MIAMI - Ravens coach Brian Billick talked last week about what defensive end Jason Taylor wouldn't do against Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden and his team paid for the challenge, as the Miami Dolphins' defensive line played one of its best games in recent memory to highlight a 26-7 victory.

"There isn't much for me to say after a butt-whipping like that," said Taylor, who had two tackles, a 9-yard sack, a forced fumble and a pass defended. "I just know that we broke the three-game losing streak and that's what really mattered. I'm not much for bulletin-board stuff, but the coach talking is different."

In last season's first-round playoff game, the Ravens ran for 226 yards and won, 20-3, but the story was quite different this time.

The Dolphins held the Ravens to 66 yards rushing. They sacked Jeff Blake seven times for 36 yards, and the Ravens were able to convert only two of 13 third downs.

"It's one of the better overall games by the defensive line that I can remember," Taylor said.

Billick's calling out of Taylor got his teammates' attention. Adewale Ogunleye, who starts opposite Taylor, had 2 1/2 sacks, a career high, for 20 yards, five tackles and a forced fumble.

"Baltimore kind of has swagger," Ogunleye said, "and it's led by their coach. He had a lot to say this week, and we took it personal. It got back to us, and we were determined that they weren't coming on our field and doing anything. With three straight losses, we didn't need motivation, but he gave us some."

The thought behind the running defense was to keep inside containment on running back Jamal Lewis, realizing the speed of the Dolphins' defense would run him down. When Blake dropped back, the plan was to pressure him from the outside and force him into the traffic of the pocket.

"Our backside pursuit is too fast," said tackle Larry Chester. "We just needed to plug the gaps and not give [Lewis] any creases. When he started to look for them, the pursuit usually put him on the ground. It was one of the better games that we've had, but we can play better."

When the Ravens won in the playoffs, the Dolphins weren't a healthy defense, and they paid the price. This time, the defense was healthy.

"Against that defense, if you can run the ball, you open a Pandora's box for the Dolphins," Billick said. "If you can't [run], they have you right where they want you."

Lewis finished with 47 yards rushing, and the Ravens managed only 157 offensive yards. It was the lowest output by a Dolphins opponent since the fourth game of 2001, when New England had 149 yards.

Tackle Tim Bowens said the Dolphins didn't use any special schemes for the Ravens.

"We just played smash-mouth defense against a team that likes to play smash-mouth offense, and we won," Bowens said.

Craig Barnes is a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.