Bills Cash in Miami Mistakes

The Miami Dolphins remained winless despite producing an effort that encouraged Coach Don Shula.

“The only positive thing that has come out of this game is the way that they got back together and played a good, hard, tough football game, but we still didn’t manage to win it,” Shula said Sunday following the Dolphins’ 9-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Dolphins last week were embarrassed, 34-7, by the Chicago Bears, which left Shula wondering about his team’s mettle.

“It’s a tough loss because I thought our football team could bounce back and I just didn’t feel we were as bad as we played against the Bears,” Shula said. “Now it’s the same old story of starting slow, the thing that we hoped that we wouldn’t do this year. But now we have started slowly.”

The game turned into a kicking battle, with both offenses plagued by turnovers and dropped passes. Scott Norwood kicked three field goals, including a 28-yard game-winner with 3:12 left.

Norwood’s game-winning kick capped a 56-yard drive in eight plays following a missed 50-yard attempt by Miami’s Fuad Reveiz, who hit twice earlier.

The Bills held off a final Miami drive with 37 seconds left, when, on fourth and 5, quarterback Dan Marino overthrew Jim Jensen, who was being closely defended by safety Mark Kelso. Marino finished 22 of 34 for 221 yards, while his counterpart, Jim Kelly, completed 15 of 24 for 231 yards despite playing with the flu.

The Bills improved to 2-0 despite not scoring a touchdown.

“We won a game against a team that’s a darn good football team,” Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said. “I feel fantastic. We won a game against a team in our division. The game could have gone either way. We could have walked off the field on the short end.”

The Dolphins dominated the first quarter, gaining 54 rushing yards--exceeding their entire output last Sunday--and passing for 36 yards compared to Buffalo’s 7.

Miami took a 3-0 lead on Reveiz’s 31-yard field goal following cornerback William Judson’s interception on Buffalo’s first possession.

Buffalo tied the score, 3-3, in the second quarter after Marino was tackled by Art Still, sending the ball bouncing across the field until Buffalo’s Scott Radecic recovered it at the 42. Kelly threw for 12, 2 and 4 yards and appeared to have connected with Robb Riddick in the end zone, but officials ruled the veteran running back did not have possession. A replay review upheld the decision. The Bills settled for Norwood’s 41-yard field goal.

Miami went ahead, 6-3, in the third after a 17-yard drive that began with Hugh Green’s recovery of Trumaine Johnson’s fumble at the Bills’ 32. On third and 3, Marino’s pass was tipped away by Still, so the Dolphins had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Reveiz.

It went to 6-6 in the fourth when Norwood hit from 35 yards out.