Miami Dolphins: Nowhere to Look But Up

The scoreboard, with no time left on it, read 27-9. The Miami Dolphins had not shown up for one of their most important games in nearly a decade. The star quarterback in Chad Pennington, that fans and players alike have relied on all year, was hurried, sacked, and picked apart by the Ravens merciless defense.

A defense that constantly pressured Chad and had four interceptions, including one brought back for a touchdown. And the dream season that the Dolphins had, came to a crushing stop.

But even hours after watching the debacle, I couldn't be more proud of this Miami Dolphins team.

Starting the season, the idea of having an 11 win or even a winning season seemed out of the question. With a rookie coach and another castoff quarterback, it had seemed like disaster could be on the horizon, as it has in the Dolphins' past.

And it had seemed like that at the beginning of the season, with a down to the wire end against New York, and an embarrassment of a loss at the hands of the Cardinals. It sent the Dolphins to rock bottom already, at 0-2 with a game at New England on the horizon.

There was something different about this game though, it didn't feel or look like the same Dolphins that every NFL fan has seen before. It was a team with confidence. A team with intensity and a will to win. It was the new look Dolphins, and after years of disappointments, they had finally showed up.

It seemed like the Dolphins needed another motivational boost to keep the season alive, after falling to 2-4 with a loss to Baltimore. The Dolphins seemed lost and weak. Sure enough, the team that we saw in the week three game against New England did come back. And this time, they were here to stay for a few more weeks.

The Dolphins went on to win eight of their next nine games, including the heavily awaited season finale against the New York Jets, where Miami took over the game on all sides of the ball and won 24-17.

This win marked history for the Dolphins, it meant the largest turnaround in NFL history, going from 1-15 to 11-5. Tony Sparano, Chad Pennington, and Bill Parcells turned this team around, and into a team that was no longer the epitome of awful, but rather a respectable team that other teams would take seriously.

One loss does not mean the dream is over for the Dolphins. It doesn't mean Chad Pennington showed who he really is. It doesn't mean the Dolphins will go back to their usual ways of losing.

It means the Dolphins have only room for improvement. They got motivation from their regular season loss against Baltimore and sure enough, they will get it from their postseason loss. Miami moves into next season only continuing its remarkable run and this time, the run looks to keep pace.