Marino Uses Afterburners, Blasts Jets : Miami: Trailing 20-3 late in first half, Dolphins bounce back with big plays to win, 31-23.

While Dan Marino was making the big plays, the New York Jets were failing on the little ones.

Marino threw for three touchdowns as Miami’s quick-striking attack rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the New York Jets, 31-23, Sunday.

“That’s Dan,” Dolphin Coach Don Shula said. “That’s what he’s done throughout his career for us. He makes things happen.”

The Dolphins, beating the Jets for the first time in five years, started making it happen when they trailed, 20-3, with 1:28 to go in the first half.

Marino, who has had a lot of big games against the Jets, passed to rookie Andre Brown for a seven-yard score with 44 seconds left in the half.

Then in the third quarter, Marino had two big touchdown pass plays, one good for 78 yards to Mark Clayton and another good for 65 yards to Scott Schwedes, who was playing in the place of injured Mark Duper.

Sammie Smith added a two-yard touchdown run as the Dolphins outscored the Jets, 21-0, in the third quarter. The Jets (2-8) are 0-5 at home.

“We hit the big plays, which is what we always have to do against the Jets,” Marino said. “That’s always the way it is.”

One of those plays was a big kick. Dolphin rookie Pete Stoyanovich connected on the third longest field goal in NFL history, a 59-yarder, in the second period. Kicking with a stiff wind estimated at 25 m.p.h., Stoyanovich’s line drive barely cleared the crossbar. Only Tom Dempsey of New Orleans (63 yards) and Steve Cox of Cleveland (60) have done better.

The Jets, meanwhile, were plagued by failures on short-yardage situations. They failed on six third or fourth down situations when they needed one yard, including twice on runs by Johnny Hector near the goal line.

Inexplicably, the Jets went outside on nearly all the short-yardage plays.

“Their force underneath our guards forced me to go outside,” said Hector, who has the option where to run on such plays. “They made the plays, we didn’t.”

Which is why Miami is 6-4 and, with a relatively easy schedule ahead, has a good shot at the playoffs.

After Stoyanovich’s kick, the Jets moved 69 yards in six plays, with Ken O’Brien throwing a flare pass to Freeman McNeil, who carried into the end zone to complete a 25-yard scoring play.

That made it 20-3 with 1:28 left in the half.

Then Marino, stymied earlier by two interceptions and his own fumble, needed just 44 seconds to get Miami its first touchdown. He passed to Schwedes for 32 and 10 yards, then threw to Brown for the score.

It took Marino just one play in the second half to make it 20-17. Clayton beat Bobby Humphery’s one-on-one coverage for the longest touchdown reception of his career.

“It was a great call by Marino, it wasn’t the play called in the huddle,” Clayton said. “When he came to the line and saw we had man coverage, he checked off. He just put it up where it had to be and I just ran to where I had to be.”

Stoyanovich missed a 52-yarder to tie midway through the third quarter. But Marino struck quickly again late in the period, giving Miami the lead with his 65-yard touchdown pass to Schwedes.