� S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S �Sunday, November 22, 2009 F3HIJKLM J PAGE 39
BY MIKE CRANSTON
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It turns
out Ronnie Brown's season-end-
ing foot injury didn't spell doom
for the Miami Dolphins and their
unique offense.
Seemingly ageless Ricky Wil-
liams did just fine in his place.
Williams, 32, rushed for 119
yards and scored three touch-
downs as the Dolphins beat
the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on
Thursday night to put themselves
into the AFC playoff mix after a
miserable start.
"Ricky ran like he was 25,"
Miami linebacker Joey Porter
said.
A day after learning Brown is
finishedfortheyear,theDolphins
(5-5) continued their surge after
losing their first three games.
Williams, the 2002 NFL rushing
champion, scored touchdowns
rushing and receiving in a game
for the first time in a career that
included a couple of lost seasons.
"He's not 32, I don't care what
he says," Dolphins receiver Brian
Hartline said. "He definitely
doesn'tlook32outthereandwhen
he's out there he definitely has a
lot of gas left in his wheels."
Williams, the 1998 Heisman
Trophy winner, continued his re-
surgence after a brief retirement
and a drug-related suspension.
The time off might be helping
him now when many running
backs decline after they turn 30.
"Ricky is a hard-running, big
tailback," Panthers defensive
tackle Damione Lewis said. "He
broke some tackles, and that's
him."
DeAngelo Williams rushed for
122 yards for the Panthers (4-
6), but Jake Delhomme had his
streak of three games without
an interception snapped. Then,
his desperation pass into the end
zone was knocked down as time
expired.
"Guys are fighting their tail
off," Delhomme said. "We are
just not getting it done. ... We are
not winning the close ones right
now."
The Dolphins were facing un-
certainty with their wildcat of-
fense when Brown was placed on
injured reserve Wednesday. They
didn't use the formation until the
second quarter. It coincided with
the Dolphins' first touchdown
drive -- Chad Henne's 14-yard
touchdown pass to Williams, who
wrestled it away from linebacker
Na'il Diggs.
Miami took a 14-3 halftime lead
when Williams took the direct
snap at the 1 and got to the end
zone ahead of speedy linebacker
Jon Beason.
The Panthers got within 17-14
on Steve Smith's leaping 27-yard
touchdown catch and DeAngelo
Williams' 2-point conversion
run with 5:18 left. But Williams
bounced to the outside and shook
off Sherrod Martin at the Caroli-
na 5 on a 46-yard touchdown run
on the ensuing possession.
"We struggled at bit during the
game, but the defense kept it close
to give us an opportunity and give
us time to get it together," Wil-
liams said.
After Williams' long run, the
Panthers got a field goal. They
then forced a punt and Delhomme
found Gary Barnidge for comple-
tions of 29 and 17 yards. But from
the Miami 26, Delhomme's lob
into the end zone was knocked
down by Tyrone Culver as the
clock ran out.
DeAngelo Williams' 50-yard
run early in the third quarter
seemed to give Carolina life, but
the drive ended when Nathan
Jones picked off Delhomme's
pass intended for Smith at the
Miami 4.
Delhomme, who threw 13 in-
terceptions in his first six games,
had gone turnover-free this
month. But he was just 19-for- 42
for 247 yards, and Carolina fell to
0-4 against the Dolphins. It was
a crushing loss for the Panthers,
who had also begun eyeing the
playoffs after their own three-
game skid to open the season.
Thursday
Dolphins 24, Panthers 17
Miami 0 14 0 10 -- 24
Carolina 3 0 0 14 -- 17
First Quarter
Car--FG Kasay 29, 9:31.
Second Quarter
Mia--Williams 14 pass from Henne
(Carpenter kick), 3:57.
Mia--Williams 1 run (Carpenter kick),
:57.
Fourth Quarter
Car--FG Kasay 33, 14:21.
Mia--FG Carpenter 37, 7:39.
Car--S.Smith 27 pass from Delhomme
(D.Williams run), 5:18.
Mia--Williams 46 run (Carpenter
kick), 3:55.
Car--FG Kasay 48, 1:41.
A--73,475.
Mia Car
First downs 17 22
Total Net Yards 326 383
Rushes-yards 31-154 27-182
Passing 172 201
Punt Returns 2-30 3-20
Kickoff Returns 4-105 5-117
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 17-29-0 19-42-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 4-26
Punts 6-50.2 5-42.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-30 4-35
Time of Possession 30:33 29:27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Miami, Williams 22-119,
Hilliard 4-24, Polite 4-11, Henne 1-0. Car-
olina, D.Williams 13-122, Stewart 12-43,
Delhomme 2-17.
Passing--Miami, Henne 17-29-0-172.
Carolina, Delhomme 19-42-1-227.
Receiving--Miami, Bess 6-63, Ginn Jr.
4-32, Hartline 2-47, Williams 2-19, Hilliard
2-7, Camarillo 1-4. Carolina, S.Smith 7-87,
Rosario 4-40, Muhammad 3-27, Barnidge
2-46, Sutton 2-18, D.Williams 1-9.
Ageless Williams carries Dolphins
CHUCK BURTON/AP
The Miami Dolphins' Ricky Williams stretches the ball over the goal line for a touchdown as the Carolina
Panthers' Jon Beason falls in the first half in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday night.
The Associated Press
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The
man who brought Brett Favre to
the Minnesota Vikings will be
sticking around for a while.
The Vikings (8-1) signed coach
Brad Childress to a contract ex-
tension on Thursday, nine games
into what is shaping up as a prom-
ising season for the men in pur-
ple. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed. ESPN.com cited anon-
ymous sources in reporting that
the extension will carry through
the 2013 season.
Childress, in the fourth year
of his original five-year, $10 mil-
lion deal, was hired in 2006 to
take over a team in turmoil. The
Vikings had become a national
punchline for a string of incidents
under the loose regime of Mike
Tice, including the infamous
"Love Boat" scandal and Tice's
admission to scalping Super Bowl
tickets that prompted Wilf to in-
stitute a code of conduct for the
organization.
The Vikings have improved
each year under Childress' watch.
They went 6-10 in 2006, 8-8 in
2007 and 10-6 with an NFC North
title last season.
Ravens DE will appeal fine
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Bal-
timore Ravens defensive end
Dwan Edwards plans to appeal
the $5,000 fine he received for a
hit delivered to Cleveland Browns
wide receiver Joshua Cribbs on
Monday night.
Edwards struck Cribbs with a
forearm to the facemask on the
final play of Baltimore's 16-0 vic-
tory. Edwards was flagged for
unnecessary roughness and ulti-
mately fined by the league.
Edwards said Friday the fine
was levied because the hit came
at a time when Cribbs "suppos-
edly shouldn't have reasonably
expected it."
Cribbs was carted off the field
and taken to the Cleveland Clinic
for tests. He was released the fol-
lowing morning before returning
to practice Thursday.
Earlier in the game, Ravens
linebacker Terrell Suggs was hurt
on an illegal block by Browns
quarterback Brady Quinn, who
was fined $10,000 for unneces-
sary roughness.
Pittsburgh linebacker James
Harrison was fined $5,000 for
unnecessary roughness on a late
tackle of Cincinnati's Andrew
Whitworth.
Jacksonville defensive back
Reggie Nelson was fined $7,500
for roughing New York Jets quar-
terback Mark Sanchez with a hit
to the head area.
QB Brohm signs with Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. --
Quarterback Brian Brohm re-
jected an offer to stay in Green
Bay in order to pursue a fresh
start in Buffalo with a team that's
suddenly losing confidence in
Trent Edwards.
The Bills plucked Brohm off
the Packers' practice squad on
Thursday, signing the 2008 sec-
ond-round draft pick to a two-
year contract. In agreeing to
play for the Bills, Brohm said he
turned down a last-minute bid by
the Packers to keep him.
The timing of Brohm's signing
comes during a week in which
the Bills (3-6) made wholesale
changes. Coach Dick Jauron was
fired on Tuesday and replaced
by defensive coordinator Perry
Fewell, who will finish the sea-
son as interim head coach. Few-
ell's first major decision was to
bench Edwards for backup Ryan
Fitzpatrick.
NFL briefs
Surging Miami
tops Carolina
on RB's 3 TDs
Childress signs contract extension with Vikings

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