A Taylor-made win in Miami

By Jim Gillis Nov 21, 2006, 22:40 GMT

- Jason Taylor said he wasn't having a great game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, then came the fourth quarter.

Miami's Pro Bowl defensive end forced a pair of fumbles, one that stopped a potential Minnesota scoring drive with the Dolphins behind, and made a brilliant read on a screen pass that he intercepted and returned for the game- sealing touchdown in a 24-20 victory.

Not only did he make the pick and the return, but he apparently had the foresight to predict it.

'I hadn't been feeling good all game,' Taylor said after the contest. 'I didn't feel like I was in a groove. I was kind of struggling personally so I was trying to do some self-talk in the huddle. The ref was standing there so I just turned to the ref and said, 'I'm about to do something outrageous.' He said, 'What?' I told him again and he kind of laughed and walked away. I got lucky and got a pick.'

The Dolphins were ahead 17-13 at the time -- thanks to a fumble return for a touchdown by Renaldo Hill earlier in the fourth quarter -- and the Vikings had the ball at midfield. Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson dropped back to pass, looked to his left and threw toward running back Chester Taylor.

He didn't see the other Taylor, who stepped away from his block, made a leaping catch and raced toward the end zone.

'The more you see, the more you can diagnose plays, know what's coming and know what is going on,' Jason Taylor said about the play. 'My second year in the league, I probably wouldn't have made that play. I would have been way up the field tying to get the quarterback. It's experience, but it is also the guys around me. We all play off each other. It is not a one-man deal. This isn't golf or tennis. I am just very fortunate to have the teammates I have.'

The defense clearly won Sunday's game and helped the Dolphins to their third straight win -- each of which was keyed by a strong defensive effort.

Miami went into Chicago with a 1-6 record after its bye week, and the defense forced six turnovers to hand the Bears their first loss. Last week, Taylor and Co. held the high-powered Kansas City offense in check. And this past Sunday, it was a spirited fourth quarter defensive surge.

Taylor was a factor in each game. He had an interception return for a touchdown, a forced fumble and a sack against the Bears. His stat line wasn't significant against the Chiefs, although he nearly had an interception deep in Kansas City territory and would have waltzed into the end zone if only he had held on.

'I still get haunted by that one last week that I should have had,' Taylor remarked on Sunday. 'It worked out for us well. I am not going to sit here and pat myself on the back. I have guys that make it a heck of it a lot easier for me.'

Zach Thomas, who had 17 tackles on Sunday, anchors the Miami defense and the Pro Bowl linebacker has been extremely impressed with Taylor's play.

'He's on another level,' Thomas stated Sunday. 'I'm glad he's on our team. He's been playing like that all year. Defense has been playing real good, but he's on another level than anybody else. He makes big plays at the times that we need it. Just causing the fumble even before the score, that was a big play -- the same thing with the interception.'

The touchdown was the seventh of Taylor's career, tying an NFL mark for defensive linemen. Former New York Giants star George Martin also had seven.

Taylor is in his 10th season, all with the Dolphins, and is likely a lock for his fifth Pro Bowl selection and third in as many years. If he keeps making these game-changing plays, it would not be a stretch to consider him for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.

NOW THE BAD NEWS

Miami's ground game was simply awful Sunday against the Vikings. How bad? How about franchise-record bad.

The Dolphins, playing against the NFL's top-ranked run unit, netted minus- three yards on the ground. MINUS-THREE. A team hadn't won a game with that low a rushing figure since October 29, 1961 when Philadelphia was held to minus-12 rushing yards in a 27-24 victory over Washington.

Of course, it appeared as if the Dolphins were not even trying to establish a running game. They came out of the box in a five-receiver set and ran the no- huddle offense to near perfection on the first series before a poor handoff exchange between Ronnie Brown and Joey Harrington caused a fumble inside the Minnesota five-yard line.

Brown finished the game with a meager total of two rushing yards on 12 carries. Harrington had the other two attempts for minus-five yards.

'It was difficult for us to run the ball -- all game,' said Harrington. 'It's tough when you don't run the ball well early. They [Vikings] play so well inside. They force you to change your game plan. They force you to abandon what you do well. What we've done well is run the ball the last couple of weeks.'

That was definitely not the case on Sunday, as the minus-three total broke the old team record for fewest rushing yards. The previous mark was 14, set on November 19, 1990 in a 13-10 loss to the Raiders and matched in a 38-3 setback in the Divisional Playoffs against Denver after the 1998 season.

SOMETHING [NEW & OLD] FOR JOEY

Harrington accomplished something he had never done before on Sunday, beating the Minnesota Vikings. He was winless in six previous starts, all with Detroit, before Sunday's triumph.

'It's nice to beat those guys,' said Harrington, who will have another familiar feel on Thursday when he goes back to Detroit.

The Lions made Harrington the third overall pick of the 2002 draft after he had a stellar collegiate career at Oregon. His first NFL action came against the Dolphins in the 2002 season-opener, and he took over as Detroit's starter the third week of that season.

Of course, things didn't go so well in Detroit. He had a record of 18-37 as a starting quarterback, but the teams he played on weren't so good, either.

'People are going to try to hype up going back to Detroit this week, but I'm going back as part of the Dolphins and that's something I'm proud of,' Harrington stated.

UP NEXT

The Dolphins have a short week, as they try to continue their winning streak with a visit to Detroit for the Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game.

Miami has been a part of five Thanksgiving Day games previously, but never against the Lions. The Dolphins are 4-1 on Thanksgiving, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977, and knocking off the Dallas Cowboys in 1973, 1993 and 2003. They also lost to Dallas in 1999.

Detroit has had a tough season in Rod Marinelli's first year at the helm. The Lions are a dismal 2-8 after a 17-10 loss to fellow 2-8 Arizona this past Sunday.

The Dolphins are 6-2 all-time against the Lions, winning each of the last four meetings. Miami posted a 49-21 victory over Detroit in the last matchup, four years ago in the 2002 opener, and notched a 23-8 triumph on November 5, 2000, the last time these teams met in Detroit.

The Lions haven't beaten Miami since a 17-13 triumph on September 15, 1991 in Detroit.

© 2006 The Sports Network