CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It made so much sense. It could happen only this way.

On an evening when the Dolphins would be riddled by a ridiculous number of injuries, it was running back Ricky Williams, the man charged with replacing the Dolphins' most important injured player of all, who would become the hero in this gutsy 24-17 victory.

Williams, who finished with 119 yards on 22 carries with two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, took over the starting duties for Ronnie Brown in a fashion that will only add to his storied career.

Late in the fourth quarter of Thursday's victory against the Carolina Panthers, with the Dolphins needing a big drive to hold on to a three-point lead, Williams broke free for a brilliant 46-yard run to score his third touchdown of the night. It came with 3:55 left to play.

Speaking with reporters afterward, Williams was asked about the team's overall perseverance. Then a reporter asked about his own performance.

``I'm not talking about myself,'' said Williams, who has been deliberately curt with the media this season. ``I'm only talking about the team.''

On this night, it actually made good sense. This win wasn't just about Williams' courage. It was about the performance of everyone from the training staff to the players to the coaching staff.

``It was unbelievable,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. ``[The injuries] affected everything. We had three centers working out there. One of the guys that played center out there legitimately never took a snap at center.

``They just kept grinding out there. Every guy who came into that game contributed in one way or another.''

Midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback Chad Henne wasn't spending his precious time on the sideline analyzing his previous series on offense, the way he usually would. He wasn't getting water.

And he wasn't resting his body on the bench. Not when Miami's players were getting injured faster than the coaching staff could decide how to replace the previous guy.

``Coach always talks about finishing,'' Williams said. ``It's tough. It seemed like they were dropping like flies. They did a good job.''

Instead, Henne was practicing snaps with Nate Garner, a tackle who started at guard and later was moved to center.

It was a scene fans might see in college. Or maybe high school. But in the NFL?

INJURIES KEEP COMING

Crazily enough, Garner also hobbled from the field later -- fortunately, after he had given backup center Joe Berger enough time to get over an injury of his own.

The injury-riddled evening showed the wearing effects of playing two games in five days. The Dolphins didn't just survive all of those injuries on offense -- they also dealt with a serious blow on defense.

At the end of the third quarter, with backup nose tackle Paul Soliai already out of the game with an ankle injury, starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson injured his knee and headed to the locker room for X-rays.

Ferguson, the most important cog in Miami's run-stopping defense, was replaced by undersized Tony McDaniel -- on an evening when Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams was rumbling for big yards almost every time he touched the ball.

McDaniel, like all the others who continued to shift in and out of the game, did as noble of a job as possible. In the end, it turned out to be enough.

For much of this hard-fought game, the Dolphins' training staff was busy working overtime. At one point, starting center Jake Grove (ankle) was lobbying to get back into the game -- but the staff kept him out by taking his helmet away.

This was a game won by quietly crucial plays -- not just Williams' big runs and linebacker Joey Porter's two big sacks. Instead, it was a game also won by different types of plays, such as the huge downfield tackle made by safety Yeremiah Bell at the 30-yard line after Williams broke for a 50-yard gain and seemed as if he couldn't be caught.

BESS STARS, TOO

As important as Bell's tackle, wide receiver Davone Bess also came up with a number of key catches. He finished the game with six catches for 63 yards, including a key catch on third-and-16 that went for an 18-yard gain and a first down.

On both sides of the ball, the Dolphins did whatever they needed to do to grind out the victory. It was a gutsy game. It was a hard-fought game.

And although it wasn't always pretty, it still was a win.