WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAD THE BALL: Back in 1967, when the Packers were playing the Giants, one of the Green Bay assistant coaches asked All-Pro guard Jerry Kramer what plays were working against the New York defense.

“What do you want to run?” Kramer responded. “Anything will [work]. Anywhere.”

Why do you get the sense that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had a similar conversation with someone on the New England bench yesterday?

The Patriots scored on 8 of their 11 possessions yesterday, and it was a fumble and an interception — and not the Miami defense — that stopped the Pats on two of the three possessions during which they didn’t score. They wound up with 530 total yards, including 408 net yards through the air, and Randy Moss (8 catches, 125 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 120 yards) had days that would have fit in snugly with any of the statistical lines they recorded last year when Tom Brady was behind center. Matt Cassel is looking more and more like Brady with each game, and yesterday he did something Brady’s never done: Record his second consecutive 400-yard passing game.

WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAD THE BALL: That same conversation, however, could have taken place on the Miami sideline. The Dolphins weren’t as overwhelming as they’d been during their 38-13 Week Three victory but they got a 341-yard passing afternoon from Chad Pennington and trailed by only three points, 31-28, early in the fourth quarter. They averaged 6.3 yards per offensive play — not demonstrably worse than the Pats’ total of 7.6 — and scored touchdowns all four times they reached the red zone.

But the Pats were better — much better — against the Wildcat formation than they were in September, when they looked like a high school team attempting to stop the Joe Montana 49ers whenever Miami direct-snapped to Ronnie Brown. And they made the key defensive play of the game when Brandon Meriweather intercepted a Pennington pass midway through the fourth quarter with the Pats ahead by 10, setting up the field goal that put the game out of reach.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Pats’ kick coverage had been decidedly less than special the last two weeks — the touchdown they allowed to Leon Washington a week ago Thursday arguably was the biggest factor in the Jets’ upset victory — but it tightened nicely this week as New England held Miami to an average of less than 20 yards per return. Stephen Gostkowski continued his near-perfect season, hitting both of his field-goal attempts (not to mention all six extra points).

COACHING: The list of Bill Belichick achievements — the great record in games after extended rest, the ability to avoid being swept by any opponent in a season — continues, and never was keeping those streaks alive more important. It’s conceivable the Pats’ season could have ended yesterday with a loss; had they been beaten, making the playoffs would have been a tall order indeed. But the Patriots responded to the challenge, and they seemed much better prepared for the Dolphins than they were the first time around.

INTANGIBLES: The importance of the game had emotions running high on both sides, and it showed . . . and not just in the fourth-quarter fight between Matt Light and Channing Crowther. The game was as hard-hitting and fiercely fought as a playoff matchup, which, in a way, it was; whoever lost was going to find themselves behind the postseason eight-ball. It was a place where the Patriots hadn’t found themselves in quite a while, at least not in the regular season, and it’s a credit to them that they responded as well as they did.