Lions Halt Marino at Goal Line : Interconference: His pass is knocked down by Crockett in end zone, preserving 17-13 victory.

Don Shula was going for his 300th victory and it was Dan Marino’s 30th birthday, but the Detroit Lions gave them nothing to celebrate.

Ray Crockett knocked away Marino’s fourth-down pass in the end zone with 2:58 left Sunday, and the Lions beat the Dolphins, 17-13.

“The important thing is this football team now,” Shula said. “That’s what I’m concerned with.”

The Lions (2-1) have bounced back since losing their opener to the Washington Redskins, 45-0.

It appeared that the Dolphins (1-2) were going to pull it out when Shawn Lee intercepted Rodney Peete’s pass and returned it to the Lions’ three-yard line with 4:42 remaining.

But Detroit’s defense pushed the Dolphins back to the five on three plays. On fourth and goal, Marino’s pass for Tony Martin was slapped away by Crockett.

“It was just a quick slant,” Crockett said. “He tried to set me up. They’d been running fades all day, so I was kind of anticipating something different.

“You can’t worry about whether you’re going to touch him. You have to say, ‘It’s just me and him.’ It’s a good feeling to have, walking off the field and knowing that ball’s on the ground.”

The Lions ran out the clock, using the combination of running by Barry Sanders and passing by Peete.

Sanders finished with 143 yards in 32 carries and Peete completed 13 of 24 passes for 173 yards. He threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Willie Green and ran six yards for the Lions’ other touchdown. Eddie Murray added a 46-yard field goal.

“They won it with their goal line stand,” Shula said. “We had a great opportunity to win it in the final minutes and just didn’t get it done on fourth down. Instead of us making the plays, the Lions’ defense rose to the occasion.”

Marino completed 16 of 34 passes for 174 yards, but didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the first time since Week 6 last year.

The Lions, who held Green Bay to 253 total yards last week, held Miami to 226 despite playing without injured nose guard Jerry Ball.

Mark Higgs, trying to become the first Miami runner to gain 100 yards in three consecutive games, had 71 yards in 19 carries, including a four-yard touchdown run. Pete Stoyanovich kicked field goals of 18 and 47 yards.