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Miami's interior lines - offense or defense, it didn't matter - paved the way for the Dolphins' 24-17 victory Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
The Dolphins caved in the Panthers on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Miami (5-5) found loads of space up the middle, with 32-year-old running back Ricky Williams rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns (he also caught a touchdown pass). That was the highest total against the Panthers this season.
Defensively, the Dolphins allowed the Panthers' DeAngelo Williams to run for 122 yards - including a 50-yarder on the second play of the third quarter. But Miami took advantage of the absence of Panthers All-Pro left tackle Jordan Gross, sacking quarterback Jake Delhomme four times and hurrying him eight times.
Miami linebacker Joey Porter - who didn't play last week in a victory against Tampa Bay because of disciplinary reasons - had two of the sacks, beating Gross's replacement Travelle Wharton both times. Wharton, who usually starts at left guard, was replaced at that spot by second-year player Mackenzy Bernadeau.
On Porter's second sack, Wharton appeared to be interfered with by fullback Tony Fiammetta. Wharton angrily stalked off the field after the play.
"Early on, we were a bit of a new offensive line in there," said Panthers coach John Fox. "Once, we got picked off by our running back, our left tackle (Wharton) did.
"But we settled down and our protection got a little better as the game wore on. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."
The Panthers' had shored up their run defense in recent weeks after signing tackle Hollis Thomas. But the Dolphins' 154 yards on the ground were the most against Carolina since Tampa Bay had 124 in Week 6.
Ricky Williams' 46-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the game's decisive play. He ran away from the Panthers defense and easily broke a tackle by rookie safety Sherrod Martin at the 5.
"We didn't tackle," said defensive tackle Damione Lewis. "We've got to get back at it. We've got to get it fixed. We've got to get it fixed right away."
Said Fox: "We did some decent things in the run (defense) game. We missed that long run late in the game and that was critical.
"Otherwise we played the run decently."
The Dolphins played without running back Ronnie Brown, who is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. Brown normally runs the Dolphins' "wildcat" offense, which they used sparingly against the Panthers.
