff system that 11 of the 12 best teams in the league have to end their season with a loss in the playoffs. It doesn't seem fair to me that those teams should end their year on a down note after having played well enough to get to the playoffs in the first place.

And often, that last loss is what the players and fans have to remember most when they start the next season.

I'll write more about the Dolphins' 1998 season and what it all meant in a couple of days, but let me say for the record that I consider the 1998 season a success and I see an improving team. Of course, I can't predict the future, but with the Dolphins in great shape as far as the salary cap goes, they should be able to keep all their important players next year and sign some good players to improve the team.

And that will mean very good things for 1999.