Take-Charge Raiders Defeat Dolphins : Pro football: L.A.’s defense sets the tone by manhandling Marino. The offense establishes its running game in 13-10 victory.

It was Monday night, and the nation was watching, so the Raiders wasted little time with their agenda of dismantling the Miami Dolphins, setting a tone that carried them through four quarters and to a 13-10 victory before 70,553 at Joe Robbie Stadium.

How’s this for establishing tempo: On the first series, the Raider defense smashed tailback Sammie Smith the first time he touched the ball and sacked quarterback Dan Marino twice. Marino once went 759 consecutive attempts without being dropped.

When the Raiders got the ball, they ran eight consecutive running plays before the drive stalled. Any questions as to how the game was going to be played?

The Raiders figured it would be low-scoring; down and dirty. They raised no objections. They knew it would be close and only hoped to be standing in the end.

“I knew in my heart that it would come down to Marino with the ball with two minutes left,” defensive end Howie Long said. “I knew it.”

Long was right. The Raiders stopped the Dolphins on fourth down at midfield with 1:16 to play, preserving a victory that improved their record to 7-3.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Raiders have never been much for makeup. They took a 10-0 lead and held on in a fourth quarter awash with big plays and big blunders, especially when it came to managing the game clock.

The fact that they could not get a play off before the play clock ran down cost the Dolphins a possible winning touchdown and two timeouts they could have used in the final minutes when driving into Raider territory.

Trailing, 13-7, early in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins had what appeared to be a three-yard touchdown pass from Marino to Tony Martin. But Miami didn’t get the play off in time, the officials ruled, and the Dolphins had to settle for a 26-yard field goal.

Later in the game, the Dolphins were forced to call time out on fourth and five at their 46. After deciding to punt, they were called for delay again. When they got the ball back with 1:58 remaining at their 43, trailing by three points, they were left with no timeouts. The Raiders held off the final charge, dropping the Dolphins to 8-2.

Marino completed 20 of 36 passes for 214 yards, but was under pressure all night.

Defensive end Scott Davis said the two sacks early kept Marino a little more nervous in the pocket.

“It was important,” Davis said. “We wanted to hit him low. He doesn’t like being hit low. We put some good pressure on.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders gave up only 14 net yards rushing. Smith finished with six carries for minus six yards.

Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder completed 10 of 19 passes for 116 yards, getting outstanding protection from his offensive line. Schroeder was not sacked by a Miami defense that had 35 sacks entering the game.

“I never even got knocked down,” Schroeder said. “I got my knee dirty because I put my knee down in the huddle.”

The Raiders controlled the ball on the ground with the one-two punch of Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson, who have slumped as a tandem in recent weeks.

Jackson gained 99 yards in 17 carries; Allen added 79 yards in 19 carries.

The Raiders dominated the first 28 minutes of the first half only to have their deeds wasted in the last two minutes. The Raiders took a 10-0 lead with 1:57 left in the half on a two-yard run by Allen that capped an 18-play, 79-yard drive that took 9:18. The Raiders sacked Marino twice in the first series after he had been sacked only six times all season. Until the final two minutes, the Raiders had held the Miami offense to three net yards.

But in the first half, the Raiders squandered their three scoring chances and the Dolphins took advantage of their only real opportunity:

After a 22-yard punt by Reggie Roby, the Raiders ran Allen eight consecutive times for 41 yards on their first possession, three more times than Allen carried in all of last week’s loss to Green Bay. The Raiders moved to the Miami 10, but the drive ended there when safety Louis Oliver stopped Allen for no gain on a fourth-and-one attempt.

On their second possession, the Raiders drove to the Miami 12-yard line, but had to settle for Jeff Jaeger’s 23-yard field goal.

The Raiders got it right on their third try, controlling the ground and the clock with a drive that began on their 21 with 11:24 left and ended with a touchdown with 2:06 remaining.

Then, it all fell apart in the final 1:57, as Marino completed passes of 18, 16, 13 and 11 yards to the Raider 19 in a span of 1:16. A holding call on cornerback Lionel Washington pushed the ball to the 14, and Marino hit Scott Schwedes on a 14-yard scoring pass with 31 seconds left.

Raider Notes

Because of league waiver rules, the Raiders will have to wait in a long line for the chance to claim defensive end Dexter Manley, the former Washington Redskin standout who was reinstated Monday by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue after serving a one-year suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. A team executive wouldn’t confirm that the Raiders were even interested in Manley, but guessed Manley would be gone before the team could make a decision. Teams have the opportunity to claim Manley in reverse order of won-loss record, giving New England the first chance at 1-9. Entering Monday night’s game, 18 teams had fewer victories than the Raiders.

Quarterback Steve Beuerlein and defensive end Bill Pickel were inactive for Monday’s game. The Dolphins de-activated quarterback Scott Mitchell and starting fullback Tony Paige, who has a knee injury. It was the first game Paige had missed since high school. . . . Mervyn Fernandez ran his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 40. . . . Several officials from Los Angeles made the trip to inspect state-of-the-art Joe Robbie Stadium to aid in the renovation of the Coliseum. . . . The Miami defense had not given up a rushing touchdown in 25 quarters until Marcus Allen’s two-yard scoring run with 2:06 left in the half.

RUN AND RUN: The Raiders attack the Dolphins’ strength. Chris Baker’s story, C9