Dolphins “WON” & 7: Finally Get Victory

It has been a very long time since Miami Dolphins fans have had something to cheer about.  11 games going back to last season long.  Today, they found the desire to win a football game and they did it with passion.  From the opening series to the end of the game, the Dolphins players finally played with the desire to win a game.

Leading the defense that held the Chiefs in check all day adding sack after sack after sack for a total of 5, and keeping the KC running game knocked down was LB Karlos Dansby who finally played as the player the Dolphins signed two off-seasons ago.  Jason Taylor got into the mix, Kevin Burnett made a stop behind the line, and despite the overly aggressive play of rookie CB Jimmy Wilson, the Dolphins secondary minus Vontae’ Davis kept the KC WR’s in check all game.  Not allowing the big plays they have given up all year long.

Offensively it was a TE show.  Anthony Fasano put two first half TD’s into the score book with a three yard catch and a thirty-five yard reception.  Charles Clay the FB/TE/WR do it all rookie who has shown flashes stepped up with clutch catches over and over again finding the seam open up the middle.  And then there was Brandon Marshall who got into the act putting a toe-tapping TD on the board in the 3rd quarter to finally get himself on track.  Marshall stepped up and finally played a complete game that didn’t include timely drops.

It was a total team effort for certain and a day of firsts.  Reggie Bush scored his first rushing touchdown on a 28 yard scamper that had Charles Clay blocking all the way downfield in front of him.  Bush added 50 yards in the passing game and rushed for 92 yards for the third time this season.  Matt Moore added 3 touchdown passes to his resume and became the first Miami QB since Chad Pennington three seasons ago to throw for three TD’s in a game. One of his targets, Brandon Marshall went over 100 yards as well.

A bigger surprise came along the offensive line where Jake Long manhandled Tamba Hali the entire game and the entire line including the right side protected Moore the entire game allowing him to enter the short end of the 4th quarter with a rating over 147.  The line has been one of the worst production units this season so seeing them play as a unit was a great surprise.

While some fans will complain that today’s victory will put the Dolphins out of the “Suck for Luck” campaign, the team played with conviction against a surging KC team who was sitting atop the AFC West.  The reality is that the Dolphins have been showing signs that they could come alive and it appears that all of the negativity that has been brewing in Miami is finally had some cold water thrown on it.  The win also keeps Tony Sparano‘s job safer for at least another few weeks.

The Dolphins deserved this win because they played to win controlling the game from start to finish and putting away their own ineptitude in the process.  So I guess we can now start a “Suck for Barkley” campaign instead.  It sure does feel good to finally get a win!