Patriots Can’t Kick in 24-10 Loss to Miami

Things have never been easy against the New England Patriots for Dan Marino, until Sunday.

Marino threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Miami Dolphins capitalized on botched punt plays on the Patriots’ first two possessions for a 24-10 victory.

“We got field position early and kept moving the ball well,” Marino said. “When we got ahead, they had to throw on nearly every down.”

The Dolphins (1-1) ended a 10-game losing streak against AFC East rivals and a seven-game string of setbacks against the Patriots (1-1), who last lost to Miami on Dec. 16, 1985.

Marino is 4-8 against the Patriots in his career.

New England mistakes gave Miami the ball inside New England’s 30-yard line twice, leading to 10 early points and a 24-0 halftime lead.

“The first half was a thing of beauty,” Miami Coach Don Shula said.

Patriot quarterback Tony Eason was sacked seven times, the most by the Dolphins since Sept. 14, 1986. Miami extended its NFL record to 14 straight games without allowing a sack.

New England tried to surprise Miami with a fake punt from its own 20 after the Dolphins stopped the Patriots on their first series. However, punter Jeff Feagles overthrew Sammy Martin.

Marino capitalized with a 16-yard scoring pass, the first of his two touchdown passes to utilityman Jim Jensen, giving the Dolphins a 14-0 lead.

Incredibly, the Patriots botched another punt minutes later. A poor snap to Feagles led to another incomplete pass by the punter and gave Miami the ball at the Patriot 29. This time, the Dolphins settled for a 31-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich, making the score 17-0 with 4:04 left in the first quarter.

Mark Clayton, who began practicing with the Dolphins Tuesday after missing training camp and the first game of the regular season because he held out in a contract dispute, caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Marino on the first series of the game.

“We played together for six years,” Clayton said. “(Marino) knows what I think and I know what he thinks.”

Miami’s final score of the first half came on a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by Marino’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Jensen 7:45 before halftime.

New England scored on Greg Davis’ 28-yard field goal in the third quarter and Eason’s 10-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes on the last play of the game.

Marino completed 17 of 28 passes for 226 yards but had three interceptions to go with his three touchdowns.

The three touchdown passes gave Marino 200 for his career in only 89 games, establishing an NFL record for reaching that plateau in the fewest games. Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts set the record of 200 in his first 121 games.

“He’s tough,” Patriot cornerback Raymond Clayborn said of Marino. “That’s how he set the record. He can throw it over anyone when he’s hot.”

Forced to throw most of the second half, Eason completed 25 of 49 passes for 341 yards and one interception.

Stanley Morgan caught six of those passes for 88 yards, giving him 10,028 career receiving yards and making him the seventh NFL player to reach 10,000 receiving yards.