Marino Streak Ends as Bills Get 2 Sacks; Dolphins Lose, 31-17

Thurman Thomas rushed for 148 yards in 27 carries and Larry Kinnebrew had 121 in 21 tries and each scored a touchdown as the Buffalo Bills emphasized the run and the pass rush in a 31-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins Sunday.

The Bills have won three in a row and five of their last six and lead the American Conference East with a 6-2 record.

The game was played before 80,208 fans--the largest crowd ever at Rich Stadium.

Buffalo twice sacked Dan Marino, who had gone 19 games without being sacked, and gained 280 against the Dolphins. Thomas and Kinnebrew accounted for all but 11 of those yards.

The Bills ran on 51 of their 60 plays.

With Frank Reich at quarterback, Buffalo has won all three games since Jim Kelly separated a shoulder in a 37-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 8.

Jeff Wright snapped Marino’s streak of 759 pass attempts without a sack in the second quarter, and Cornelius Bennett had another sack in the fourth quarter.

Marino also threw three interceptions, with Kirby Jackson returning his second of the game 40 yards for a touchdown with three minutes to play. Scott Secules then replaced Marino, who had 20 completions in 36 attempts for 255 yards.

The Dolphins (4-4) managed only 65 yards rushing in losing for the first time in four games.

A 21-point second quarter by the Bills blew the game open and gave them a 21-3 lead at halftime.

Kinnebrew opened the explosion two seconds into the quarter with a one-yard touchdown run. All 15 plays on the 76-yard drive were rushes.

A Bennett interception at the Miami 42-yard line set up the score that put Buffalo ahead, 14-3. Bruce Smith, who stopped Dolphins running back Sammie Smith several times for losses in the first half, hurried Marino into throwing the interception.

Thomas finished the four-play drive with a 30-yard scoring run. The play began as a sweep to the right and Thomas dodged four would-be tacklers before cutting to the left and into the end zone.

The final touchdown of the quarter came on a 63-yard pass from Reich to rookie Don Beebe.

Miami’s two touchdowns came on two 44-yard passes, one from Marino to Mark Clayton and the other from Secules to Andre Brown.