Dolphins Get Past Patriots, 30-20 : AFC: Marino passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns to lead Miami over New England.

Dan Marino’s right arm finally cranked up the Miami Dolphins’ offense.

Marino broke out of a yearlong slump with three touchdown passes, including a tie-breaking 32-yarder to Mark Clayton with 1:47 left, to give Miami a 30-20 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday night.

The Dolphins (5-5) have won two games in a row.

“We’ve been talking as a team that we need to go 8-0 to make the playoffs,” Marino said. “We’ve got two now.”

Miami plays AFC East-leader Buffalo at home next Monday night.

Marino completed 19 of 29 passes for 263 yards. He threw first-half touchdown passes of 31 yards to Clayton and five yards to Fred Banks.

Marino entered the game ranked 15th in the NFL in passing and was throwing for touchdowns at a career-low pace with just nine in nine games. The Dolphins had scored a lone touchdown in each of their past three games.

“We still did not score as many times as we should have,” Marino said. “We missed two opportunities down in their territory in the first half.”

Those threats ended with a short field goal and an interception. Miami then blew a 20-6 lead in the third quarter.

“We’ve got to learn to bury people when we’ve got them down,” Clayton said.

The Patriots (3-7) have lost their last three games by a total of 18 points.

Trailing 20-6 in the third quarter, New England mounted touchdown drives of 80 and 67 yards to tie the game. The scores came on Hugh Millen passes of 40 yards to Irving Fryar and five yards to Marv Cook.

“We went into a lull that got them back in the game,” Miami Coach Don Shula said.

Millen completed 20 of 26 passes for 257 yards.

“It gets to be frustrating. It seems to be a recurring thing,” Millen said of the close losses. “We can take some solace in the fact we came back.”

The Patriots have lost six in a row to Miami.

“When you give Marino his chances, he’s pretty good,” Patriot Coach Dick MacPherson said. “He had a great night against us.”

The score was tied, 20-20, when the Dolphins started from their own 27 with 3:42 left. Marino connected with Tony Paige for 13 yards, Greg Baty for 25 and Clayton for 10. One play later, Marino hooked up with a streaking Clayton at the five, and he outran David Pool to the end zone.

Miami held on downs at the Patriots’ 25, and Pete Stoyanovich then kicked his third field goal, a 44-yarder, with 35 seconds left.

“We got it done when we had to have it,” Shula said.