Miami ? During a game last month, Ricky Williams hurt his shoulder, took a shot to the mouth and — when someone stepped on his big toe — played the second half with a chunk of nail missing.

“I would assume it was pretty painful,” Miami Dolphins trainer Kevin O’Neill said.

Ignoring the injuries, Williams carried the ball 36 times — his most arduous afternoon in a grueling season. The reigning NFL rushing champion has a league-high 325 runs, and he probably will be busy again tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Williams is on pace for 400 carries, a milestone reached only three times in league history. Does he have the strength left to carry Miami to the playoffs?

“He’s a young guy,” Dolphins guard Jamie Nails said. “He runs like a horse. He trains like a horse. It’s safe to assume he is a horse.”

The plan was to ride Williams to the playoffs. But the disappointing Dolphins (8-5) have been eliminated from the AFC East race and must scramble for a wild-card berth to avoid missing the postseason for the second year in a row.

“It’s going to come down to the last week of the season,” predicted coach Dave Wannstedt, whose job is in jeopardy. “There will be a lot of crazy things happening. The key thing for us is not to worry about last week or next week. Guys can’t get hung up on what the media are talking about. That’s all negative distraction.”

In Philadelphia, the spin is all positive. A week ago, the Eagles (10-3) became the first team to clinch a playoff berth, and they’ll seek their ninth consecutive victory tonight, which would tie the franchise record set by the 1960 NFL champions.

For the Eagles, as for every Dolphins opponent, the goal will be to stop Williams.

“We don’t want him to break free for a 200-yard game,” linebacker Ike Reese said, “like we know he’s capable of doing. I hope he stays shackled for this game.”