Marino, Dolphins Give Kelly Lesson and Win One-Punt Game, 27-14

Two of the game’s leading quarterbacks, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, met here for the first time as professionals Sunday and celebrated with a total of 545 passing yards in a game that only had one punt.

Even so, it was mainly a learning experience for Kelly, who, following brief apprenticeships at the University of Miami and in the United States Football League, had joined the Buffalo Bills only this season.

“We taught him that the long ball comes hard in this league,” a Miami linebacker said after the Dolphins turned back Buffalo, 27-14, for only their second win of a tough season.

The linebacker was Bob Brudzinski, formerly of the Rams, who thinks Kelly and Buffalo are barely a year away from parity with other teams in the AFC East.

“Kelly’s problem this season is that he doesn’t know his receivers as well as Marino knows his,” Brudzinski said. “He’s got everything else.”

Kelly completed 20 of 28 passes for 218 yards, while Marino, in his first Marino-like game in three weeks, completed 24 of 41 for 337 yards. And just before the half, the Miami quarterback broke up a close game--a game that Buffalo led, 7-3--with the sort of play that Kelly is still learning to make.

Under an all-out blitz, Marino retreated just far enough to keep out of harm’s way while lofting a long pass to wide receiver Mark Duper for 30 yards and the game’s key touchdown. Buffalo safety Dwight Drane crushed Marino just as the quarterback unloaded.

After Marino began the second half with some passes that led the Dolphins 67 and 76 yards to two more touchdowns, Kelly was too far out of it to catch up.

“Dan read the blitz and got it off,” Miami Coach Don Shula said of the Marino-Duper play.

In a similar spot in the third quarter, when the Bills still had a chance, Kelly failed against a Miami blitzer and went down for a nine-yard loss to end a promising Buffalo drive.

Remarkably, however, Kelly moved his team with every series. And so did Marino. They combined to tie an National Football League record shared by only four other clubs: fewest times punting. The Bills had the game’s only punt.

With their new quarterback, the Bills got Miami’s attention this season with five surprising games in which they led every opponent in the fourth quarter before going down four times.

Simultaneously, the Dolphins had been sliding downhill, playing worse every week.

“I can’t remember many days when this team hasn’t played football competitively,” Shula said. “But against New England and the 49ers in the last two weeks, we weren’t even competitive. So this was a game we really had to have.”

The win put Miami’s record at 2-4, compared to Buffalo’s 1-5.

“A win over the Raiders next week would get us back to respectability,” Shula said.

Against Buffalo’s defense, Marino seemed about as sharp as ever. Most of his trouble came on gimmick plays. The Dolphins, facing good rushers in this division, including Buffalo’s Bruce Smith, have been trying to have Marino roll out occasionally, and against the Bills they even attempted a flea-flicker play.

Marino threw the ball inaccurately on all such occasions. He was most accurate when throwing out of the pocket--even against heavy blitzes.

Buffalo blitzed him unsuccessfully on Marino’s most successful throws.

Kelly is a similar kind of quick-release passer, but in the NFL, Kelly is just starting. He still has a couple of things to learn.