ShareThisSizing up another just-good-enough performance during what has been a most improbable NFL season in South Florida, even Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano had to admit: "This wasn't the blueprint."
He didn't plan on the opposing team running for more yards, passing for more yards, piling up more than twice as many first downs and holding a 16 1/2-minute edge in time of possession.
He didn't plan on the opposing team putting together two 16-play drives, a 13-play drive and a 10-play drive and coming away with only three field goals.
He didn't plan on his offense getting shut out in the second half.
But that's exactly what happened Sunday to Sparano's opportunistic Dolphins.
And they won, anyway.
Quarterback Chad Pennington threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes and, for the third consecutive week, the Miami defense kept the opponent out of the end zone as the Dolphins held on for a 14-9 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Dolphin Stadium.
So the Dolphins won for the seventh time in the past eight games. They're still sitting atop the AFC East, along with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. They're still, remarkably, in the playoff chase.
But, again, it wasn't easy.
And, as usual, it wasn't pretty.
"It was an ugly win," running back Ronnie Brown said, "but it's a win, and we'll take it."
Just like they took the 16-3 win two Sundays ago against Buffalo in Toronto. And the 16-12 win at St. Louis. And the 17-15 win against Oakland. And the 21-19 win against Seattle.
And you better believe they'll take two more of them, if that's what it takes to get to January.
"For us, the playoffs began three weeks ago, after we lost to New England," defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. "We've won three in a row, but every game, it's like we're fighting for our lives."
That's why the Dolphins don't care much about style points. Or margins of victory. Or the fact that only two of their nine wins have come against teams with winning records.
They don't care how it looks.
As long as they keep winning.
"You never want to not enjoy a win," said Pennington, who continued to play smart, efficient, error-free football, completing 12 of 19 passes for 156 yards and the two touchdowns without being intercepted. "They are so hard to come by that you've got to enjoy it, regardless of how you feel about the way you won."
So there were no apologies in the post-game locker room.
Not at 9-5.
Not after 1-15.
"Nobody gave us a chance, except the guys in this room," Holliday said. "So to be sitting here today, seeing what we've accomplished thus far, it feels good. But we have a bigger goal."
A playoff berth? The division title? Something beyond that? "All this means is that every game is getting bigger and bigger," Dolphins linebacker Matt Roth said. "But it's a reality now."
The Dolphins have a chance -- a real chance -- and that says plenty about this group, assembled by Dolphins football boss Bill Parcells and coached by Sparano.
Yes, the schedule has been ridiculously easy. Yes, the Dolphins have enjoyed some fortuitous timing. Yes, they've been fortunate to avoid injuries to key players.
But they've played hard enough and smart enough to take full advantage of their circumstances.
"We're just a blue-coller, hard-working team looking for Win No. 10," Pennington said. "That's all we're doing."
That's all that matters.
The Dolphins play at Kansas City next week, then go to New York to face the rival Jets on Dec. 28. And it doesn't matter if they win impressively.
As long as they win.
"Look, it's hard to win in this league," Sparano said. "It really is. It's hard to win one of them, never mind nine of them. So we're going to enjoy this win. But we understand that this wasn't the blueprint."
It was another just-good-enough performance in what has been an improbable NFL season in South Florida, where just-good-enough has fans believing the Dolphins might be better than they really are.
And for now, after the embarrassment of last season, after too many playoff-less years, that's good enough.
(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@Scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)
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