The Cardinals were 0-5 there this season, with losses to Washington, the New York Jets, Carolina, Philadelphia and New England. Three were blowouts.

The best Arizona showing came against Carolina, the Cardinals’ opponent Saturday night in the NFC semifinals.

Arizona’s destination was determined Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings 26-14. That meant the Eagles play at the New York Giants next Sunday and the Cardinals (10-7), after their 30-24 wild-card victory over Atlanta on Saturday, get a rematch against the Panthers.

Carolina was an NFL-best 8-0 at home, but its closest call came in a 27-23 victory over Arizona on Oct. 26.

The Cardinals led 10-3 at halftime, and 17-3 early in the third quarter. But Carolina scored twice in a 44-second span, the second after Edgerrin James fumbled at the Arizona 17, to tie it at 17. The Cardinals went back on top on Warner’s 2-yard TD pass to Anquan Boldin, but they botched the 2-point conversion attempt and it was 23-17.

The Panthers went ahead for good on Steve Smith’s 65-yard touchdown catch from Jake Delhomme with 2 seconds left in the third quarter. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt challenged that Smith had stepped out of bounds as he ran down the sidelines, but the touchdown was upheld and Carolina led 24-23.

Arizona subsequently drove to the Carolina 15, but Warner’s pass bounced off J.J. Arrington’s hands and was intercepted by Jon Beason. That led to John Kasay’s 50-yard field goal for the game’s final score with 9:09 to play.

Warner completed 35 of 49 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona with that one costly interception. Boldin played for the first time since his brutal hit by the New York Jets’ Eric Smith on Sept. 28. Several facial bones were fractured and surgery was required to repair the damage. Against Carolina, he caught six passes for 85 yards and rushed once for another 30.

Boldin is hurt again, though.

He injured his hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown catch from Warner in the second quarter against the Falcons. The Pro Bowl receiver played the next series, then left for good. His status for the Panthers’ game is uncertain.

Warner and James, who know what it’s like to get deep into the playoffs, will try to hold down the emotion from the Falcons’ victory, which came in the Cardinals’ first home postseason game since the then-Chicago Cardinals beat the Eagles for the NFL championship in 1947.

“We have so much potential on this team, so why not go out and live up to our potential?” James said.

James was benched eight games into the season, but returned as the lead back in the final regular-season game and revived Arizona’s dormant run game. He outgained Atlanta’s Michael Turner on Saturday, rushing for 73 yards in 16 attempts. Turner, the No. 2 rusher in the NFL, had 42 yards in 18 carries in perhaps Arizona’s best defensive showings of the season.

James has said that he expects this to be his final season with the Cardinals, even though he has a year left on his contract. He said he won’t let that affect his playoff performance.

“I’m gone come the end of the year. I’m not even worried about that,” he said. “Because if you train and you prepare, you’re going to have success.”

The Cardinals have lost to all three of the other remaining teams in the playoffs. The Giants won at Arizona 37-29 on Nov. 23. Four days later, on Thanksgiving night, the Eagles clobbered the Cardinals in Philadelphia 48-20.

It’s possible that Arizona could host the NFC championship game. That would happen only if the Cardinals beat Carolina and the Eagles beat the Giants.

That was the season Tennessee posted the NFL’s best record at 13-3 and earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed with home-field advantage - just like this year. Tampa is hosting the Super Bowl, just like in 2000. And the Baltimore Ravens added to the deja vu feeling Sunday by beating Miami 27-9 to earn a trip to Music City for an AFC divisional playoff game next Saturday.

The Ravens won that 2000 divisional playoff game 24-10 en route to their Super Bowl championship.

The Titans? Well, they are targeting an eventual trip to Tampa, too, in what will be a rematch of a 13-10 win over the Ravens in Baltimore on Oct. 5.

“Now that we know our opponent, we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement Sunday. “Baltimore has improved in all areas since we saw them earlier this season. They are built around a strong run game and a great defense, which reminds us of the classic matchups against them in the past.”

This won’t be the first time these teams have met in the playoffs since that divisional showdown. Tennessee went to Baltimore for a wild-card game in the 2003 season and beat the Ravens on their field 20-17, a win that provided some small redemption for Steve McNair and Eddie George.

While the Ravens still feature a key player from that 2000 playoff win in Ray Lewis, Baltimore now has ex-Titans cornerback Samari Rolle, receiver Derrick Mason and fullback Lorenzo Neal on its side.

The only Titans still in Tennessee who played in that painful loss are punter Craig Hentrich, defensive end Jevon Kearse in his second stint with the team, and linebacker Keith Bulluck. The linebacker was a rookie then and played only special teams, in goal-line situations and in extra linebacker packages.

Before knowing they would play Baltimore, Bulluck said he’s sure the Titans will talk about how much work they’ve put in to get to this point.

“These opportunities don’t come across too often, so we’ll definitely get that point across,” Bulluck said.

“Right now we’ve really got to look at it as a three-game season for us. We take one game at a time. Most games that we can play in this season are three. The approach that we have to take is very serious, and plus, it’s not too often you get to this point. The 2003 season, we went to the AFC championship. Albert and myself, we haven’t been back since.”

That would be Pro Bowl defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who missed the final two games of the regular season with a sprained left knee. Fisher said during halftime of the Ravens’ win over Miami that Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who missed the last three games with an injured groin, would practice this week.

That will provide a big boost to a Titans defense that ranked second in the NFL in fewest points allowed. The Titans are scheduled to return Monday from a weekend off and practice Tuesday.

Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae will be the big question for the Titans. He hurt his right elbow late in the Titans’ 31-14 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 21, sat out the finale at Indianapolis and did not practice during the team’s bye week. He will be a key against the Ravens in helping protect quarterback Kerry Collins.

“He may be questionable going into this game … probably be day to day with him,” Fisher said.

MIAMI The Baltimore Ravens ferocious defense closed the book on one of the NFLs feel-good stories of the season.

Ed Reed returned an interception for a touchdown and the Ravens harassed quarterback Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins into a slew of turnovers in a 27-9 victory in Sundays AFC wild-card matchup.

Baltimore (12-5) picked off Pennington four times, more than half his regular-season total, in beating the Dolphins for the second time this season.

LeRon McClain had an 8-yard scoring run and Matt Stover kicked a pair of field goals for the Ravens, who will visit the top-seeded Tennessee Titans next Saturday in the divisional playoffs in what promises to be a rugged duel between two of the leagues top three defenses.

Miami (11-6), which won the AFC East title following a disastrous 1-15 campaign in 2007, simply wilted under the Ravens dominating defense, which has held an opponent to 13 points or fewer 11 times this season.

After committing a league-low 13 turnovers during the season, the Dolphins committed five against Baltimore, which beat Miami here, 27-13, on October 19.

Reed, who led the league in interceptions with nine during the regular season, had two of the four picks, registering his 12th career touchdown and first in the postseason.

The former University of Miami standout gave the Ravens the lead for good when he took back an errant toss by Pennington 64 yards for a 10-3 lead with 2:30 left in the opening half.

Jim Leonhard and Fabian Washington also intercepted Pennington, who was picked off just seven times in the regular season and had not thrown more than one in a game this year.

Baltimores Joe Flacco was a pedestrian 9-of-22 for 135 yards but also rushed for a late touchdown in becoming the eighth rookie quarterback to start a postseason game since 1966.

McClain rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries and Willis McGahee added 62 for the Ravens, who snapped a three-game postseason losing streak and gave rookie coach John Harbaugh the victory.

Pennington, who is in his first season with Miami after he was released by the New York Jets in August, threw for 252 yards on 25-of-38 passing with one touchdown.

With the Dolphins trailing, 20-3, Pennington finally got his team in the end zone, flipping a 2-yard scoring pass to Ronnie Brown. Even that ended on a sour note when Frank Walker blocked the extra point attempt.

The Dolphins running game also was non-existent. Brown was held to 19 yards on 12 carries and Ricky Williams managed 17 yards on four rushes.

PHILADELPHIA 26, MINNESOTA 14

MINNEAPOLIS Asante Samuel is no stranger to coming up big in the NFL playoffs. This season, the Philadelphia Eagles are the beneficiary.

Samuel returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown and Brian Westbrook added a 71-yard touchdown on a screen pass as Philadelphia beat the Minnesota Vikings, 26-14, on Sunday.

It was Samuels fourth career playoff interception return for a touchdown - the most in NFL history - and helped send the Eagles (10-6-1) into a matchup with the defending champion New York Giants next Sunday in the divisional playoffs.

David Akers added four field goals for the Eagles, who split their two games with the Giants this season. But, Philadelphia did earn a 20-14 victory at New York in December, winning four of its last five games to earn a wild card spot.

Adrian Peterson had 20 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns in his first postseason appearance for the Vikings (10-7).

The outcome was in doubt until midway through the fourth quarter, when Philadelphia took possession on its 29-yard line. Westbrook then had a convoy of blockers to lead him on a 71-yard touchdown on a seemingly simple screen pass.

Donovan McNabb finished 23-of-34 passing for 300 yards with one touchdown and an interception for Philadelphia. Westbrook totaled 121 total yards, just 38 coming on the ground.

Inconsistent quarterback play continued to plague Minnesota. Also playing in his first postseason game, Tarvaris Jackson fired a committed a costly mistake in the second quarter.

Samuel jumped in front of the receiver on Jacksons sideline pass, intercepting the ball and taking it 44 yards down the sideline for a 16-7 Eagles lead with 6:34 left in the half.

Jackson finished 15-of-35 passing for 164 yards and one interception.

Philadelphia struck first after rookie DeSean Jackson returned a punt 62 yards to the Vikings 27-yard line in the first quarter. But, the Eagles offense couldnt move the ball and Akers knocked in a 43-yard field goal.

It was a familiar theme early.

Near the end of the first quarter, Correll Buckhalter took a handoff 27 yards down the sideline to again put Philadelphia in Minnesota territory. Again, the drive would stall, and Akers connected on the longest field goal in the teams playoff history with a 51-yarder as time expired for a 6-0 advantage.

Another explosive play from Peterson put Minnesota ahead early in the second. After a pass interference penalty on third down gave the Vikings the ball in Philadelphia territory, Peterson carried up the middle and then broke left into the open for a 40-yard touchdown run and a 7-6 Minnesota lead.

Akers follow with his third field goal, a 31-yarder, before Samuels interception on the Vikings next drive.

Neither offense was particularly strong against the two stingy defenses, with the exception of the big plays by Peterson and Westbrook.

The Vikings announced the sales results Saturday afternoon for their wild-card playoff game with the Eagles after moving the remaining 3,100 seats that were still unsold the day before. There were a limited number of tickets remaining for the game, including some returned by the Eagles.

The NFL gave the Vikings two extensions, the second until Saturday - 24 hours before kickoff - after they sold about 5,000 seats from Thursday to Friday.

Only about 55 percent of the 55,000 season-ticket holders chose to buy playoff tickets, leaving the large supply. This extended the team’s sellout streak to a rather tenuous 115 games. The last blackout was for the Vikings’ last game of the 1997 regular season.

Vikings vice president for sales and marketing Steve LaCroix said there was no help from corporate sponsors or the local Fox affiliate, as there has been in the past for regular-season games with a few hundred tickets left to sell.

“It was all the fans. The fans get all the credit,” LaCroix said. “We needed that extra time, and the league was very accommodating.”

The Eagles ran an ad on their Web site this week, encouraging fans to travel to Minnesota and “paint the Metrodome green.”

LaCroix declined to offer an estimate of how many Eagles fans ultimately bought tickets, but said there weren’t any “bulk purchases” by businesses in the Philadelphia area. Eagles fans traditionally travel well, so there’s sure to be some vocal support for the visiting team on Sunday afternoon.

Spagnuolo, one of the team’s top candidates, also met Thursday with Cleveland and Detroit about their openings, and was scheduled to talk to Denver on Saturday night.

The Jets spoke with current assistants Bill Callahan and Brian Schottenheimer on Friday in the first round of interviews since the team fired Eric Mangini on Monday. No other interviews were scheduled as of Saturday night.

New York received permission to speak with Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, but won’t be able to meet with him until the Ravens’ season is over or during the bye before the Super Bowl, if they make it.

The Ravens play at Miami in the playoffs on Sunday.

Similarly, the Jets wouldn’t be allowed to offer Spagnuolo a job until the Giants’ season ends. The NFC’s top-seeded team has a first-round bye in the playoffs. Spagnuolo, 49, has become a popular candidate because of the Giants’ success on defense the last two seasons.

He turned down the Washington Redskins job last year after being lauded for the pass-rushing game plan that stunned Tom Brady and New England in last year’s Super Bowl.

Owner Woody Johnson is out of the country and was not involved in the interviews conducted by general manager Mike Tannenbaum, but is said to be in constant contact with him regarding the coaching search.

Johnson has made it clear he prefers to keep football, business and coaching duties separate, so any coach the Jets hire would have to fit into that structure.

That prerequisite likely cooled New York on Mike Shanahan, fired Tuesday night by Denver. Shanahan went 146-91 over 14 seasons, including the playoffs, but was also the team’s executive vice president of football operations. He told the NFL Network he planned to wait two weeks before speaking with a team about any opening.

Bill Cowher, thought to be the Jets’ early No. 1 target, pulled his name out of consideration late Tuesday night. The former Super Bowl-winning coach with Pittsburgh has said he’s not interested in returning to the sidelines before 2010.

SAN DIEGO Darren Sproles more than filled LaDainian Tomlinsons shoes.

Sproles sprinted 22 yards for a touchdown with 8:40 to play in overtime, lifting the San Diego Chargers to a 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in an AFC wild card game.

With All-Pro running back Tomlinson forced out of the game early in the second quarter with a groin injury, the diminutive Sproles stood tall, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns while catching five passes for 45 yards.

Sproles also averaged 26.5 yards on four kick returns and 24.0 on three punts while atoning for a costly fumble at the goal line.

The first team to win a division title with a .500 record since 1985, the AFC West champion Chargers (9-8) won their fifth consecutive game to earn a trip to either No. 1 seed Tennessee or No. 2 Pittsburgh in next weekends divisional playoff round.

Philip Rivers threw for 217 yards on 20-of-26 passing and an interception for San Diego, which avenged a 23-20 home loss to Indianapolis in the regular season, snapped the Colts nine-game winning streak and knocking Peyton Manning and company out of the playoffs for the second straight season.

Manning completed 25-of-42 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown, but other than a long scoring toss to Reggie Wayne, he struggled in the second half and barely avoided a safety in the final minutes when he was sacked at the 1-yard line.

After being turned away twice in the second half on a fumble and an interception, San Diego finally pulled even at 17-17 on Nate Kaedings 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in regulation.

The Chargers won the coin flip in overtime and quickly moved downfield, helped by three penalties on the Colts - two for holding and a face-mask infraction against Clint Sessions that set up 1st-and-10 at the 20-yard line.

Two players later, the 5-6 Sproles darted down the left sideline and into the end zone, giving San Diego its fourth win against the Colts in the last five meetings.

The Chargers, who carried a 14-10 lead into halftime, had to overcome a series of blunders in the second half.

Manning caught the defense napping while trying to make multiple substitutions midway through the third quarter when he found Wayne all alone down the left sideline for a 17-14 lead.

San Diego answered right back after the scoring pass, driving down the field only to see Sproles fumble into the end zone from the 1-yard line. Indianapolis Raheem Brock recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

On their next possession, the Chargers were on the move again before Antoine Bethea picked off Rivers in the end zone to thwart another opportunity.

Yet Indianapolis could not deny resilient San Diego, which had lost four games in the last 24 seconds this season and became the first team in league history to snatch a playoff berth after starting a campaign 4-8.

Manning was perfect on the Colts first scoring drive, connecting on all six passes for 81 yards before Joseph Addai capped it with a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 2:59 left in the opening quarter.

The Chargers slowly turned the momentum in their favor thanks to the punting of Mike Scifres, who averaged 56.5 yards on four boots in the first half, twice pinning the Colts inside the 10-yard line.

San Diego held Indianapolis to a pair of three-and-outs on both possessions, setting up two short touchdown drives.

On the first, the Chargers needed just four plays to tie the game. Tomlinson scampered around the left side for 3 yards to knot it at 7-7 with 10:15 left in the half but left the game for good after the score.

After the Colts inched in front, 10-7, on a 43-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, a 67-yard punt by Scifres again buried Indianapolis in the shadow of its goal line.

This time, San Diego needed just six plays to go in front. Rivers hit Chris Chambers for completions of 13 and 11 yards to set up Sproles 9-yard scoring run for a 14-10 lead with 42 seconds to go in the half.

ARIZONA 30, ATLANTA 24

Rookie quarterbacks do not win often in the postseason, and Matt Ryan proved to be no exception.

Kurt Warner threw a pair of long touchdown passes and the Arizona Cardinals took advantage of some costly mistakes by Ryan to end the Atlanta Falcons fairy-tale season with a 30-24 victory in the NFC wild card playoffs.

Warner threw scoring passes of 42 yards to Larry Fitzgerald and 71 to Anquan Boldin as the Cardinals (10-7) advanced to next weekends divisional round at either the Carolina Panthers or the top-seeded New York Giants.

Running back Edgerrin James, who had been benched earlier in the season, contributed 73 yards on 16 carries for Arizona, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

Appearing in their first postseason home game since 1947, when the franchise was located in Chicago, the NFC West champion Cardinals seized control of the game in the third quarter against Ryan and the mistake-prone Falcons (11-6).

Antrel Rolle returned a fumbled snap 27 yards for a touchdown in the opening minute of the second half to put Arizona ahead for good, 21-17.

Rookie Tim Hightower capped a long scoring drive with a 4-yard run to make it 28-17 with 2:48 to go in the third quarter.

Ryan then compounded the troubles on the next play from scrimmage, when his long pass down the right sideline was intercepted by rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

In the third quarter, four Atlanta possessions resulted in a fumble, a pair of three-and-outs and the interception.

And it only got worse early in the fourth quarter, when defensive end Antonio Smith sacked Ryan in the end zone for a safety that padded the margin to 30-17 with 12:37 to play.

Ryan finally steadied himself and got the Falcons within 30-24 with a 5-yard scoring pass to Roddy White with 4:15 to go.

But Atlanta could not get back the ball as the Cardinals ran out the clock, with Warner hitting a huge 23-yard completion to Stephen Spach on 3rd-and-16 with 2:03 remaining.

Warner threw for 271 yards on 19-of-32 passing with the two scores and one interception.

Ryan, who guided the Falcons to a seven-win improvement in his first year, finished 26-of-40 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also was sacked three times.

After watching Atlanta hold the ball for 21 minutes, 19 seconds in the first half, Arizona reversed reversed things in the second half, allowing the Falcons to keep possession for only 8:39.

Arizonas defense did a stellar job shutting down Michael Turner, the leagues second-leading rusher with 1,699 yards.

Turner, who set a franchise record with 17 rushing touchdowns, was limited to 42 yards on 18 carries, matching his season-low output.

Simpson was in a car that was speeding through the parking lot of the Celebrations bar around 2 a.m. New Year’s Day. The driver and another passenger in the car were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after they yelled and cursed at police, according to the report.

Simpson then began yelling at officers, saying “I’m Ko Simpson with the Buffalo Bills. I am worth millions!” several times. The officers asked Simpson to leave the parking lot and he began to walk away, but turned and started yelling at officers again, police said.

The officers arrested Simpson because they feared his screaming might cause the large crowd that gathered to turn against them, police said.

The 25-year-old Simpson was charged with hindering police and released on a $470 bond, according to Rock Hill jail officials.

Officials with the Bills said they were aware of the report and were gathering more information. A message left for Simpson’s agent was not immediately returned.

Simpson played in all 16 games for Buffalo this season, making 66 tackles after missing nearly all of 2007 with a broken ankle. Simpson was drafted in the fourth round in 2006 and became an immediate starter because of injuries, making two interceptions and 76 tackles his rookie year.

Simpson was the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year in 2004 at South Carolina. He left the Gamecocks after two seasons.

The Vikings have until 4:30 p.m. EST on Saturday to sell the remaining 3,100 tickets to avoid a television blackout in local markets.

The task isn’t as daunting as it appeared earlier in the week. The Vikings were granted their first extension on Thursday and still had a whopping 8,000 tickets to unload to avoid the first blackout since 1997.

But the team made big strides, selling nearly 5,000 tickets as of Friday afternoon. The remaining tickets are priced $80, $120 and $160 a piece. It’s the first time the Vikings have been in the playoffs since the 2004 season.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals have sold enough tickets to Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons for it to be televised in the Phoenix area.

The NFL gave the team two 24-hour extensions, the last expiring Friday afternoon. About 2,400 tickets remained Friday morning.

Tickets returned from the visiting team allotment and club seats remain available for purchase. Neither counts against the blackout rules.

SATURDAY

ATLANTA FALCONS at ARIZONA CARDINALS - ATLANTA: QUESTIONABLE: DE John Abraham (thigh, shoulder), DE Jamaal Anderson (ankle), T Sam Baker (hip, back), WR Harry Douglas (head), DT Grady Jackson (knee), LB Curtis Lofton (knee), S Lawyer Milloy (back), RB Ovie Mughelli (knee), T Todd Weiner (knee). ARIZONA: QUESTIONABLE: WR Anquan Boldin (shoulder), DE Travis LaBoy (ankle), TE Leonard Pope (knee), DT Gabe Watson (knee). PROBABLE: S Aaron Francisco (ribs), TE Stephen Spach (ankle), LB Pago Togafau (knee), S Matt Ware (calf), S Adrian Wilson (toe).

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at SAN DIEGO CHARGERS - INDIANAPOLIS: OUT: LB Gary Brackett (fibula). QUESTIONABLE: DT Eric Foster (finger), WR Pierre Garcon (knee), G Mike Pollak (ankle), CB Keiwan Ratliff (groin), G Jamey Richard (ankle). SAN DIEGO: DOUBTFUL: LB Brandon Siler (foot). QUESTIONABLE: TE Antonio Gates (ankle), RB LaDainian Tomlinson (groin).

SUNDAY

BALTIMORE RAVENS at MIAMI DOLPHINS - BALTIMORE: QUESTIONABLE: DT Justin Bannan (foot), LB Antwan Barnes (shoulder), G Chris Chester (back), WR Mark Clayton (knee), TE Todd Heap (back), LB Jarret Johnson (calf), WR Derrick Mason (shoulder), S Ed Reed (thigh), RB Ray Rice (calf), CB Samari Rolle (ankle, foot), K Matt Stover (right ankle), CB Fabian Washington (toe). PROBABLE: S Tom Zbikowski (thigh). MIAMI: QUESTIONABLE: TE David Martin (head, neck), DE Randy Starks (ankle).

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at MINNESOTA VIKINGS - PHILADELPHIA: OUT: DE Victor Abiamiri (foot), G Shawn Andrews (back). QUESTIONABLE: T Jon Runyan (knee), CB Asante Samuel (hip), TE L.J. Smith (shoulder), RB Brian Westbrook (knee, ankle). PROBABLE: WR Hank Baskett (knee), LB Stewart Bradley (rib, groin), WR Kevin Curtis (calf), S Brian Dawkins (back), G Todd Herremans (shoulder, ankle). MINNESOTA: OUT: DE Ray Edwards (knee). QUESTIONABLE: DT Pat Williams (shoulder). PROBABLE: WR Bernard Berrian (ankle), T Artis Hicks (elbow).

Few others had such foresight, and many remain dubious that the surprising Dolphins really belong in the playoffs. Sunday’s first-round game against the Baltimore Ravens will help settle the question of whether Miami is for real.

Despite winning nine of their past 10 games, the Dolphins enter their first playoff game since 2001 widely regarded as overachieving underdogs. Baltimore is a 3 1/2-point favorite.

“Good,” Dolphins linebacker Matt Roth says. “Let people sleep on us. If we haven’t earned respect by now, we’re never going to win it. So we just keep winning.”

Only five teams won more games than AFC East champion Miami (11-5). But memories of the franchise’s 1-15 fiasco in 2007 remain fresh, making it difficult to accept the transformed Dolphins as juggernauts.

They’re hardly treated as an elite team. The Dolphins haven’t been scheduled for prime time all season, not even when they played the high-profile Jets in a December showdown. Linebacker Joey Porter was the lone Miami player chosen to start in the Pro Bowl. There have been thousands of empty seats at every home game.

The Dolphins have few stars, a castoff quarterback in Pennington and a rookie coach in Tony Sparano. It’s a much different environment than in, say, Dallas.

But the Cowboys aren’t in the playoffs.

“A team that has all the stars across the board and should have made it didn’t,” says Dolphins linebacker Akin Ayodele, a former Cowboy. “Is that what makes a playoff team? No. You still have to go out there and play.

“You look at this team - we don’t have a lot of big names, but we have guys who love this game and have bought into what the coaching staff wants to do, and we do a good job.”

The Dolphins don’t have a 1,000-yard rusher, and their wideouts combined for only five touchdowns. Their defense has been wildly inconsistent: For the first time since 1973, the Dolphins held opponents without a touchdown three games in a row, but the next week they gave up 347 yards to woeful Kansas City in one half.

One thing the Dolphins do well is stay healthy. Eighteen starters have played all 16 games, including the entire defense. It’s a big change from last year’s injury-plagued team.

Luck? Not entirely. The new regime stressed the need to play hurt.

“You have to have some kind of luck,” Sparano says. “But I think part of it is a philosophy you try to put into place. You want to make sure they understand from day one that if you’re a guy who thinks being in the training room is a good habit, it can get you beat. Not being on the practice field, we don’t get better at fundamentals and our techniques. One of the ways to lose is to be in that training room or on that medical list and not being on the practice field.”

Also contributing to the Dolphins’ improbable success: They win close games against bad teams, which won’t help much in the playoffs. Opponents in the second half of the season finished a combined 47-81, and Miami won six of those eight games by a touchdown or less.

The schedule was favorable in other ways. Miami played three West Coast teams - all at home - and swept them by a combined nine points. The Dolphins caught a break because their December road game against Buffalo was played indoors in Toronto, and took advantage by posting their most lopsided victory since September, winning 16-3.

Miami did go 6-2 on the road, including wins at New England, Denver and frigid Kansas City. And while the schedule has been soft, the Dolphins’ ability to close out games is impressive. Seven victories have resulted from keeping the ball for more than 10 minutes in the final quarter.

“Attitude goes a long way, man,” cornerback Andre Goodman says. “Once you get to that fourth quarter, you feel like somebody is going to step up and make the play. I think every time we get to that point, we feel that way.”

Also helping in close games has been the Dolphins’ ability to protect the ball. They committed only 13 turnovers, tying this season’s New York Giants for the NFL record, and led the league in turnover differential at plus-17.

“There have been some games where we haven’t scored a tremendous amount of points but have won,” Sparano says. “That’s a combination of playing good defense and not turning the football over.”

They’ll need to do both Sunday, when the competition stiffens. The Dolphins haven’t faced a team that’s in the playoffs since Oct. 19, when the opponent was Baltimore.

The Ravens won 27-13, but coach John Harbaugh says the Dolphins are for real.

“They’re a premier team in the NFL right now, and they’ve proven it by what they’ve accomplished,” Harbaugh says. “They get better every single week. You can tell they are a very hardworking, very determined bunch of guys. It’s evident in how they’ve played.”