CHARLOTTE, N.C. - With Ronnie
Brown lost for the season, the Miami Dolphins turned to
their aging running back.
Ricky Williams showed he's
still got it.
The 32-year-old Williams
rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns, and the
Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on Thursday
night for their fourth win in six games to get into the
AFC playoff picture.
A day after learning Brown
is lost for the season to a foot injury, the Dolphins
(5-5) continued their surge after an 0-3 start behind
Williams. The 2002 NFL rushing champion had a receiving
and rushing touchdown in the same game for the first time
in his career that included a couple of lost seasons.
"Coach always talks
about finishing," Williams said. "Sometimes in
this league, in a physical game, it's difficult to finish.
I think in the past we've prided ourselves on finishing
games and we did a good job tonight."
DeAngelo Williams rushed
for 122 yards for the Panthers (4-6), but Jake Delhomme
had his streak of three games without an interception
snapped. His desperation pass into the end zone was
knocked down as time expired.
"We just didn't tackle
well," Carolina defensive tackle Damione Lewis said.
"Ricky is a hard running, big tailback, He broke some
tackles, and that's him."
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano
hinted his team might abandon the wildcat without Brown,
who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Miami didn't
use the formation until the second quarter. It coincided
with the Dolphins' first touchdown drive — Chad Henne's
14-yard touchdown pass to Williams, who wrestled away from
linebacker Na'il Diggs.
Miami took a 14-3 halftime
lead when Williams took the direct snap at the 1 and got
to the end zone ahead of linebacker Jon Beason.
The Panthers got within
17-14 on Steve Smith's leaping 27-yard touchdown catch and
DeAngelo Williams' 2-point conversion run with 5:18 left.
But Ricky Williams bounced to the outside and shook off
Sherrod Martin at the Carolina 5 on a 46-yard touchdown
run.
Williams also caught two
passes for 19 yards and a touchdown. Chad Henne overcame
losing his center and the backup and committed no
turnovers.
"We struggled at bit
during the game, but the defense kept it close to give us
an opportunity and give us time to get it together,"
Williams said.
Still, the Dolphins had to
hold off the Panthers. After Williams' long run, the
Panthers got a field goal. They then forced a punt, and
Delhomme found Gary Barnidge on passes of 29 and 17 yards.
But from the Miami 26, Delhomme's lob into the end zone
was knocked down by Tyrone Culver.
"Guys are fighting
their tail off," Delhomme said. "We are just not
getting it done. ... We are not winning the close
ones."
Early on, Carolina's
offense stalled because of its makeshift offensive line
and the return from exile of Dolphins linebacker Joey
Porter.
Benched from Sunday's win
over Tampa Bay, Porter served as a captain for the coin
toss, then sacked Delhomme on third down on Carolina's
opening drive, leading to John Kasay's 29-yard field goal.
The Panthers mixed in some
of the no-huddle offense on the drive after its effective
debut Sunday against Atlanta. They used it sparingly after
that, and the offense got bogged down without Pro Bowl
left tackle Jordan Gross.
Porter had two of Miami's
three first-half sacks, beating Gross' replacement
Travelle Wharton.
The Dolphins had their own
offensive line troubles. Center Jake Grove left in the
third quarter with an ankle injury and was replaced by Joe
Berger. Nate Garner moved to center when Berger went down
early in the fourth. Henne bobbled Garner's second snap,
but recovered.
Berger returned on the next
series and was injured again. Henne completed 17 of 29
passes for 172 yards.
DeAngelo Williams' 50-yard
run early in the third seemed to give Carolina life. But
the drive ended when Nathan Jones picked off Delhomme's
pass intended for Smith at the Miami 4.
Smith caught seven passes
for 87 yards despite getting into a minor car accident on
the way to the game.
Delhomme, who had thrown 13
interceptions in his first six games, had gone
turnover-free this month. But he was just 19 of 42 for 247
yards, and Carolina fell to 0-4 against the Dolphins. It
was a crushing loss for the Panthers, who also began
eyeing the playoffs after starting 0-3.
"There's still a lot
of football left and we're still no way in any stretch out
of it," Panthers coach John Fox said.
The loss to Fox's old
offensive coordinator leaves them in tough shape. Dan
Henning, fired by Carolina after the 2006 season, found a
way to score just enough without Brown.
Williams, the 1998 Heisman
Trophy winner, continued his resurgence after a career
that included a brief retirement and a drug-related
suspension. The time off might be helping him now when
many running backs decline after they turn 30.
NOTES: Panthers LB Landon
Johnson, filling in for the injured Thomas Davis, left
with a knee injury. ... Panthers DE Julius Peppers again
played mostly on passing downs only because of a right
hand injury. ... Dolphins backup RB Lex Hilliard, who came
in without an NFL carry, ran four times for 24 yards. ...
The Dolphins and Texans (0-2) are the only teams the
Panthers have never beaten.
