Miami Escapes a Cleveland Vise, 24-21

more than three quarters Saturday, this game belonged to the homecoming king. Cleveland quarterback Bernie Kosar wasn’t setting passing records the way he once did in the Orange Bowl while playing for the University of Miami, but his team was winning, and winning big.

Almost four minutes into the second half, Cleveland, an 8-8 team that some critics said didn’t belong in the playoffs, was leading Miami, 21-3, in an American Football Conference playoff game.

“Cleveland?” read a sign on a car in the Orange Bowl parking lot. “Get Serious.”

Down by 18 points in the third quarter, that’s exactly what the Dolphins did. They shut out Kosar and the Browns for the rest of the game and scored three touchdowns, the final one with 1:57 remaining, to win, 24-21.

The Dolphins, AFC East champions with a 12-4 regular-season record, play next Sunday against the winner of today’s game between the Raiders and the New England Patriots. If the Dolphins win, they will go to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.

Even though the Dolphins were heavily favored to beat the Browns, who qualified for the playoffs by winning the AFC Central Division despite there being six conference teams with better records, the essence of this game was almost predictable. And the Browns’ strategy was most certainly predictable.

The Dolphins have won this season despite their defense, which is ranked 23rd in the NFL against the run. The Browns were fourth in the league this season in rushing and have in their backfield Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, who both gained more than 1,000 yards during the regular season.

So, if you were Brown Coach Marty Schottenheimer, what else would you do but run?

Byner, a third-year running back from East Carolina, was superb Saturday, gaining 161 yards in 16 carries. Two other running backs, Mack and Curtis Dickey, combined for 84 yards in 19 carries.

Byner scored his first touchdown with 58 seconds left in the first half, taking an inside handoff from Kosar out of the shotgun offense and running 21 yards, the final four while dragging a Dolphin behind him. That gave the Browns a 14-3 halftime lead.

But it was his next touchdown that almost buried the Dolphins. On the Browns’ fourth play of the second half, Byner got a block at the line of scrimmage from left tackle Rickey Bolden and another downfield from wide receiver Clarence Weathers on his way to a 66-yard touchdown run. It not only gave the Browns a 21-3 lead but also virtually silenced an Orange Bowl crowd of 75,128.

“They just overpowered us,” Miami safety Glenn Blackwood said of the Browns’ offensive line. “At the point of attack, they were winning.”

Miami Coach Don Shula admitted that early in the third quarter he already was beginning to think about the off-season. The Dolphins decided they weren’t ready for it to begin.

“We felt that as far as we’ve come, it would have been very tough to live with in the off-season if we had lost,” Shula said.

The Dolphins had little success passing downfield in the first two quarters. Quarterback Dan Marino didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver in the first half.

So the Dolphins changed their strategy, passing to their tight ends and running backs underneath the Browns’ coverage.

“Nickel-and-dime stuff,” said Miami running back Tony Nathan, who finished with 10 receptions for 101 yards.

On their first possession after Byner’s long touchdown run, the Dolphins drove 74 yards in 13 plays, Marino passing six yards to wide receiver Nat Moore for the touchdown.

On their next possession, the Dolphins drove 48 yards in 5 plays, fullback Ron Davenport going the final 31 after running over Brown safety Don Rogers. With 1:41 remaining in the third quarter, Cleveland’s lead had been cut to 21-17.

The Browns were still in control midway through the fourth quarter when they drove from their own nine to the Miami 48 with fewer than eight minutes remaining.

Facing a third-and-two situation, Schottenheimer decided not to call for a run up the middle, where the Browns had been most effective, but to go with a sweep by Dickey, who had been effective running outside in the first half.

The play was in trouble before it started.

Byner, injured on the previous play, headed for the sideline. But the Cleveland coaches waved him back on the field. When he arrived in the huddle, the play already had been called. Kosar told him the play after the huddle broke.

“I heard it,” Byner said, “but it didn’t register.”

As a result, Byner went the wrong way and didn’t block his man, Miami defensive end Mack Moore, who dropped Dickey for a six-yard loss.

Kosar didn’t second-guess that play specifically, but he did say he believed that the Browns lost because they didn’t pass more often, particularly after they had a 21-3 lead.

He threw only 19 times, completing 10 for 66 yards. By contrast, Marino threw 45 times, completing 25 for 238 yards.

“We need to improve our passing philosophy,” Kosar said. “It’s not at a professional level.

“We were running the ball well, but you need to loosen up a defense. That was our philosophy when I played at the University of Miami. It’s not our philosophy here.”

With the Browns stopped at midfield, they punted to the Dolphins, who fumbled at their 27. The Browns’ Scott Nicolas said he recovered the fumble, but the officials ruled that it belonged to Miami’s Tommy Vigorito.

On the second play of the ensuing drive, Marino threw a short pass to Nathan, who ran for 39 yards to the Cleveland 34. From there, it took the Dolphins eight plays to score the winning touchdown on a one-yard run by Davenport with 1:57 remaining.

The Browns didn’t threaten in the final two minutes.

“I think they were surprised when we went ahead, 21-3,” Cleveland nose guard Bob Golic said. “I don’t think they expected it. I know they didn’t expect it. But great teams don’t quit, and they didn’t.”

Said Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome: “The game is four quarters, not three quarters.”