HOUSTON -- When this season is over and the story of the 2008 Dolphins is written, we might find ourselves looking back on this 29-28 loss to the Texans as the game that best explained why the Dolphins are not yet good enough to consider relevant in a playoff conversation.

After consecutive victories over San Diego and New England, the Dolphins teased us with the possibility they had turned the corner on inconsistent and were pointed toward becoming pretty good.

The national media started believing in the Dolphins -- sending crews to South Florida last week to chronicle Miami's resurgence. The Wildcat package was billed as a spark the offense needed, and the defense was playing stingy, hard-nosed football.

So a victory over winless Houston would add to Miami's legitimacy and momentum and, believe it or not, put the Dolphins in the playoff race.

So much for that.

The Dolphins locker room following this disappointing loss was somber and solemn. Players said in whispers what the game's outcome screamed above the 70,023 raucous fans in Reliant Stadium:

OPPORTUNITY LOST

''We're on the brink of becoming a good team,'' running back Ricky Williams said softly. ``We could taste it, but we let it slip away. So we're not there yet because the definition of being there is winning games.''

Good teams win games like this.

Playoff-caliber teams close out games after scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:45 to play.

Teams that play in January don't lose after snatching two fumbles and two interceptions and winning the turnover battle, 4-1.

Good teams hold tight to the opportunity the Dolphins had in their grasp Sunday.

The Dolphins fumbled that opportunity.

''You gauge us by wins and losses, and we didn't win,'' guard Justin Smiley said. ``We're obviously not good enough.''

After last week's upset of San Diego, Smiley was giddy and actually said the Dolphins had Super Bowl aspirations. But Sunday's loss said other things about this team.

It said the offense is not nearly consistent enough to stay on the field. It said the secondary is questionable. It said Miami's special teams are worse than the offense or defense.

A quick glance at Sunday's result might suggest the Dolphins are just fine on offense. They did, after all, score 28 points and put together a heroic drive in the final minutes to give Miami a 28-23 lead with 1:45 to play.

But look closer. The Miami offense has good running backs, a solid game-managing quarterback and an emerging offensive line.

All this while the wide receivers are terrible.

The Dolphins receivers accounted for 58 yards, with 49 belonging to journeyman Greg Camarillo, who is the only one in the group that is producing. Derek Hagan and Ernest Wilford were inactive Sunday, so they are not good enough to get on the field.

And Ted Ginn Jr., last season's first-round pick, might as well not have been on the field because he caught one pass for minus-1 yard. That means Ginn left the game owing yardage.

With Miami's undistinguished receiver play it is no wonder the offense was 2 of 10 on third-down plays because, not coincidently, third down is typically a crucial passing down.

That point was made clear by Texans receivers Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter, who consistently turned third and fourth down into drive-extending plays.

The duo combined for 14 receptions and 276 yards, which exposed Miami's sad receiver situation by contrast, but also made a statement about Miami's defense.

The Dolphins were shredded defensively by nine plays that gained 20 yards or more, with four of those plays gaining 30 yards or more.

The Texans broke their team record with 485 total yards. They also broke their team record with 379 passing yards.

Dolphins defenders left this game murmuring about dropped interceptions and perceived bad officiating when they should have been wondering why no one was in the middle of the field on Matt Schaub's deciding 3-yard touchdown with three seconds to play.

PLAY OF THE GAME

''I don't know what happened,'' linebacker Matt Roth said, ``All I know is their formation said pass all the way.''

Despite all their troubles, the defense didn't yield the day's longest play.

That falls on the special teams that watched helplessly as Jacoby Jones returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.

The return was a blow on many levels because it marked the first punt return touchdown against Miami since 1994 and came against a team that spent much of this offseason upgrading on special teams.

So that return, like this game, said one thing about Miami's upgraded team: They're not yet good enough.

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