Week 6 Review: Getting a kick out of Dolphins-Broncos

They come along once, maybe twice, perhaps three times in a season. They are games we will talk about late in December, as playoff jockeying is taking place.

They are games that will dominate the water-cooler talk this Monday.

Jason Elam thought he won it, but the emotional roller-coaster would hit bottom for the Broncos on Sunday night.(Getty Images)

One such game came Sunday night in Denver when the Miami Dolphins came away with a dramatic 24-22 victory over the Broncos to up their record to 5-1. The game had everything.

It had big plays, loads of drama, big hits, a long field goal to go ahead, a long one to win it and 26 fourth-quarter points.

In a word, this was special.

Miami’s Olindo Mare drilled a 53-yard field goal to win it with six seconds left after Denver's Jason Elam made a 55-yard field goal with 45 seconds left to give the Broncos a 22-21 lead.

The Dolphins got a sensational job by their corners to take a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. Sam Madison intercepted a pass to set up one touchdown and then Patrick Surtain returned another interception for a score.

Denver looked done. But Brian Griese drove them to one touchdown and then moved them into position for Elam's 55-yard field goal. At that point, it appeared Mike Shanahan had finally beaten the Dolphins in the regular season.

As it turned out, he still hasn't. A pass that went through the arms of Broncos linebacker John Mobley into the arms of Miami receiver Dedric Ward set up Mare's game-winner.

That missed interception could very well lead to the AFC Championship Game being played in Miami instead of the cold of Denver. Both these teams proved Sunday night they are that good.

If defenses truly do win titles, both Miami and Denver have legitimate shots to win it all. Their defenses can be stifling up front, creating havoc for opposing passers.

For most of three quarters, the two defensive teams kept coming up with big play after big play. In the end, they gave a little, which led to the amazing finish. When you get lead changes on two field goals over 50 yards in the final minute, that's a definition of exciting.

That's why in December, Sunday night's game will be one we're still discussing.

And if Denver plays in Miami for a chance to go to the Super Bowl, Mobley just might have wished he sprayed something sticky on those hands Sunday night.

To call the Denver-Miami game an epic would be too much. But for a Week 6 game, it was darn close.

It certainly is now the game of the year so far. Of course by next week that can all change in this wild and wacky NFL.

Prisco's points

• The 300-yard passers were winning games earlier this season, but that trend is starting to reverse. Of the five 300-yard passers Sunday, only one (Drew Brees) won a game. By contrast, all seven of the 100-yard rushers won their games.

• The Redskins have been outscored 80-34 at home the past two games, both losses. They turned the ball over on their first four possessions Sunday in losing to the Saints. Steve Spurrier has vowed to make changes, but he simply better coach them up right, as he might say. The 'Skins are having way too many mental mistakes. In addition to the turnovers in the first quarter, they also gave up a punt return and a kickoff return for a touchdown to the Saints' Michael Lewis. At 2-3, Danny Snyder can't be happy. One player who is struggling badly is left tackle Chris Samuels. He started in the Pro Bowl last year, but gave up three sacks to Darren Howard.

• It was not a good day to be an offensive tackle named Williams on Sunday. St. Louis tackle Grant Williams and Jacksonville tackle Mo Williams both suffered broken legs during their games. Also, the Bills’ Mike Williams left with a hamstring injury in the first quarter and did not return. The loss of Mo Williams in Jacksonville is especially tough since he is the blindside protector for Mark Brunell. Grant Williams, who was playing for the injured Orlando Pace, also dislocated his ankle. He will have surgery and be lost for the year. Mo Williams might be able to play again this season. The Bills’ Williams was on crutches after the game with his leg heavily wrapped.

• Another classy move by Bengals receiver Michael Westbrook, who walked out on his team before Sunday's game against the Steelers. Westbrook will almost certainly be released, and the latest development could spell the end of his troubled career. Who wants a player who quits on his team when the going gets bad? What a waste of talent he has become.

• Maybe Marshall Faulk should bolt during interviews more often. He did play better this week after leaving an interview last week with Bob Costas. The two things that did come out of that interview with Costas were that Faulk can be a big baby -- anyone who has covered the Rams knows that -- and quarterback Kurt Warner is class all the way. Warner stayed on through the interview even after Faulk bolted. Warner didn't appear too comfortable with Costas' questioning, but at least he stayed.

• Lining up Warren Sapp on offense late in a blowout victory is rubbing it in. If I'm a defensive player when he's in the offensive huddle late in a blowout, I'm getting my shot in. Sapp didn't need to be on the field late in Tampa Bay's 17-3 victory over Cleveland, but there he was. Tough guy that he is, he better be prepared for the hits that will come his way.

• What in the name of partying has Tara Reid done to Tom Brady? Since the tabloids started reporting Reid, a wild party girl, had been seen with Brady, the Patriots quarterback has gone in the tank. The Patriots are 0-3 in their past three games and Brady hasn't been the same player he was when the Pats jumped to a 3-0 start. Brady threw for 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his first 14 quarters this season, but has thrown seven interceptions and three TD passes in the past 10. If the Patriots coaches were smart, they'd get on the horn to Carson Daly. Maybe he'll do them a favor and try and rekindle the flame with Reid. She just might be ruining the Pats' season. Or was that ruined when Antowain Smith showed up looking like he had enjoyed too many Super Bowl banquet meals and magnums of Moet? He isn't the same back he was a year ago when New England won the Super Bowl.

• Is it too early to call Cleveland end Courtney Brown a bust? Maybe, but it's getting close to that time.

• That was a huge fourth quarter for Dallas QB Quincy Carter. Rallying his team from 14 down in the fourth quarter to beat Carolina with two touchdown passes was impressive. Dallas is 3-3 and, with the schedule softening in the next six weeks, they have a legit chance to get in the playoff hunt.

• Was that Drew Brees' coming-out party in San Diego on Sunday? Up until the Chargers' victory over Kansas City, San Diego had been primarily a running team. Brees had not been asked to win games. Sunday he was, and he did. That was a very impressive outing for the first-year starter at quarterback. He might not have the big arm or the size, but Brees does the thing many younger quarterbacks don't do. He finds the right receiver. He completed 28 of 41 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs. Impressive stuff.

• The Chiefs sure are fun to watch, unless you're a Chiefs fan. They can't stop anybody and proved Sunday in their loss to the Chargers that even with a lead late in the game, nothing is safe. Their pass rush is terrible, which is killing them in coverage.

• Browns quarterback Tim Couch looked as if he was spending too much time watching the pressure in front of him instead of focusing on what's happening down the field. Then again, who could blame him? Couch's offensive line is woeful and they were facing a Tampa Bay defensive line that is among the best in the league. That limited the throws down the field, but it also forced the ball out of Couch's hands quickly. That fleet group of receivers was little factor against the Tampa Bay secondary.

• Tampa Bay has seen a lot of cover-2 zone coverage from teams this year. Why? They don't respect their running game. Even though they did rush for 186 yards Sunday against the Browns, much of that came in the second half. Until they can make teams bring the eighth man up, the receivers are not going to get many chances.

• If the Bills can get a running game like they got Sunday from Travis Henry (159 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns), that offense is going to be awfully tough to stop. Teams won't be able to drop into coverage just to stop Drew Bledsoe.

• What is it with the Raiders? Just when everyone in the league jumps on their bandwagon, christening them as the NFL's best, they don't show up in St. Louis. When Marc Bulger does that to you, there are troubles on defense. Bulger, by the way, is a pet project of Rams coach Mike Martz. You don't think he was gloating a bit Sunday night, do you?

• Is there any doubt the Steelers are going to win the AFC North? The division is horrible, and with Tommy Maddox at quarterback, Pittsburgh has a much better chance to win the division.

• It was nostalgia day for the Steelers on Sunday. The old Bus got it cranked up again. When Jerome Bettis can go for 21 carries, 109 yards and two touchdowns on your defense, that's a bad sign. Cincinnati has a bad defense right now.

• Expect Denver safety Kenoy Kennedy to get a fine for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Miami receiver Chris Chambers. Kennedy has been fined a couple of times already for blows to the head, but this one might land him a big fine. And it should. When a receiver is in the defenseless position, his life can literally be on the line. The NFL is right in trying to clean up these hits.

Player of the week: Hate to give this to a special-teams player, but when the Saints' Michael Lewis returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns Sunday against the Redskins, he became the seventh man in history to do so in the same game.

Flop of the week: Redskins. Four turnovers in the first quarter and two special-teams touchdowns given up? That's terrible.

Surprise of the week: The Rams. Maybe they're not dead yet.

Rising team: Steelers. At 2-3, they will still end up winning the division.