NFL: 'Fins can't afford loss to 'Skins

Miami (6-4) needs four more victories and will be favored tonight when it plays the Washington Redskins on ESPN. Right now, the Dolphins are tied with Denver for the final wild-card spot in the AFC.

"The AFC is so tight," Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau said. "Every game is going to be a playoff game and it's important to have. You don't want to ask for favors down the road. The only way you can do that is by winning. That's what we're going to start with."

The Dolphins also need the win badly considering the remainder of their schedule, which starts with a Thanksgiving game at Dallas on Thursday afternoon, four days from today. December road games at New England and Buffalo also remain.

"Whoever put that schedule together wasn't a Dolphin fan back in the day," middle linebacker Zach Thomas said.

"They've been doing this every year to us. But that's all right. We're not going to make any excuses. We're going to go out there and try to get on a little roll now."

Miami started a possible roll by pulling out a 9-6 overtime win over Baltimore last week.

Thomas recovered a Jamal Lewis fumble to set up the game-winning drive.

AT A GLANCE

Redskins (4-6) at Dolphins (6-4) When: Tonight, 8:30 Where: Pro Player Stadium, Miami Radio: SportsRadio 770-AM (WWCN) Television: ESPN (live) Key matchup: Redskins offensive line vs. Dolphins defensive line -- Washington quarterback Patrick Ramsey has been sacked 29 times this season. The Dolphins have 23 sacks. Enough said. Of note: The Dolphins are debuting their alternate orange jerseys. ... The Redskins have lost five of six overall and their last four on the road. ... The Dolphins have been limited to 17 or fewer points in three straight games. ... Miami has outscored Buffalo and San Diego in prime time, 43-17, this season. ... Center Tim Ruddy (knee) is back in the lineup, but guard Jamie Nails (ankle) is out. Seth McKinney will replace Nails at left guard. ... Fort Myers native Noah Brindise, a former Gators quarterback (1995-97), is the Redskins' quarterbacks coach.

Second-year player Seth McKinney was at center and rookie Billy Yates and second-year pro Greg Jerman were the guards.

Starting center Tim Ruddy (knee) did not play and guards Jamie Nails and Todd Perry were injured during the game.

Nails is out today, with McKinney replacing him. Perry is ex pected to start.

The receiving corps could get a boost from longtime receiver Oronde Gadsden, who was re-signed after missing the final 10 games of last season with a torn wrist ligament, then almost all of training camp with a dislocated ankle. He is expected to play in some third-down situations.

Who's throwing the passes for either team remains up in the air.

Quarterback Jay Fiedler, who has missed the last few games with a knee injury, practiced for the first time this week since suffering the injury and is ready to go. Brian Griese has struggled in Fiedler's place, but is expected to start.

Meanwhile, Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey has been hobbled by a broken bone in his foot. He was held out of practice most of the week and Tim Hasselbeck could replace him.

The game will be a sort of homecoming for Redskins head coach Steve Spurrier, who was born in Miami Beach. Spurrier went 122-27-1 in 12 seasons coaching the Florida Gators, winning the national title in 1996. Spurrier is 11-15 in his two seasons in Washington.

"You see very, very successful coaches, like Dan Reeves and Marty Schottenheimer, they've been in the NFL longer than most all of the coaches in the league right now and they're struggling and their teams are struggling also," Spurrier said. "I'm not so sure experience in the NFL is the key as it is sometimes your team just jibes together, it just gels.

Things happen to hit and work out for you.

"We've just not had that happen."

What has happened is opposing defenses have tossed around Ramsey like a rag doll. Ramsey has been sacked 29 times.

"We've had too much pressure," Spurrier said. "Sometimes it's the line. Sometimes it's the tight end. Sometimes the running back doesn't block a linebacker or something like that. Overall, our pass protection has not been quite as good as we had hoped.

"Patrick is not a scrambling quarterback. Everybody knows that. When you have a guy that doesn't move around, doesn't run, you've got to protect him a little bit better. That's where we're at."