Jimmy Smith's 70-yard TD catch was one of a record eight TDs scored by the Jaguars.

McCardell was the key receiver when the second-year Jaguars made a stunning playoff run to the AFC Championship Game and lost to New England. There was no 62-7 rout back then. There was no Super Bowl, either.

"We won a game. We showed it's tough to play here," he said after a short Saturday of work against the Dolphins. "But we haven't proved anything until we reach our final goal. In '96, we were in the same position. We know what we've got to do."

The Jaguars took one more step toward the Super Bowl and one giant leap toward showing that perhaps their NFL-best 14-2 record really was no fluke.

A team besieged by doubts over its soft schedule -- none of its victories came against a team with a winning record -- played like it had something to prove, and walked off with an overwhelming display against the Dolphins.

"Any time you go 14-2 in the NFL, you're a good football team," said Miami quarterback Damon Huard, who replaced Dan Marino in the second half. "They're going to be tough to beat."

Perhaps Miami receiver Oronde Gadsden summed it up best.

"It would have been a bad game on the video-game play station," he said.

Along with getting to the AFC Championship Game for the second time in four years, the Jaguars might have become the first team in playoff history to get two open weeks -- they really didn't have to show up Saturday, at least not for long.

"I've gotten pulled before for playing bad, but never in a situation like this," said quarterback Mark Brunell, who threw his final pass with 12:05 left ... in the second quarter.

The defense came up with seven turnovers and held Dan Marino without a completion until 10:41 left in the first half. By then, the Jaguars were up 38-0 and Brunell had traded his helmet for a baseball cap.

Fred Taylor shuffled through the line and showed his incredible burst on a 90-yard touchdown run, the longest in playoff history, then slithered through four defenders for a 39-yard TD on a screen pass. He also took the second half off, and later said it was a hard-fought game.

"I was just trying to make it sound good," he said. "It was easy."

Backup Jay Fiedler threw touchdown passes of 70 and 38 yards. The Jaguars had six plays go for at least 25 yards.

"We're the most disrespected 14-2 team in the league," tight end Kyle Brady said. "Not many people have given us any credit, so we had something to prove."

Did they really prove anything? Numbers alone would indicate as much.

The secondary, led by cornerback Aaron Beasley with two interceptions, smothered the receivers and might have sent Marino out on a nasty note. He was pulled early, too, but only because coach Jimmy Johnson had seen enough.

"We still haven't played anybody," a sarcastic Beasley said. "We proved we could play a little defense. "We proved we could run the ball a little bit, pass it a little bit. The main thing we proved is that we're hungry. We want this."

The Dolphins finished with total 131 yards. Marino was 5-of-16 for 46 yards and two interceptions.

Taylor wound up with 135 yards rushing, and the Jaguars piled on for 520 yards and the most points since Chicago beat Washington 73-0 in the 1940 title game.

"They were fresh and flying around," Dolphins defensive end Trace Armstrong said. "I don't know if anybody could have beaten them today."

So why all the gritty glares in the Jacksonville locker room?