It was time to add a new twist. Time to deliver another wrinkle.

When Dolphins coach Tony Sparano contemplated earlier in the week what crafty game plan he would employ this time against the division-leading Patriots, he once again settled on something untested to this magnitude.

New additions to the Wildcat? No. Something with the spread option? Try again. Instead, Miami unleashed a two-word weapon Sunday in a critical 22-21 win to help salvage their playoff aspirations: Chad Henne.

``We just felt like we could throw the ball,'' Sparano said. ``And we did.''

Surprise, surprise.

Using more passing plays than any other time since Sparano took over as Miami's coach, the quarterback completed 29 of his 52 attempts for 335 yards -- all career-high marks for the first-year starter. The Dolphins took off the training wheels. And Henne kept rolling.

``This is definitely the first game we won throwing the football rather than running it,'' Henne said. ``It's huge. If we have to win one way or the other, we now know we can do it.''

CLOSING THE GAP

This week's success story, which causes a shift of balance in the AFC East as Miami (6-6) moves to within one game of the Patriots (7-5), served as a general testament to the Dolphins' constant never-say-die mentality of the past 1 ½ seasons.

And it wasn't all because of Henne.

It was the defensive front, which made a huge goal-line stand near the end of the first half. And cornerback Vontae Davis, who made just the second interception thrown by Tom Brady in the red zone since 2006.

It was wide receiver Davone Bess, who caught 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. And linebacker Channing Crowder, who made his first career interception when Brady threw a bullet into his belly for a game-sealing play.

And quite frankly, it was Sparano who made the decision to attack the Patriots as often as possible with an air assault designed to exploit the Patriots' struggling secondary and inadequate pass rush.

``The guys played with a lot of emotion,'' Sparano said. ``There's too many times when we come in [to the postgame news conference] and give the other team credit. Now, I'm giving the team in [the Dolphins] locker room credit. They did a hell of a job.''

The team also seemed inspired by Sparano's weeklong emphasis on fourth-quarter focus. During New England's final six possessions, the Dolphins forced the Patriots to punt four times while Brady also shelled out two interceptions.

Those stops allowed Henne, who seemed to match every bad play with a brilliant one Sunday, enough opportunities to orchestrate the third fourth-quarter comeback of the year.

With 3:44 left in the game, Henne marched his team 64 yards on 12 plays to set up a 41-yard field goal for a 22-21 lead, leaving the Patriots with 1:07.

``If you want to, we could throw all day,'' said Henne, asked if his arm was tired. ``I love it. Put it in my hands. Put pressure situations upon me, and I really thrive in those.''

The increased repetitions also seemed to allow the quarterback to get into a rhythm. The Dolphins didn't use the Wildcat at all Sunday, and they only used Pat White in the spread offense on two plays.

``Sometimes, its a lot harder to get into a rhythm with 20 passes,'' said wide receiver Brian Hartline, who had four catches for 41 yards. ``You can't set guys up. You can't see what a defense did on the last time and take advantage of that. I think it was nice. It was nice to have a good, efficient day in the passing game -- and also win.''

Henne's consistency surely could use some improvement, especially when judging some of the missed opportunities on some open targets.

But for every bad miss (see: overthrow to fullback Lousaka Polite on third down of the final drive), he seemed to come back with a brilliant response (see: the 13-yard completion to wide receiver Greg Camarillo that followed.)

``He's a pretty resilient guy,'' Sparano said. ``He missed a couple of throws there. But Chad just keeps battling. He made some big throws, and the one to Camarillo down there at the end, that's a heck of a throw.''

When Henne had his hiccups, his defense held strong. Even when Henne left more than a minute on the clock for Brady to march downfield, linebacker Cameron Wake suffocated the star and forced him to throw a game-sealing pick to Crowder.

Brady completed 19 of 29 passes for 352 yards, including three plays for more than 50 yards. He hit wide receiver Randy Moss on a 58-yard touchdown to begin the game. And he completed 10 passes to Wes Welker for 167 yards.

IN THE RACE

But none of it, as Henne methodically picked at New England's defense, would matter when Dan Carpenter's field goal cleared the uprights.

Now, the only thing that matters is this: The Dolphins are once again within striking distance of another AFC East title. Four games remain, and Miami needs them all.

``We're back in it,'' Hartline said. ``Now, we've got to keep the momentum going. We can't afford to take another step back. No more scrambling. We've got to just keep pushing forward.''

Whether by ground, or air, the Dolphins are poised for more.