Dolphins won another close game with another late defensive stop. This
one put them right in the middle of the AFC playoff picture.
Chad Henne completed a team-record 17
consecutive passes, Ricky Williams ran for 108 yards and a score and
the Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 14-10 on Sunday.
The loss snapped Jacksonville's
five-game winning streak at home, and now the Jaguars (7-6) no longer
control their wild-card hopes.
Miami, which won its sixth
consecutive game decided by seven points or less, stopped David Garrard
on fourth-and-3 with 1:20 remaining and then sacked Garrard on the
final play to seal the victory.
The Dolphins (7-6) used a defensive stand to beat New England 22-21 last week.
A week after slowing down Tom Brady
and the Patriots, Miami had one of its best defensive efforts of the
season. The Dolphins held Maurice Jones-Drew to 59 yards and a
touchdown, sacked Garrard three times and forced six three-and-outs on
Jacksonville's first eight possessions.
Miami didn't run a single play from the wildcat formation for the second straight week. Didn't need to, either.
Williams pounded the Jaguars up the
middle, taking advantage of John Henderson's absence, and Henne
couldn't miss for most of the game.
Henne set the team record for most
consecutive completions in a game. He fell one shy of Chad Pennington's
franchise mark of 18 set over two games in 2008.
Henne finished 21-of-29 for 220
yards. He led the Dolphins on two long scoring drives in the first
half, the first one capped by Williams' 1-yard TD run and the second by
Henne's 1-yard bootleg.
Miami had outgained Jacksonville 176-14 early in the second quarter.
The Jaguars tightened on defense and
got back in the game thanks to Jones-Drew's short TD run and Josh
Scobee's 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
But neither team mustered much the rest of the way.
The Jaguars gambled three times on
fourth down, but failed on the last two. Yeremiah Bell knocked away a
pass intended for Mike Sims-Walker on one fourth-quarter drive, then
Miami's defense stuffed Garrard on a quarterback draw two possessions
later.
Even though the game was blacked out
on local television, Jacksonville had its biggest home crowd of the
season (60,457). Most fans left disappointed, knowing the Jags probably
will need to beat undefeated Indianapolis on Thursday night or win at
New England the following week and get some help to reach the
postseason.