"The afternoon might only have been more surreal for the Dolphins on Sunday if, out of dire necessity, 49-year-old Dan Marino had hobbled from 11 seasons' retirement back onto the field, summoned to active duty.

``Really crazy,'' coach Tony Sparano put it.

No argument.

A franchise into its sixth decade of operation has never had a stranger day at the quarterback position than Miami just did in putting a fresh, desperate spin on the phrase ``by any means necessary.'' The team used all three of its quarterbacks in a 29-17 win -- a home victory at last! -- over the Tennessee Titans, somehow parlaying calamity at the most important position into one of the season's more exhilarating results.

Well, actually it was five men deployed in the quarterback role, if you count the receiver who threw a pass and the running back who took snaps from center.

When the oddity ended the Dolphins stood with a 5-4 record and a credible claim to NFL playoff contention -- even as major new doubts surrounded the position forever awaiting its next-in-line two Hall-of-Famers Bob Griese and Marino here.

As the quarterbacks turn . . .

Veteran Chad Pennington, the backup named the starter for this game, sustained an injury to his oft-injured right shoulder on his very first snap Sunday, throwing his future in the league in jeopardy.

Chad Henne, the starter benched for this game (and presumably beyond), replaced Pennington and played quite well -- before himself leaving with a right-knee injury that had him shuffling ominously on crutches after the game (early speculation was foreboding, but the truth on how long he'll be out won't be known until Monday).

Third-stringer Tyler Thigpen would finish up, and efficiently, and seemed likely to be the emergency starter when the Chicago Bears visit Thursday night and perhaps longer.

``Hey, whatever you gotta do,'' Thigpen said afterward -- as good a summary as any of this victory and of the suddenly patchwork situation at quarterback.

With due respect to Pennington and what could be a career-ending injury, Sunday's events might serve the Dolphins well in the broadest view.

Sparano was wrong to bench the younger Henne for the veteran Pennington. Henne had not played poorly enough to justify the change, and the move smacked of panic and was premature at the very least.

When Pennington went out so soon, it was almost as if fate or a God with a stunning amount of free time for minor matters had sought to right the Dolphins' wrong by giving the football, and the team, back to Henne.

Did Chad the Younger look at the unexpected circumstance as his opportunity for redemption?"