DAVIE, Fla. -The Miami Dolphins must win.

They must do it to keep alive their fading playoff hopes and shed their earned reputation as chronic underachievers. And, considering the expectations of owner H. Wayne Huizenga, they might need to do it to save coach Dave Wannstedt’s job.

Well, forget that last part, Wannstedt said.

“Take me out of the equation,” Wannstedt said Tuesday. “We’re worried about winning these next two games to get into the playoffs. That’s the only equation, really.

“That’s the only thought process for me, for the coaches and for the players. Forget about that other stuff.”

Wannstedt’s belief is that his job security has been a topic since before the season started, so it shouldn’t be a disruption now.

But now the Dolphins are on the outside of the AFC playoff picture and at risk of falling short of Huizenga’s expectations. Even if they win Sunday at Buffalo, the Dolphins will miss the playoffs if Denver wins and either Tennessee wins or Cincinnati or Baltimore lose.

That reality would seem to make Wannstedt’s job a more relevant topic than back in July.

“It’s all a matter, I guess, of who’s asking the questions,” Wannstedt said.

Huizenga is sure to have a few if the Dolphins miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1988-89.

After the Dolphins collapsed and missed the playoffs last December, Huizenga made it clear he expected better, and said the team this season has enough talent to win the Super Bowl. Now their championship run might not get started.

Wannstedt said he met with Huizenga following the game Monday night but wouldn’t divulge what the owner said. Their conversation came after the Eagles sliced through a defense Wannstedt helped build as the foundation of the team.

The defense tackled poorly and gave up big plays, wasting the second-highest scoring total of the season by the offense. The poor defensive showing followed a strong one at New England, and the good offensive game came after a bad one against the Patriots, an inconsistent pattern that has been typical for the Dolphins.

They have played one, maybe two complete games this season, winning at San Diego and at Dallas.

The Dolphins have continued their tradition of fading at the end. For the eighth consecutive season, four of them under Wannstedt, the Dolphins won’t finish better than 2-2 in the final four games.

There is a new twist this season: The Dolphins no longer are formidable at home. They are 3-4 at Pro Player Stadium.

, where they had been better than 4-4 for six consecutive seasons and 11 of the past 13. Wannstedt said, “I have no clue,” as to why the Dolphins have regressed at home.

Wannstedt and his staff haven’t been able to coax consistent efforts out of the Dolphins, and he can’t cite one reason why.

“Every game is different,” he said. “That’s tough to answer. It might be a penalty, it might be a turnover, some games you give up some plays on defense.”

That may be the most disheartening thing for the Dolphins. It was one thing when their defense played well and the offense struggled each week. At least that could be explained by Wannstedt’s offseason focus on defensive personnel while the offense, particularly the line, wasn’t fortified.

But the defense cracked against the Eagles in the kind of tight game the veterans Wannstedt added were supposed to help win. The defense also faltered late in losses to Houston and New England, and it labored to stop the Titans much at all.

If Wannstedt is fired, the players would share in the blame, defensive tackle Larry Chester said.

“It shouldn’t be a fact that because of our mistakes, that he has to suffer in a sense,” Chester said after the Eagles game. “He has been there for us all, in many ways other than just being our head coach, and I hope that they take that into big consideration: That he has tried everything that he can and (that) he has to, to get guys motivated and moving forward.”

Wannstedt said that should not be difficult this week. He only has to tell the Dolphins to win.

“We’re alive,” Wannstedt said. “That’s the message. That’s the facts. No one here is going to hang their head and mope around and talk about last year and five years ago and 10 years ago.

“We’re going to get ready for Buffalo. That’s where we’re at. That’s where we’re going.”

For now, that’s the only certainty for the Dolphins and Wannstedt.

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel Ethan J. Skolnick contributed to this report.

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(c) 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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AP-NY-12-16-03 2150EST