DENVER -- Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall had the potential to surprise the Dolphins in plenty of ways Sunday. Maybe with his size. Maybe with his production.

But by the time the Dolphins concluded a 26-17 win -- by the time Miami's defense stifled most aspects of Denver's offense -- the only aspect of Marshall's performance that surprised anyone had nothing to do with his hands.

It had to do with his mouth.

''It caught me off guard that he was trying to talk,'' said defensive end Vonnie Holliday, referring to the ongoing jabber between Marshall and Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter. 'It was like, `Buddy, you need to be quiet. You've been on the sideline pretty much the whole game.' ''

In what several Dolphins players considered their most impressive defensive performance of the season, the Dolphins kept the Broncos' offense off the field for a majority of the game with what also will go down as one of the most statistically impressive performances in team history.

Miami's run defense allowed 14 yards -- the fewest in franchise history, eclipsing the 16 yards by the Oakland Raiders in 1966. And Marshall? The Dolphins' secondary caught more passes thrown by Denver quarterback Jay Cutler than the wide receiver did.

''One of the goals we set for ourselves coming in here, you can either come into games to compete -- or you can come into games to win,'' coach Tony Sparano said. ``I think there's a difference between both. Neither one is bad. But we come into games to win.''

For the second consecutive week, and the second consecutive win, the Dolphins were aggressive and resilient in the secondary, effectively complementing Miami's suffocating run defense while allowing Miami to dominate in time of possession -- 36:32 to 23:28.

Marshall, an impressive threat who showed his potential in the season's second week by catching 18 passes against the Chargers, was held to two catches for 27 yards Sunday. That's why it surprised some players that he constantly barked back and forth with Porter as he headed back to Denver's huddle each play.

Meanwhile, the secondary intercepted three of Cutler's passes. Cornerback Jason Allen picked off a pass intended for Marshall on the third play of the game, and cornerback Will Allen returned another interception 32 yards for a touchdown later in the first quarter.

''Guys just made the plays when the plays came to them,'' Will Allen said. ``That's pretty much it. In the past, we didn't make those plays. We made them today. It's exciting. It's exciting to win.''

Even as the Dolphins' offense struggled to generate consistent production in a game initially anticipated to be an offensive shootout, the defense provided plenty of opportunities for quarterback Chad Pennington to eventually get it right.

Pennington, who lacked his typical efficiency as he completed 23 of 40 passes for 281 yards and an interception, still orchestrated an impressive game-sealing touchdown drive that went 80 yards on 15 plays during the fourth quarter.

The series (which gave Miami a 26-17 lead) was especially important because the Dolphins also weren't generating the type of ground attack they had hoped for against the Broncos' 30th-ranked run defense. Ronnie Brown had just 59 yards on 20 attempts -- and that included a 30-yard run.

''We wanted to run the ball better,'' Sparano said. ``But I was happy we put something together in critical situations.''

The Dolphins' offense instead utilized wide receiver Greg Camarillo, who gave Pennington a consistent target for 11 catches and 111 yards.

''I thought he was huge [Sunday],'' Sparano said of Camarillo.

Still, as the Dolphins put together their fourth win by the season's midway point, this particular victory will be defined by what Miami was able to do on defense.

Yes, there were moments that could have potentially sullied an otherwise solid performance. But when a 77-yard touchdown pass to Marshall with 21 seconds left in the third quarter was negated because a referee flagged him for pushing off Jason Allen before making the catch, it seemed to deflate any hopes Denver had of jabbing back.

Instead, Miami's defense -- including its secondary -- has bolstered its swagger with another solid performance. And instead, the Dolphins will now continue on a season that has again received another jolt of hope.

''We don't go away very easy,'' Sparano said. ``We always talk about being tough, smart and disciplined. I think right now we're pretty tough, we're pretty smart, and we're playing pretty disciplined.''

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