MIAMI - During a game last month, Ricky Williams hurt his shoulder, took a shot to the mouth and - when someone stepped on his big toe - played the second half with a chunk of nail missing.
"I would assume it was pretty painful," Dolphins trainer Kevin O'Neill said.
Ignoring the injuries, Williams carried the ball 36 times, an arduous afternoon in a grueling season. The reigning league rushing champion has a league-high 325 carries and probably will be busy again tonight against the Eagles.
Williams is on pace for 400 carries, a milestone reached only three times in league history. Does he have the strength left to carry Miami to the playoffs?
"He's a young guy," Dolphins guard Jamie Nails said. "He runs like a horse. He trains like a horse. It's safe to assume he is a horse."
The plan was to ride Williams to the playoffs. But the disappointing Dolphins (8-5) have been eliminated from the AFC East race and must scramble for a wild-card berth to avoid missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia (10-3) was the first team to clinch a playoff berth, and the Eagles seek their ninth consecutive victory, which would tie the franchise record set by the 1960 NFL champions.
For the Eagles, as for every Dolphins opponent, the goal will be to stop Williams.
"We don't want him to break free for a 200-yard game," linebacker Ike Reese said, "like we know he's capable of doing. I hope he stays shackled for this game."
New England contained Williams and shut out Miami Dec. 7 with a lot of blitzes. Philadelphia's aggressive defense could try the same approach.
"They'll be ready to bring the kitchen sink, the car, the lawn mower, the garage, everything," Nails said.
Still, the Eagles rank 21st in the league in run defense, which likely means another heavy workload for Williams.
He has topped 100 yards in three of the past four games and he's on pace for more than 1,400 yards. But that's well short of last season's total of 1,853 and his average per carry has dropped from 4.8 to 3.3. Miami's line is regarded as the primary culprit. The ground game, second in the league last season, has slipped to 17th.
At a position notorious for burnout, there's also the question of whether Williams' league-high 708 carries over the past two seasons have taken a toll. He says no.
"It's kind of funny," Williams said. "I have the most bounce of anyone at practice. I feel great. I don't know how, but I do."
So No. 34 will keep getting the call. With coach Dave Wannstedt perhaps trying to save his job, and the Dolphins trying to save their season, they'll ask Williams to come to the rescue.
Eagles (10-3) at Dolphins (8-5)
Intra-conference game has huge implications for the playoff lives of the Dolphins and the seeding of the Eagles.
