MIAMI -- Jason Taylor broke one Miami sack record and moved closer to another Sunday.

	“	He's been our MVP. He definitely should be considered for defensive MVP. There's nobody more valuable to their team than Jason Taylor has been to our team. ”
		— Dave Wannstedt on Jason Taylor

Taylor sacked Rich Gannon three times, giving him a team-record seven consecutive games with at least one sack and leaving him 1½ sacks shy of Bill Stanfill's single-season record set in 1973.

Taylor took over the NFL lead with 17 sacks this season, and his play has the Dolphins touting him for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

"He has a way of making everybody's play rise up to another level,'' coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He's been our MVP. He definitely should be considered for defensive MVP. There's nobody more valuable to their team than Jason Taylor has been to our team.''

Taylor sacked Gannon on the second and third plays from scrimmage. He beat left tackle Barry Sims and forced Gannon to fumble on both plays. The Raiders recovered each time, but Taylor's play set the tone for Miami's 23-17 victory.

"No quarterback likes to be hit and pushed around in the pocket,'' said Taylor, who credits confidence and experience as the main reasons for his strong play this season. "They all want to sit back there and be comfortable, pick and choose who to throw the ball to. If you can take them out of rhythm it usually reaps good benefits.''

Thanks partly to Taylor, the Dolphins had Oakland's high-powered offense completely out of sync. Gannon completed 17 of 31 passes for 204 yards, his fourth game with less than 300 yards passing. Charlie Garner, Tyrone Wheatley and Gannon combined for 56 yards rushing. And likely Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown managed three catches for 30 yards apiece.

"Jason Taylor is a premier pass rusher in this league,'' Raiders coach Bill Callahan said. ``He gave us a lot of problems.''

Miami was able to get to Gannon while playing much of the game with five and six defensive backs. The scheme also included bump-and-run coverage on Rice and Brown, something the duo rarely sees from any team. But the Dolphins have maybe the best, most aggressive cornerback tandems in the league.

Patrick Surtain has played the best of his career, and three-time Pro Bowler Sam Madison has bounced back from a couple of poor outings and played much better in the last two games.

Although the Dolphins dominated time of possession and total yards, the Raiders had a chance to take the lead in the closing minutes. Rice ran deep down the left sideline, but Surtain was running step-for-step with the NFL's all-time leading receiver and reached up with one hand and intercepted Gannon's pass.

"He just made a great play,'' Rice said. "I'm not making excuses; you have to take your hat off to them.''

Gannon's pass might have been a little underthrown, something the Dolphins attribute to the pressure Taylor was getting all afternoon.

Taylor broke his own record for consecutive games with a sack. He tied the mark held by Doug Betters (1983) with six straight games with a sack in 2000. He had seven in that six-game span. He has 11 in this seven-game stretch.

"He has always been underrated,'' linebacker Zach Thomas said. "They always give all these other names the credit. He brings intensity to the defense and not only brings sacks, but he plays the draw and everything. He is having an MVP year for us.''

Said Taylor: "I just try to make other people around me better.''