The Dolphins are preparing to play out the remainder of the season without nose tackle Jason Ferguson. A source says he suffered a season-ending right knee injury on Thursday against the Panthers. He's expected to be placed on the injured reserve.

Ricky Williams rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns, and the Dolphins beat the Panthers 24-17 on Thursday night for their fourth win in six games to get into the AFC playoff picture, according to an Associated Press report.

The Miami Dolphins have placed running back Ronnie Brown on injured reserve with a foot injury. To replace Brown on the active roster, the Dolphins signed safety Nate Ness from the team?s practice squad. For the season, Brown leads the Dolphins in rushing with 147 carries for 648 yards and eight touchdowns. The Auburn product added 14 receptions for 98 yards and is 2-6 passing for 22 yards and one touchdown. Brown suffered the injury to his foot which ultimately placed him on injured reserve during Miami's 25-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 15.

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown will miss at least one week of action. "Ronnie Brown is out for this game," coach Tony Sparano said of Thursday's game against the Panthers. "He will go see a specialist and we'll see. It's more of a foot injury."

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano says that linebacker Joey Porter will play against the Panthers. Porter was held out of last week's game; the official reason given was "coach's decision."

The Dolphins will likely be without running back Ronnie Brown against the Panthers on Thursday night. Brown hurt his ankle in Miami's win over Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon. "Obviously, I can't really talk about it right now," Brown said after the game. "We've still got to do some tests and see what happens. We did some X-rays. I don't think it's too bad." Brown didn't return after the injury and Ricky Williams rushed for a season-high 102 yards.

Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter is healthy, but won't play against the Buccaneers on Sunday. The Miami Herald is reporting that Porter will miss the game because of a "coach's decision." Porter missed two days of practice because of a troubled knee, but the team is adamant that he isn't being held out because of the injury.

Tom Brady says that Joey Porter's comments motivated the Patriots prior to their game against the Dolphins. Porter said last week that Brady operated under his own set of rules. "It's really motivating for our team throughout the course of the week and into the game when you hear that kind of stuff," Brady said on his weekly appearance on WEEI in Boston. "I think the guys take it to heart and the coaches take it to heart." New England defeated Miami 27-17 in Foxboro.

Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder and nose tackle Jason Ferguson will miss Sunday's game against the Patriots. Miami downgraded both players on their injury report to out.

Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter believes that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gets special treatment. "No question," Porter said. "When a guy can tell a ref when to throw a flag and he gets it and stuff like that, he got his own rules. They made the whole [rule that you] don't go at the legs because of Tom. So when he feels that someone is coming at his legs, he just points at the ref and he gets a flag. So you've got to honestly say that he got his own rules." Porter was interviewed by Rich Eisen on the NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" show. Earlier this week, Porter admitted that he had natural "hate" for the Patriots.