Dolphins 23, Raiders 17
Monday December 16, 2002By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) On the second play of the game, Jason Taylor sacked Rich Gannon and forced a fumble.
On the next play Taylor did it again.
The tone was set.
``Not a good way to start the game,'' Gannon said.
Taylor and the Miami Dolphins had the upper hand the rest of the way against the Oakland Raiders' explosive attack. Relying on six defensive backs and a fierce pass rush, Miami limited the league's top-ranked offense to 218 yards in a 23-17 victory Sunday.
``Their pass rush is premier,'' Raiders coach Bill Callahan said. ``They heated us up pretty good.''
Taylor led the charge with three of Miami's five sacks, extending his streak of consecutive games with a sack to a team-record seven. He took the NFL lead with 17 sacks, 1{ shy of Bill Stanfill's team record set in 1973.
``He has a way of making everybody's play rise up to another level,'' coach Dave Wannstedt said. ``There's nobody more valuable to their team than Jason Taylor has been to our team.''
By snapping the Raiders' five-game winning streak, Miami (9-5) tied Oakland (9-5) for the best record in the AFC with two regular-season games to go.
``We've got a chance to see these guys again, because they have an outstanding team,'' Wannstedt said.
The Dolphins took sole possession of first place in the AFC East. They're a half-game ahead of New England, which plays Monday night at Tennessee, but must play their final two regular-season games on the road at Minnesota and at New England.
The Raiders lead the West by one game over Denver and San Diego. They finish the regular season with home games against the Broncos and Kansas City.
``We knew we wouldn't win the AFC in 12 or 13 games, so we're prepared for the rest of the run,'' receiver Tim Brown said.
Brown was among the Raiders who had a bad day. He lost a fumble on a punt return, dropped a potential touchdown pass and was limited to three catches for 30 yards.
Teammate Jerry Rice also had just three receptions for 30 yards. Gannon completed 17-of-31 for 204 yards 119 below his average.
Credit the Dolphins, Callahan said.
``We were trying everything,'' the coach said. ``They were physical. They were aggressive. They maul you on the line of scrimmage. They've got shutdown corners. They can blanket you. They did an excellent job.''
To compound matters, Gannon said, the audio feed to his helmet from the sideline didn't work properly for half the time. That complicated offensive coordinator Marc Trestman's attempts to send in plays.
``I had to run over a lot and read Marc's lips,'' Gannon said. ``We had all sorts of problems.''
Miami's Ricky Williams totaled a relatively modest 101 yards rushing, ending his streak of consecutive 200-yard games at two. But Chris Chambers caught seven passes for a career-high 138 yards, and Cris Carter made his first touchdown reception since coming out of retirement.
``We knew coming out we were going to have to make some plays in the passing game,'' said quarterback Jay Fiedler, 7-1 this year as a starter. He threw for 237 yards and directed a 97-yard touchdown drive, the Dolphins' longest since 1989.
The Raiders were without starting cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tory James, both hurt, and Miami threw deep more than in any game this season.
``Wouldn't you?'' Callahan asked.< ^Notes:@ Dolphins guard Jamie Nails hurt his left Achilles' tendon on the final series and will miss the rest of the season. ... The Raiders have lost four consecutive games in Miami since their last victory at Pro Player Stadium in 1990. ... Gannon needs 676 yards passing in the final two games to break Dan Marino's NFL record of 5,084 set in 1984.
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