MIAMI — As coach Tony Sparano's Miami Dolphins mounted a comeback bid in the final minutes, even his players on the sideline wondered about the play calling.

It had the New York Jets confused, too.

The Dolphins snapped the ball to four players in their game-winning drive Monday night. They ran from the wildcat twice in the final 23 seconds, and Ronnie Brown's 2-yard dash with 6 seconds left beat the Jets 31-27.

Doubt on the Dolphins sideline turned to cheers.

"That's why we are players and not coaches," Miami defensive tackle Jason Ferguson said. "All of us were talking about, 'Why won't you pass it?' Because we got a touchdown, that's why."

Newcomer Braylon Edwards provided a big boost for the Jets, and two fake punts fooled Miami. But the Dolphins had their own bag of tricks and dug into it even on the final drive.

The Dolphins started from their own 30-yard line with 5:05 left, trailing 27-24, and mounted a 13-play drive for the winning score. They snapped to Ricky Williams in the wildcat, and he ran for 15 yards. They brought rookie quarterback Pat White into the game for the first time, and he ran 6 yards for a first down.

Chad Henne made two third-down completions. And with 10 seconds left and third and goal at the 2, the Dolphins decided to try the wildcat again.

"We were in the huddle and said, 'We've got to score a touchdown. No settling for field goals,"' Brown said.

He took the snap, ran up the middle, found a seam and crossed the goal line with 6 seconds to go.

The resilient Dolphins (2-3) came from behind three times in the fourth quarter, and they're back in the AFC East race after losing their first three games.

"It just goes to show you that to panic is not the answer," Sparano said.

The Jets (3-2) have lost two straight and fell into a tie with New England for first place.

"We're going to play a lot better than we did today," coach Rex Ryan said.