The Miami Dolphins have risen from the ashes of a 1-15 season, in a matter of 1 year, to finish the 2008 season 11-5 and win the AFC East. The Dolphins took care of business against the Jets yesterday winning 24-17, sending the Dolphins to the playoffs for the first time in 7 seasons.

After a scoreless 1st quarter, the Jets struck first going up 6-0 on a Brett Favre TD pass, but failed a 2pt conversion. The Dolphins would answer back as Chad Pennington connected with Ted Ginn Jr on a 27yd TD pass to go ahead 7-6. 15 seconds later Philip Merling would intercept a Favre pass and take it to the house to extend the Dolphins’ lead to 14-6. A Jets FG at the end of the half made the Dolphins’ halftime lead 14-9.

The Jets would briefly take the lead in the 3rd quarter on a 10yd TD rush to go up 17-14. Pennington would put the Dolphins ahead for good when he hooked up with TE Anthony Fasano for a 20yd TD pass, giving the Dolphins a 21-17 lead. A Dan Carpenter FG in the 4th would give the Dolphins a 24-17 lead.

The Dolphins’ victory on Sunday was sweet in so many ways, it is nearly impossible to list them all. The Dolphins joined the 1999 Indianapolis Colts as the only teams in NFL history to see a 10 game improvement in their record and make the playoffs one season after a dismal record. Chad Pennington, who was dumped by the New York Jets in August when Favre arrived, led his new team into his old team’s stadium and took the AFC East crown (and a playoff spot) away from them.

A huge congratulations has to go out to coach Tony Sparano and his staff, Parcells, and the players for doing what no one thought they could possibly do this season. The Dolphins will host the 11-5 Baltimore Ravens next Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins miraculous turnaround continued Sunday as they won a wild game in Kansas City 38-31. The Dolphins’ defense, stout as of late, was uncharacteristically sloppy in the first half. The Dolphins’ offense however finally arrived, saving the day and salvaging Miami’s playoff dreams.

The first half was an offensive shoot out with the two teams exchanging blows. After a mild 1^st quarter ended with Miami up 10-7, both teams came out firing in the 2^nd quarter. The teams would score a combined 35 points in the 2^nd and Kansas City would go into halftime with a 28-24 lead.

After a first half that saw the Dolphins’ defense gashed from left to right by Kansas City’s offense, the Dolphins’ D showed up and shut down Kansas City in the 2^nd half. The Fins’ D would allow only a FG in the 3^rd quarter and Miami’s offense would score a TD in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters to win the game 38-31.

Chad Pennington lead Miami’s balanced attack on 26/34 passing for 235yds and 3TDs. Patrick Cobbs would rush for 44yds, Ricky Williams 34yds and a TD, Ronnie Brown 32yds, and Ted Ginn Jr added a 31yd TD rush to carry the rushing load for the Dolphins.

The Dolphins now find themselves in complete control of their own destiny. New England won to keep pace with the Dolphins, and the New York Jets lost in Seattle to put Miami in front in the AFC East. With a victory next week over the Jets, the Dolphins will be headed for the playoffs.

The NFL announced the AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams today and the Miami Dolphins will be sending two players to Hawaii this year to partake in the festivities. RB Ronnie Brown and OLB Joey Porter are heading to the Pro Bowl as representatives of the resurgent Dolphins.

Ronnie Browns joins Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans and Thomas Jones of the New York Jets in the trio of AFC running backs at the Pro Bowl. Ronnie Brown is a somewhat curious choice from a statistical standpoint as he has 827yds and a 4.2yds/carry average and 10 TDs while rookie Steve Slaton of the Houston Texans has 1,124yds and a 4.9yds/carry average with 8 TDs. Brown however has meant more to his team over the course of the season than Slaton has to the Texans. At times Brown has literally willed the Dolphins to victory. Odd choice or not, Brown is certainly deserving.

Joey Porter would have had every right to cry wolf had he been ignored as he has been the heart and soul of the Miami defense this season, playing a critical role in the turn around of the Dolphins this season. Porter has 35 solo tackles with 11 assists, but leads the AFC in sacks with 17.5. Porter has seen his career revived this season with Miami and is the leader of the Dolphins defense this season.

Both players are deserving of their selection to this season’s Pro Bowl. Congratulations to Ronnie Brown on his 1st appearance, and congrats to Porter on his 4th appearance. It will be Porters 4th Pro Bowl, 1st as a Dolphin.

The Miami Dolphins kept themselves in the hunt for the playoffs Sunday with a 14-9 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. The Dolphins used two first half TD passes from Chad Pennington to his TEs to build a lead and relied on their defense to seal the victory and boy did they ever.

For the 3rd straight game the Dolphins’ defense was relentless, displaying a bend but don’t break attitude to make their team’s 2 TDs hold up. The win was Miami’s 7th in their last 8 games and it kept them in a tie for 1st place in the AFC East with the New York Jets and New England Patriots.

Miami’s offense wasn’t particularly potent this week. The Dolphins were outgained 318 - 248yds while gaining only 11 first downs and converting only 1 third down all game, in comparison to 24 first downs and 8 third down conversions for San Fran. Chad Pennington connected on a 61yd TD pass to TE David Martin in the 1st qtr and on a 19yd TD pass to TE Joey Haynos in the 2nd qtr to provide all the offense Miami would need.

Miami’s defense on the other hand was red hot today and wasn’t going to allow San Francisco to steal this game from them. Slowly the 49ers chipped away at the Dolphins lead in the 2nd half and with 2:36 to go in the game San Fran had a 10 play drive going to try and steal the game. The defense would stand tall and stop the 49ers on 4th down deep in Miami territory to preserve the victory.

In allowing no TDs again this week, Miami has now gone 3 games without allowing an opponent to score a touchdown, the first such stretch the Dolphins have had since 1973. Miami’s offense sputtered today and was not particularly effective, but they did just enough and protected the ball, never turning it over. The Dolphins are on pace to set an NFL record for the fewest turnovers in a season.

With the win, Miami remains in a tie for 1st place in the AFC East with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. The Jets, playing at the same time, ran a fumble back for a TD late to survive their game with the Buffalo Bills, and at the moment New England is cruising against the Oakland Raiders, up 42-20 in the 3rd quarter. Miami’s destiny remains in its own hands, win out and you’re in the playoffs. Now it becomes important for Miami to focus on Kansas City next week and not look ahead to the Jets in the season finale.

Dolphins are clicking against a terrible 49ers team. Up 14-3 in the 2nd and playing as a complete team.

Nice special teams tackle right there…

The Miami Dolphins continue to exceed (by far) the expectations of everyone around the NFL as they defeated the Buffalo Bills yesterday, improving to 8-5 on the season and moving into a 3 way tie with New York and New England for 1st place in the AFC East.

The Dolphins squared off with the ice cold Buffalo Bills in Toronto yesterday and walked away 16-3 winners. A 20 yd TD pass from Chad Pennington to TE Anthony Fasano was all Miami would need as the defense absolutely shut down the Buffalo offense. Dan Carpenter would add 3 FGs, and Buffalo would muster 1 FG in the 1st quarter, but in the end Miami’s defense would keep Buffalo in check.

Miami’s defense was absolutely stifling allowing Buffalo a total net yardage of 163 (79 passing and 84 rushing) getting 4 sacks and 1 INT. Joey Porter continued his strong play this season with 2 sacks and a forced fumble to lead the defense on Sunday.

It is worth noting Buffalo fans were critical of the game being played in Toronto. Buffalo’s hold on their franchise is tenuous as it is literally the mental will of their owner Ralph Wilson keeping them in Buffalo, a small market. Buffalo has played pre season games in the past in Toronto, but this was the first time a regular season game was played there, and it may not be the last. Buffalo fans felt not only robbed of a home game, but robbed of the advantage they would have had with the bitter temperatures and conditions outdoors in Buffalo. Yesterday’s game was played indoors in Toronto. Buffalo was also without their offensive catalyst, QB Trent Edwards.

Backup QB or not, indoors or out, Miami again just got it done on offense and was dominating on defense. Miami’s win, combined with New York’s loss, throws the Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets into a 3 way tie for 1st place in the AFC East. Miami however currently sits at the bottom of this tie as New England has the tie breaker over them, as does New York via their opening week victory in Miami.

The Dolphins have as good a chance as New York or New England to get into the playoffs as the division champ. New England has the easier 3 game remaining schedule with games against Oakland, Arizona, and Buffalo. The Jets have games agaisnt Buffalo, Seattle, and the Dolphins. Miami has San Francisco, Kansas City, and the Jets left to play.

If the Dolphins can get the job done against San Francisco and Kansas City, their playoff destiny can be in their own hands with just a little outside help required. For the Dolphins to get in they need to A) Beat San Fran and KC, B) New England to lose at least once, and C) defeat the Jets the last week of the season. There are many teams out there with more complicated routes to the playoffs, for the Dolphins it’s simple. If they beat their opponents and get help just once in a New England defeat, then the Dolphins are playoff bound!

The return of RB Stephen Jackson was not enough for the woeful St. Louis Rams to beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Dolphins rebounded for a tough rout last week at the hands of the Patriots with a stingy defensive effort and just enough on offense to pick up the win. The win was Miami’s 5th in 6 games and their 7th of the season.

Miami got a touchdown from Ronnie Brown in the 2nd quarter followed by 3 FGs from Dan Carpenter to get their 16pts. The Miami defense would be the story of the day though as they held the Rams to nothing but FGs on the day, never allowing them into the endzone. Stephen Jackson returned for the Rams and rushed for 94 yards, but the Dolphins would shut down the Rams’ passing game.

The Dolphins’ defense held the Rams to 149 yards passing and had 3 interceptions on the day to keep the St. Louis offense in check and out of the endzone. It was a less than impressive game from the Dolphins, especially considering the quality of opponent the team faced. The Dolphins have struggled this year in games against mediocre teams while making an impressive display of themselves against tough opposition.

The victory was important for the Dolphins. Combined with the Patriots’ loss to Pittsburgh this weekend, the Dolphins’ win moves them into 2nd place in the AFC East, one game behind the Jets with a game remaining against the Jets. More importantly, the victory keeps the Dolphins in the hunt for a Wild Card spot in the AFC as well. With 4 games remaining in the season, the Dolphins find themselves still in the playoff race and each game will be critical to their playoff hunt.