THE NFL PLAYOFFS : Bills’ Offense Plays Up a Storm : AFC: Kelly sharp in return as Buffalo beats Miami, 44-34, and earns right to play host in conference title game.

It was a game that may forever change the approach to snow bowls, a game where pass rushers and pass defenders played as if they were wearing roller skates and quarterbacks and receivers performed as if they were running their patterns and playing catch in the street.

Snow fell continuously throughout Saturday’s AFC Divisional playoff game between Buffalo and Miami, and officials even had to halt action in the second half so the sidelines and end zones could be cleared. But this one never deteriorated into a classic foul-weather battle of field position. In fact, the foul conditions seemed to help two of the NFL’s premier passers, who combined to throw for 662 yards and six touchdowns.

In the end, the Bills and quarterback Jim Kelly prevailed over Dan Marino and the Dolphins, 44-34, in a shootout reminiscent of the days when these American Football League rivals used to play that last-guy-with-ball-wins brand of football. The 78 points scored were a record for an NFL playoff game that was decided in regulation.

“It was the strangest combination of factors,” Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said after his team won the right to play host to the AFC title game a week from today. “It really hindered the defenses more than the offenses.”

As a result, both quarterbacks had more than ample time to survey the field and wait for their receivers to get open. There were no sacks recorded, and the Bills didn’t punt until less than five minutes remained in the game and they had a 17-point lead.

Seven players had 38 or more receiving yards. Three had more than 112. And much to the delight of the 77,087 well-chilled fans in Rich Stadium, the two leaders were Bill wide receivers James Lofton (142) and Andre Reed (122), who combined to score three touchdowns.

“It was pretty horrible out there,” Buffalo defensive end Bruce Smith said. “You couldn’t pass rush, you couldn’t turn the corner, it was really slippery.”

That was evident from the outset. And the slant pattern over the middle soon became the favorite big-play call of the day for both teams. The wideouts gained a quick step on their defenders by turning toward the middle and then simply raced across the field, waiting to take a pass in stride.

“Offensively, you know the direction that you’re going, so it looks like the conditions favored the offense,” Miami Coach Don Shula understated.

At first, it figured the weather would favor the Bills’ offense, which features a solid running attack led by Thurman Thomas. And Thomas did gain 117 yards rushing, but much of that was set up by Buffalo’s passing game. Then, when it became apparent that this was an afternoon for passing fancy, the magic of Marino seemed to have the edge.

But very little about this contest ran true to form.

Kelly, returning to action after missing a month with a knee injury, completed 11 of his first 16 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He said later the rest actually helped “put the zip back” into his arm.

Kelly was listed as “questionable” before the game and said that he wasn’t positive he would play until Friday night, but many of his teammates said they were sure he would play after watching him practice all week.

Then there was Marino, who came in riding the hot streak. He had completed nine consecutive passes in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins rallied to beat Kansas City in last weekend’s first-round playoff.

Only seven of his first 23 passes were caught by teammates, however, although three incompletions were negated by defensive penalties, and once he threw the ball out of bounds on purpose and was called for intentional grounding.

In the first half, Marino was shaky, but he reverted to form in the second half and brought the Dolphins back from a 20-3 deficit. Miami closed the gap to 30-27 when he hit wide-open Roy Foster, a 284-pound guard who lined up as a tight end, with a two-yard scoring pass less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

Buffalo put together a scoring drive of 63 yards, however, and then kicker Scott Norwood recovered a fumble by Miami’s Marc Logan on the ensuing kickoff. Two plays later, Kelly completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Reed, putting this snow bowl on ice.

“You know Dan Marino didn’t get here by playing sloppy,” Kelly said. “We went with what we thought we could do best. The defensive backs couldn’t play real tight, because one slip could mean six points.”

The Dolphins were downright sloppy in the early going. The Bills were the model of efficiency. Their first three touchdown drives took a total of less than 8 minutes 34 seconds.

It could have been all but over by halftime, but Buffalo punt returner Al Edwards lost control of the ball and punter Reggie Roby recovered for Miami with 1:41 remaining before the intermission. And the Dolphins went 47 yards for a touchdown, with Marino scoring on a bootleg around left end from two yards out.

“I thought that was a big score for us,” Marino said. “It kept us in the game and then we cut it to three points. The guys showed a lot of effort, but we just came up short. You have to give the Bills credit. They’re a very good football team.”

Much of the credit has to go to Kelly, who certainly never favored his left knee Saturday. He even ran the ball five times, picking up 37 yards for his scrambling efforts and putting on a clinic in the baseball slide technique.

“It was a courageous performance,” Levy said. “And I was pleased that he scrambled. It showed me that he felt fine.”

Despite the fact that Kelly suffered ligament and cartilage damage Dec. 15 in a game against the Giants, he said the knee was not tender or stiff Saturday.

“Heck, it was being iced the whole game,” he said, smiling.