DENVER -- Brian Griese looked like a cat that exhausted several of his nine lives during Sunday night's 24-22 Broncos' loss to the Dolphins. Griese threw two interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown. A third interception was spared when cornerback Sam Madison bobbled the ball in the end zone as his body touched the ground.

Broncos fans booed him midway through the fourth quarter. Griese was getting sacked. He was getting intercepted. He was losing 21-12, but as he has done so often this season, Griese, facing the potential of being benched, did enough to keep his starting job.

Griese directed an 80-yard drive for a touchdown that cut the lead to two, 21-19, with 3:37 left. Was it pretty? No. Rookie Clinton Portis had to covert a third-and-15 at the Broncos' 15 with a 21-yard reception that required about 16 yards of running after the catch. It made the Broncos remember the Rams' opener in which Griese was set to be benched, but he made enough plays to get the victory and keep his starting job.

	"	He came back and fought through it. He had a little lull there in the third quarter. He did some good things in the first half, but we just couldn't put them away. There are so many situations like that in a game and if you find a way to win, it's great. "
		— Mike Shanahan, Broncos coach on Brian Griese

Another chance at redemption came in the final two minutes. Griese drove the Broncos from their 20 to the Dolphins' 37 in order to have Jason Elam kick a 55-yard field goal that temporarily gave the Broncos a 22-21 lead. Had the lead held up, all would be well. But it wasn't. Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler, despite playing with a broken thumb, hit two key completions to set up Olindo Mare's game-winning 53-yard field goal to win the game for the Dolphins.

"He came back and fought through it," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said of Griese. "He had a little lull there in the third quarter. He did some good things in the first half, but we just couldn't put them away. There are so many situations like that in a game and if you find a way to win, it's great."

Still, as you watch the Griese story unfold, you get the feeling that sooner or later he will find his way to the bench. Every time he finds success, there seems to be adversity. Griese beats the Rams but Shanahan ordered his benching had the Rams driven for a field goal that would have tied in the game. Before last week's Chargers victory, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak had to scream at him to get him more into a Friday practice.

It's the lulls. No one can explain them. Griese is afforded the surfaces of some of the best possession receivers in football -- Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. He has a potential Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. His running game has always been sound, and rookie Clinton Portis is instant excitement every time he touches the ball. And he plays on a team that has a defense that hasn't allowed a first-quarter point in six consecutive games. He's worked with a 30-0 lead during those six games.

Still, Griese hits flat spots and things go sour. How do you explain interceptions with the lead. Griese threw one with the Broncos ahead. When the Broncos fell behind 14-12, he threw an interception that was returned 40 yards by Patrick Surtain for a touchdown.

"I wil go back and look at everything," Griese said. "I know I didn't play a perfect game, and lot of guys probably feel that way. What we can take out of this game is that this team is never going to give up and that's a good thing."

But the bad things could linger, and this demoralizing loss could last for a few weeks. Clinton Portis fumbled near the Dolphins' goal line, but he was able to recover. On the next play, Mike Anderson fumbled and the Dolphins recovered.

Instead of touchdowns Sunday night, the Broncos settled for field goals, five of them. Actually, they had a sixth by Jason Elam at end the end of the first half, but Blake Brockermeyer was called for holding, so the field goal was taken off the scoreboard.

"When you lose, you look at yourself and you look at every single thing you did wrong," wide receiver Ed McCaffrey said. "There were definitely some missed opportunities."

"It hurts, but you can't hold your head down," Anderson said. "We have to push forward now. It's been only six games, and we have 10, 11 more weeks. We are going to bounce back. I know I will bounce back."

But will Griese? His numbers were solid, completing 27 of 46 for 335 yards, but his two interceptions dropped his quarterback rating to 70.5 in this game. For the season, he has eight interceptions. That's a lot for six games.

"I don't know why he gets the interceptions," Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain said. "First of all, he played a heck of game. He was careless on a couple of throws and we were able to take advantage of them. I'm sure the fans will get on him for his costly mistakes, but he's going to be a great quarterback in this league."

After Sunday night's game, you got the sense that the Broncos and Dolphins both came out of the game feeling as though they will be playing each other in the playoffs. "I wouldn't be surprised if we played them again," Shanahan said.

The question is going to be whether Griese will be the quarterback when that happens. If the interceptions continue, Griese might be tossed aside temporarily for Steve Beuerlein.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.