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MIAMI (Ticker) -- Drew Bledsoe has enjoyed three 400-yard passing days against the Miami Dolphins. Today, the Dolphins handed Bledsoe his second career five-interception game. Fueled by a strong pass rush, aggressive play from the secondary and solid performances from receiver Oronde Gadsden and rookie running back J.J. Johnson, the Dolphins posted a 27-17 victory over the New England Patriots to complete a season sweep of their AFC East rivals for the first time since 1994. Bledsoe's total of five interceptions today matches a career high set on December 5, 1993 against Pittsburgh, his rookie year. "The story of this game is very simple," said Bledsoe, who was sacked five times. "When the ball is in my hands, it's my responsibility to take care of it and when I turn it over five times, we've got no chance." In his first eight games this season, Bledsoe was intercepted a total of four times. However, in his last two games he has been picked off eight times. Four of his interceptions today came in the second half, including two in the fourth quarter -- one by linebacker Jason Taylor and one by Jerry Wilson. Cornerbacks Sam Madison and Terrell Buckley and safety Brock Marion also had interceptions for the Dolphins, who raised their season total to 16. "When we started to get pressure on him we forced him to make bad decisions," said Dolphins linebacker Robert Jones. "That's our job, to force him into making bad decisions or throw the ball when he really doesn't want to throw it." The win kept Miami (8-2) in a first-place tie with Indianapolis (8-2) in the AFC East. The Patriots (6-4) suffered their second straight loss and remain in fourth. "That was a heck of a win for our guys," said Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson. "I think that our entire football team really laid it on the line for this week. They knew how important this ballgame was and in this division, we really have no room for error." "Our hopes of winning the division become somewhat of a long shot," said Patriots coach Pete Carroll. "We probaly have to win out and obviously get a lot of help to do that." Gadsden caught scoring passes of four and three yards from Damon Huard, who left the game late in the third quarter with a broken nose and did not return. Huard, who came off the bench for an injured Dan Marino and rallied the Dolphins to a come-from-behind win at New England on October 17, completed 18-of-30 passes for 131 yards with no interceptions. "It is probably a broken nose," Huard said. "I'm happy we won and I thought our entire offense played well today. If Dan (Marino) can't play and I have to play Thursday, I'll be fine." Former Patriot Scott Zolak replaced Huard and failed to complete any of his four pass attempts. J.J. Johnson played the role of workhorse and produced 106 yards on 31 carries, including a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter which increased Miami's lead to 24-10. Bledsoe completed 15-of-34 for 201 yards, including a 68-yard TD bomb to Shawn Jefferson. He is one of only two players in NFL history with at least three 400-yard passing games against a single opponent. The other is Miami's Dan Marino, who has four 400-yard games against the New York Jets. Huard hit Gadsden three times for 33 yards in a 12-play, 76-yard drive in the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-8 play, Gadsden caught a 15-yard pass to the Miami 41, and later in the drive had a 14-yard reception on a 3rd-and-10 to the New England 45. Gadsden capped it with a leaping four-yard TD catch in the middle of the end zone to tie the game at 10-10 with 8:24 left in the half. Miami opened the second half with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive which again ended with Gadsden making a leaping catch in the end zone. Patriots defensive end Willie McGinest was penalized for roughing-the-passer on a 3rd-and-5 play to keep the drive alive. J.J. Johnson broke off runs of 14 and 13 yards before Huard lofted a pass in the right corner of the end zone for Gadsden, who caught a three-yard TD over Patriots cornerback Ty Law to give Miami a 17-10 lead. "Damon threw some good passes up real high where only I could get them and if not they would go out of bounds or be incomplete and that's usually where I like them," Gadsden said. Buckley cut in front of tight end Ben Coates and picked off a pass by Bledsoe and returned it 18 yards to the New England 10. Three plays later, Johnson scored on a one-yard run to increase Miami's lead to 24-10 with 3:19 left in the third quarter. New England responded quickly when Bledsoe rolled right and threw a long pass down the right sideline to Jefferson, who beat Buckley and cut across the middle of the field at the Miami 30 and raced past safety Calvin Jackson to complete a 68-yard scoring play with 2:50 left in the quarter. The Patriots drove to the Miami 43 later in the quarter, but Marion picked off a pass which deflected off the hands of receiver Tony Simmons and returned it 28 yards to the New England 41. While Miami was unable to generate any offense with Zolak, the Patriots again threatened, driving to the Dolphins 36 in the fourth quarter. But Bledsoe was penalized 10 yards for intentional grounding and sacked for a nine-yard loss, forcing New England to punt. On New England's ensuing possession, Bledsoe was picked off by Taylor at the Patriots 24. After gaining 16 yards in seven plays, the Dolphins settled for a 23-yard field goal by Olindo Mare with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter. Wilson intercepted a pass at the Miami 21 and returned it 13 yards in the final minute to seal the win for the Dolphins. Terry Allen scored on a six-yard run midway through the first quarter to give New England a 7-0 lead. The touchdown came two plays after defensive tackle Chad Eaton recovered a fumble by Huard at the Miami 7. Mare kicked a 19-yard field goal with three minutes left in the first quarter to put Miami on the board, four plays after Madison returned an interception 13 yards to the New England 9. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 27-yard field goal 52 seconds into the second quarter for New England.
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