The Lions went right down the field the first time they had the ball and scored a TD.  After that, the defense locked up the Lions offense and it was Joey Harrington’s turn for payback! 

Joey Harrington completed 19 of 29 passes for 213 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.  You could tell he was enjoying sticking the dagger into the Lions defense, and on Thanksgiving..no less.  Ronnie Brown carried the ball 15 times for 68 yards (4.5 ypc), but he left the game with an injured hand.  Sammy Morris stepped in and dominated.  Morris carried the ball 12 times for 91 yards (7.6 ypc).  Travis Minor even got in on the fun with 6 carries for 27 yards (4.5 ypc).  Marty Booker had an outstanding game with 7 receptions for 115 yards and 2 TDs.  Wes Welker was busy with 5 catches for 42 yards.  Randy McMichael caught 3 passes for 25 yards and a TD.

The defense was all over Jon Kitna as Zach Thomas, Vonnie Holliday and Matt Ryan each had 2 sacks.  The Dolphins smothered the Lions running game as they held them to 21 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.1 ypc).  The Lions completed 22 of 40 passes for 199 net yards passing.

Incredible as it seems, the Dolphins are now 5-6 and back in playoff contention.  Joey Harrington is laying claim to being the starting QB for the Dolphins even when Duante Culpepper returns.

The Miami Dolphins have been on a roll since their bye week as they have won all three games by a combined score of 68-43.  The Lions have lost two games in a row.

Look for the Dolphins to run the ball alot in the early stages of this football game.  Ronnie Brown (712 yards rushing) should find alot of running room against a Lions defense that is allowing 125.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Dolphins won’t be able to resist letting Joey Harrington try to stick it to his old team.  The Lions allow 216.7 net yards passing and have allowed opposing QBs to run up a rating of 100.6 on the season.  Look for Harrington to spread the ball around to Chris Chambers, Randy McMichael, Wes Welker and Marty Booker.

The Lions could be without Kevin Jones, and if he doesn’t play look for the Lions to throw the ball almost every down because Arlen Harris is not much of a running threat.  The Dolphins have a very rugged run defense anyways (101.2 yards per game, 3.4 ypc) so the Lions wouldn’t have had much success on the ground anyhow.  Look for Jon Kitna (2,624 yards passing) to throw the ball short to Mike Furrey (49 rec, 583 yards) and long to Roy Williams (54 rec, 867 yards).  Kitna could have success as long as the O-Line keeps Jason Taylor (9 sacks) away from him.

This should be a good football game, but I have to side with the Dolphins here as Joey Harrington will get the last laugh on Detroit.

The Miami Dolphins defense rose to the occasion in the 4th quarter and snatched a victory away from the Minnesota Vikings.  Safety Reynaldo Hill recovered a Chester Taylor fumble and returned it 48 yards for a TD and Jason Taylor intercepted a screen pass and returned it 51 yards for a TD in the 4th quarter!  Zach Thomas had 17 tackles and Yeremiah Bell added 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.  Jason Taylor also added 5 tackles and a sack.  The Vikings carried the ball 35 times for 114 yards (3.3 ypc).  The Fins allowed the Vikes to complete 26 of 44 passes for 247 net yards thru the air.

Joe Harrington had a good game throwing the ball as he completed 26 of 42 passes for 254 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Ronnie Brown had a game he would like to forget as he carried the ball 12 times for 2 yards (0.2 ypc).  Marty Booker caught 6 passes for 84 yards to lead the receiving corps.  Chris Chambers ( 6 rec, 44 yards), Wes Welker (4 rec, 59 yards) and Randy McMichael (4 rec, 37 yards) all helped out in the passing game.  Reserve TE Justin Peelle caught 3 passes for 21 yards and a TD.

The Dolphins keep rolling along with their third victory in a row.

These are two teams going in different directions.  The Vikings have looked awful the last three weeks, losing all three games by a combined score of 63-27!  The Dolphins have turned up the defense the last two weeks and shut down the Chiefs & Bears in wins.

The Vikings will just run their offense and hope they have some success moving the ball against the tough Miami Dolphins defense.  Look for the Vikings to lean on the running game with Chester Taylor running to the left behind Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson.  The Dolphins can be run on as they’ve allowed 99.8 yards rushing per game, but you have to stick with it because they only allow 3.4 yards per carry.  Look for Brad Johnson to take a couple deep shots to Bethel Johnson and Billy McMullen who both played well last week.

The Dolphins will go with what has worked for them and try to run the ball with Ronnie Brown.  Brown has rushed for 246 yards the last two weeks…..both victories.  The Vikings defense has been tough so far allowing only 66.6 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry.  The Vikings do allow 225.0 net yards passing per game, so Joey Harrington could have some success throwing the football.

Look for this to be a close, low-scoring football game.  The winner will be the team that protects the football better.

Jeno James will miss several weeks after re-injuring his knee on Monday.  He was trying to return just two weeks after having knee surgery.  Kendyll Jacox will take over at guard until James can come back. 

This is kind of crazy to push James that hard to come back, and now the Dolphins will be lucky to get him back at all.