Miami at Denver


Champs assess chinks in armor


Dolphins swimming upstream


ESPN experts' playoff picks

DENVER -- Buffalo would have been intriguing. New England a confidence-booster.

	Ed McCaffrey says the Broncos are just happy to know who they'll face in their playoff opener.

But of the three potential opponents for the Denver Broncos in their second-round playoff game Saturday at Mile High Stadium, the Miami Dolphins were undoubtedly atop the wish list.

By virtue of Miami's 24-17 victory over Buffalo and Jacksonville's 25-10 win over New England this weekend in the first round of the playoffs, Denver will now have the opportunity to avenge one of only two regular-season losses.

The Dolphins defeated the Broncos 31-21 on Dec. 21 at Pro Player Stadium.

"I feel like we were in limbo for a while," Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey said after the Jaguars' victory. "Now we know who to prepare for. I watched every playoff game, and I was mentally trying to prepare for either team. Now we can focus on putting in our game plan and starting work in practice toward the looks we predict we'll see next week."

All last week, the Broncos took the politically correct route and didn't lobby for a particular opponent. But fullback Howard Griffith laughed when asked how many of his teammates were forced to bite their tongues.

"I guess some guys may want to play them on our own turf," Griffith said. "For me, it really doesn't matter. I know whoever we end up getting, we have to play well."

The rematch will give Denver a chance to prove Miami's earlier victory was something of a fluke.

Entering that game, the Broncos already had home-field advantage clinched throughout the playoffs. Denver also was still reeling from having its perfect season ended the previous week with a 20-16 loss to the New York Giants.

The Dolphins were fighting to reach the playoffs, needing a victory against the Broncos to clinch a wild-card berth.

Two days after the Miami loss, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said he believed coach Mike Shanahan intentionally scaled back his offensive game plan to keep certain adjustments under wraps until the postseason.

"Human nature says that someone that's ready to die is going to be a hell of a lot more aggressive than somebody who's just biding their time so to speak," Bowlen said of the first Broncos-Dolphins meeting.

But even if Denver wasn't completely focused, there are still reasons to be wary of the Dolphins. Broncos running back Terrell Davis was held to a paltry 29 yards on 16 carries, the worst outing in his 2,008-yard season.

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also passed for 355 yards and four touchdowns, marking his best performance of the season. Marino and Denver's John Elway will now get to duel again for only the third time in their 16-year careers.

"We were definitely not on our A-game obviously," Griffith said. "But Miami played well. They didn't allow us to get in our game. They have an outstanding defense, and their corners have been making huge plays the entire season.

"We're going to have to run effectively . . . we did not do that the first time we played."

With a victory against the Dolphins, Denver will host the winner of next Sunday's Jacksonville-New York Jets game on Jan. 17 in the AFC Championship Game.

Alex Marvez writes for Rocky Mountain News in Denver.