Because for most of Sunday's sloppy 16-12 victory over the St. Louis Rams inside a library-quiet Edward Jones Dome, it seemed as if both teams were still suffering from post-Thanksgiving lethargy.

To borrow Sparano's favorite expression, "at the end of the day," the Dolphins found a way to win with a bend-but-not-break defense instead of finding a way to lose like they did last year when they lost six games by three points or fewer.

This is the Dolphins' third win by four points or fewer in the last month, including two over a couple of other NFL bottom-feeders from Seattle and Oakland.

"Last year that was us," said defensive end Vonnie Holliday, pointing to the Rams (2-10), losers of six in a row. "That was us in tight games. . . . I know what that feels like, so for us to be sitting here moping around talking about an ugly win. When does a win become ugly for me after last year?"

Not even the trademark Wildcat offense worked against the Rams' 30th-ranked defense, but the Dolphins are alive and well for a wild card or even an AFC East crown after losses by the Jets (8-4), Patriots (7-5) and Bills (6-6) enabled Miami (7-5) to creep back within a game of first place. If the Dolphins win their remaining four games, they'll win the division.

However, they'll play the Bills on Sunday in another dome in neutral Toronto without guard Justin Smiley, who suffered a broken leg in the first quarter.

The Dolphins were able to overcome a season-high 10 penalties for 94 yards while allowing St. Louis to convert 7 of 14 third downs by snatching three second-half interceptions against quarterback Marc Bulger, who played as if he was still feeling remnants from last week's concussion.

"Our No. 1 goal was to start fast," cornerback Andr? Goodman said, knowing the Rams had been outscored 123-13 in their past four first halfs. "We were flat into the third quarter until Akin [Ayodele] got his hands on the ball. But outside of the way the game ended, I can't say we're proud of the way the game went. Honestly, we're 7-5 with a shot at the playoffs."

Both offenses treated their red zone as if it were radioactive and combined for seven field goals -- three by rookie Dan Carpenter -- so the Dolphins were unable to knock out the reeling Rams. They led just 10-9 at halftime, partly due to a 91-yard touchdown drive that ended in a 3-yard run by Ronnie Brown.

"In a sense we might've played down with the crowd, the atmosphere, knowing we're playing against a 2-9 team. I don't want to say we intentionally did but subconsciously we might've," said Ayodele, whose interception in the third quarter seemed to energize his teammates. "But we stiffened up when we had to in the red zone."

"It's hard to win in this league every Sunday. So you get a win. You just take it, appreciate it and let's move on," nose tackle Jason Ferguson said.