The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page -

6C THE PALM BEACH POST MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1995 Dolphins 21, Falcons 20 Statistics With Marino, a sinking team is buoyant TEAM int 1 I Atlanta Miami Flrat Downs Total 18 29 First downs rushing 3 9 First downs passing 14 18 First downs-penalty 1 2 Yards Rushing 92 85 Rushing plays 24 22 Yards Passing 204 343 Passes attempted 23 50 Passes completed 17 35 Interceptions 0 2 Thrown for loss 1 0 Total yards lost 6 0 Yards Total 296 428 Offensive plays 48 72 Third-down conv. 4-9 5-13 Int. return-yards 2-34 0-0 Punt returns-yards 1-0 1-8 Kickoff returns-yds. 4-79 1-28 Punts-average Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0 Penalties-yards 4-35 3-20 Time of possession 24:57 35:03 Atlanta 7 7 0 6 20 Miami 3 6 0 12 21 MIAMI A football was stuffed into a helmet on the floor of Dan Marino's locker. Only moments earlier, it surely seemed, another Miami Dolphins' football season finally and absolutely had been stuffed into a different place.

A place where not even the South lorida sun shines. 1 But that was before Marino worked another miracle. That was before, through an opponent's poor decision-making (no field-goal attempt) and sheer ineptitude (three failures to gain a yard), Mr. Quarterback got a chance to walk back onto the field. "No one," said Atlanta quarterback Jeff George, "should put the football in Dan Marino's hands when the game is on the line." Exactly.

Because the But that's too elementary a concept. Because the residual effects of Marino's heroics a 72-yard drive in the final two minutes without use of his only timeout are yet to be discovered. For now, however, the change in team outlook is considerable. Instead of despondent over what would have been four consecutive losses, the Dolphins are joyous over a single victory. They are suddenly rejuvenated.

Anxious rather than desperate. Alive, quite frankly, rather than dead. Perhaps what the Dolphins cling to at this moment is only false hope, but it's better than no hope. And that's what the franchise would have faced without a Marino-inspired victory. No hope.

The turmoil that has surrounded the Dolphins for much of the last month and, indeed, most of the season would have swallowed them. Dissolution from the glories of a 4-0 beginning would have been complete. December would have been cloaked in mourning cloth from now until a Christmas Eve game in St. Louis. That it is not already so is testament to Marino's influence, because a superstar's imprint on a single game especially one locked into this spot on the schedule with so much bearing on the future is impossible to underestimate.

"All we need is a chance," he said. And, now, the Dolphins have one. A glimmer. "It was hard on everybody, because of the expectations of this team," Marino said. "We were a Super Bowl contender early on." Yeah, early on.

Later on, though, Miami was discarded onto the edge of the scrap heap after a Greg Stoda SCOn WISEMANStaff Photographer Dan Marino, of all people, takes off an 11 -yard run that set up his winning TD pass. He threw pretty well, too: 35-for-50 for 343 yards. First Quarter Mia FG Stoyanovich 42, 6:39. Drive: 55 yards, 14 plays. Key plays: Parmalee 12 run; Marino 9 pass to Hill on 3rd-and-10; Parmalee 6 run on 4th-and-1 Miami 3, Atlanta 0.

Atl Emanuel I pass from George (Andersen kick), 12:08. Drive: 56 yards, 9 plays. Key plays: George 19 pass to Metcalf; George 1 1 pass to Emanuel. Atlanta 7, Miami 3. Second Quarter Atl Metcalf 23 run (Andersen kick), 1 1:23.

Drive: 68 yards, 6 plays. Key plays: George 25 pass to Emanuel; George 6 pass to Metcalf on 3rd-and-2. Atlanta 14, Miami 3. Mia Clark 6 pass from Marino (pass failed), 14:38. Drive: 76 yards, 9 plays.

Key plays: Marino 32 pass to Hill; Marino 1 4 pass to Kirby. Atlanta 14, Miami 9. Fourth Quarter Atl Mathis 16 pass from George (pass failed), 1:28. Drive: 80 yards, 12 plays. Key plays: George 1 run on 4th-and-1 George 1 5 pass to Mathis.

Atlanta 20, Miami 9. Mia Parmalee 3 run (pass failed), 7:06. Drive: 80 yards, 13 plays. Key plays: Marino 7 pass to Fryar on 3rd-and-6; Marino 14 pass to McDuffie on 4th-and-3. Atlanta 20, Miami 15.

Mia Fryar 21 pass from Marino (pass failed), 14:49. Drive: 72 yards, 8 plays. Key plays: Marino 1 7 pass to McDuffie; Marino 12 run. Miami 21, Atlanta 20. Attendance: 63,395 INDIVIDUAL official count of such fourth-quarter rescues orchestratea by Marino is now the reverse of his famous jersey number.

Thirty-one times he has saved the Dolphins. Team historians keep very specific recordings of such events, but there is no manner by which they can measure what Marino might have salvaged Sunday afternoon in Joe Robbie Stadium. The value of Miami's improbable 21-20 triumph over the Falcons, in balance of won-lost record, is simply that the Dolphins are just ahead of the game with a 7-6 ledger instead of just behind it with a 6-7 mark. rescue effort and he's in charge. "I don't know what's going to happen," Marino said.

Nobody does. Not with this team. Kansas City, regarded as the AFC's best, visits a week from tonight. Thereafter, road games at Buffalo and St. Louis.

The schedule is difficult, but there is still meaning to it. A football was stuffed into Marino's helmet. Under his arm, as always, he carries the Dolphins' season into whatever sunshine he can find. string of desultory performances. There had been only two victories since the first day of October.

How important will Marino's 72-yard show prove to be to the psyche and sanity of these Dolphins? Will his last two plays against Atlanta a 12-yard scramble (well, a 12-yard hobble) for a first down and a 21-yard throw for a game-winning touchdown be enough to lift Miami's spirit? Is a late-season climb possible from the deep well in which the Dolphins have existed for so long? The early expectations mentioned by Marino are now a late-season si Of 1IP 1. 1 I H. it' i Miami RUSHING Att Yds Avg Long TD Parmalee 19 70 3.7 12 1 Marino 1 12 12.0 12 0 Byars 1 4 4.0 4 0 Kirby 1 -1 -1 0 PASSING Att Com Yds TD Int Marino 50 35 343 2 2 RECEIVING No. Yds Avg Long TD McDuffie 6 96 16.0 30 0 Fryar 6 78 13.0 21 I Green 5 35 7.0 12 0 Byars 5 23 4.6 1 1 0 Kirby 4 30 7.5 14 0 Parmalee 4 19 4.8 6 0 Clark 3 21 7.0 8 1 Hill 2 41 20.5 32 0 PUNTING No. Avg Long Kidd 1 38.0 38 PUNT RETURNS No.

Yds Avg Long McDuffie I 8 8.0 8 KICKOFF RETURNS No. Yds Avg Long Hill 1 28 28.0 28 DEFENSE Tackles Sacks UT A Tot NoYd Oliver 5 2 7 Smith 5 2 7 Cox 4 2 6 Cross 4 2 6 16 Stewart 1 5 6 Atkins 3 1 4 Coleman 1 3 4 Buckley 3 0 3 Armstrong 2 1 3 Jackson 2 0 2 Bowens 1 0 1 Emtman 0 1 1 Vincent 0 1 1 Atlanta RUSHING Att Yds Avg Long TD Heyward 13 41 3.2 16 0 Metcalf 2 27 13.5 23 1 Anderson 6 22 3.7 9 0 George 3 2 0.7 1 0 PASSING Att Com Yds TD Int George 23 17 210 2 0 RECEIVING No. Yds Avg Long TD Metcalf 6 59 9.8 19 0 Emanuel 5 85 17.0 25 1 Mathis 3 40 13.3 16 1 Brown 3 26 8.7 11 0 PUNTING No. Avg Long Stryzinski 3 35.0 41 PUNT RETURNS No. Yds Avg Long Metcalf I 0 0.0 0 KICKOFF RETURNS No.

Yds Avg Long Anderson 4 79 19.8 33 INTERCEPTIONS No Yds Long Ross 1 33 33 4, f. I i 'FL I I a 'rk I I ALLEN EYESTONEStaff Photographer Helpless Atlanta quarterback Jeff George can only watch Bryan Cox (51) lead the Dolphins' celebration after the defense stopped Craig Heyward on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 27 with 1:49 to play. Dolphins rebound from early drops, miscues to win Matthews Another Game-Winner Mistakes fade as Miami does just enough By DAN GRAZIANO Palm Beach Post Staff Writer For so long Sunday, it looked like more of the same for the Miami Dolphins. Silly mistakes were killing them dropped balls, blown coverages the usual stuff. The errors that had kept them from winning for almost a month.

But Sunday was different, in one very basic way. Sunday, the Dolphins won. "We could have had many more points on the board," coach Don Shula said. "We had some dropped balls, touchdown passes and (had) the opportunity to score more points early. But we managed to stay close and won at the end when we had to win." When the final score is 21-20 and you're the ones with the 21, mistakes are easy to ignore.

In fact, linebacker Bryan Cox bristled at the mention of the early mistakes, which included five dropped passes, an end-zone interception and a blocked Pete Stoyanovich field goal. "I don't even want to hear about the negative stuff," Cox said. "We got it done. We won the game. That's all that should be said.

Hooray, the Dolphins won a game for a change." Wide receiver Irving Fryar said early anxiety contributed to some of the blunders. "Were we playing tight? Yes," Fryar said. "I mean, we wanted to fly around and make it fun, but we realized in the back of our heads that this was 'the And we made some mistakes that we would not have normally made if it was not such a big game." Fryar dropped the first ball Dan Marino threw to him, but he also caught the game-winning touchdown pass, so that made it easy for him to discuss the early miscues. "It was a post pattern and a great throw," Fryar said of his drop. "The defensive back kind nf waved his hand in my face, but there's no excuse for it." Fryar also said that, despite the last three weeks and Sunday's first three quarters, the Dolphins were confident they could win the game.

"We all have that confidence," he said. "We know that we have the capability of going down and scoring anytime we want to. The times that we were stopped today, we stopped ourselves. Dropped balls there were a lot of dropped balls today. But all in all, we won." A nice, albeit unfamilar feeling.

When Marino found Fryar in the end zone in the final minute, the Dolphins felt the kind of relief they haven't had since San Diego. "Things were starting to get a little bleak," said an upbeat defensive end Jeff Cross. "But as long as you've got a guy like Dan slinging the rock, you've got a chance." And despite their mistakes, the Dolphins ptill have one. DEFENSE Tackles UT A Bush 9 3 Talley 7 1 Johnson 6 2 Walker 6 1 Tuggle 5 2 Ross 2 4 Matthews 2 2 Taylor 3 0 Geathers 2 0 Archambeau 1 1 Doleman 1 1 Edwards I 1 Gardner 1 1 Smith 0 1 Sacks Tot NoYds 12 8 8 7 7 6 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 AFC East Pet. Buffalo 8 5 0 .615 Miami 7 6 0 .538 Indianapolis 7 6 0 .538 New England 5 8 0 .385 New York Jets 3 10 0 .231 SUNDAY RESULTS Carolina 13, Indianapolis 10 Miami 21, Atlanta 20 New Orleans 31, New England 17 St.

Louis 23, New York Jets 20 San Francisco 27, Buffalo 17 SUNDAY, DEC. 10 Buffalo at St. Louis, 1 p.m. New York Jets at New England, 1 p.m. Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.

MONDAY, DEC. 11 Kansas City at Miami, 9 p.m. The Dolphins' game-winning drive Sunday, ending the 31st fourth-quarter comeback victory of Dan Marino's career: Time D-D Ball at Play 1:49 1-10 Miami 28 Marino passes incomplete to Clark 1:42 2-10 Miami 28 Marino passes 1 1 yards to McDuffie 1:21 1-10 Miami 39 Marino passes incomplete to Hill 1:15 2-10 Miami 39 Marino passes 1 1 yards to Fryar :49 1-10 Atlanta 50 Marino passes 17 yards to McDuffie :33 1-10 Atlanta 33 Marino passes incomplete to McDuffie :27 2-10 Atlanta 33 Marino scrambles 12 yards :20 1-10 Atlanta 21 Marino passes 21 yards to Fryar, TD Milestones -Time when play began DOLPHINS From 1C The Dolphins kept their playoff chances alive and improved to 7-6. More important, combined with the.Colts' loss to Carolina and the Bills' loss to San Francisco, Miami moved into a second-place tie in the AFC East, one game behind Buffalo. "Now, linebacker Bryan Cox said, "we can get some of the heat off of us." Heat that had been generating mainly on coach Don Shula, who called the past week the toughest of his coaching career, what with everyone from Tequesta to Taver-nier calling for his job.

"Neither he nor Tom Oliva-dotti nor any of the other coaches deserved to go through what they went through," Cox said. "All the fan polls, they were cheap shots. That won't be forgotten." "Everything has been so negative," Shula said. Even the players admitted it was hard to keep positive on Sunday, for at times the situation looked bleak as Miami won despite several errors. The Dolphins dropped (by one count) five passes.

One pass to Eric Green went through the tight end's hands in the end zone and turned into an interception the first of two Dolphins trips inside Atlanta's 10-yard-line when they got no points (Pete Stoyanovich's 21 -yard field-goal attempt was blocked). Fryar dropped a perfectly thrown first-period pass behind the secondary that would have been a touchdown. "We should have scored 40 points," guard Tom McIIale said. "We were moving up and down the field all day." Still, Miami had "the ball and The fourth-quarter comeback was the 3 1 st rally led by QB Dan Marino. He trails only Denver QB John Elway (35) on the list of active quarterbacks Marino's 343 yards gave him the all-time mark for 300-yard passing games with 52, moving him past San Diego Hall of Famer Dan Fouts Marino completed 35 passes for the third time in his career.

Only once on Nov. 16, 1986, against Buffalo, has he completed more (39). Making their first starts this season for the Dolphins were CB Terrell Buckley and DT Steve Emtman WR Irving Fryar tied a career high with his seventh touchdown catch of the season in the fourth quarter RB Bernie Parmalee's 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter tied his career high of six touchdowns in a season Atlanta kicker Morten Andersen set an NFL record by scoring at least a point in his 187th consecutive game, a streak that dates to 1983. The previous record belonged to kicker Jim Breech. DARIN KLAHR "At first I was shocked," Gary Clark said when he saw Marino take off.

"It showed the character of a great player," Green said. "I've always been able to run the ball when I've had to," countered Marino. That set up the throw to Fryar, a play the Dolphins practice often for just such an occasion. McIIale called the lift from the win "immeasurable." Defensive line coach Joe Greene used a more descriptive image: "It's like you're under water and you come up and take that deep breath when you really need it. This was us getting that breath of air." Greene quickly added, though, that the Dolphins still "need to get out of the deep end of the pool." Next on the schedule is a Monday night game against Kansas City, which has the best record in the AFC.

"I'll be able to tell you how big (Sunday's win was) on Tuesday," Clark said. "If it carries through, it was a big lift." and Cox tackled Ironhead Heyward to give the Dolphins the ball with 1:49 left. Miami had one more chance and Marino, who now has 31 fourth-period comebacks. "That man's a walking Hall of Fame," Falcons safety Kevin Ross said. "You don't want to give him too many opportunities to do things with the ball, because sooner or later, he's going to get you." An 11-yard pass to O.J.

McDuffie who had a monster game with six catches for 96 yards, five that converted first downs and another 1 1-yarder to Fryar put the ball at the 50. There, Marino again found McDuffie over the middle for 17 yards and a first down. The Falcons called time out. On first down, Marino overthrew McDuffie. On second, nobody was open.

So Marino ran. Wearing an ankle brace, a knee brace and a special pad to protect his bruised hip, he "scooted" right and ran out of bounds at the 21. trailed by only five in the fourth period. But Marino threw an interception on third-and-3, as linebacker Clay Matthews stepped in front of pass intended for Green with 4:49 left. "That was a play that we ran numerous times in the game," Green said.

"He's been in the league that long for a reason." Atlanta converted one first down to the Dolphins 36, then gained 9 yards on Jamal Anderson's first-down run. Atlanta was 1 yard from securing the victory. But Louis Oliver stopped Anderson on second down and Jeff George didn't make the yard on a third-down sneak (he said he got a bad spot). Fourth down, inches to go. Atlanta coach June Jones could have turned to Morton Andersen, one of the NFL's all-time best kickers, to try a 44-yard field goal.

He went for the first down. "We felt we could win the game right there," Jones said. Tim Bowens plugged the hole.