Miami Pays for Lost Quarter : Pro football: The Chargers score 28 points in the fourth quarter in a 38-30 victory.

Pity Denver.

The Broncos may need one more victory to clinch the AFC West title. They may need one more victory to earn a first-week bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

They may need one more victory, and they have to play the Chargers, a 4-11 football team that just hasn’t gotten the “wait until next year” message.

Teams like the Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals packed their bags long ago, but the Chargers refuse to go meekly into the off-season.

Just check with the Miami Dolphins, who have to wonder just what they did to so infuriate the Chargers after dropping a 38-30 decision before 47,731 fans in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“It’s still a feeling of disbelief that we lost,” said Miami linebacker Cliff Odom.

Hard to believe: The Dolphins had won five of their last six games, and took a 23-10 lead entering the fourth quarter. They were 15 minutes away from clinching the AFC’s final wild-card berth.

Hard to believe: The Dolphins, 8-7, who had everything to play for, were being coached by Don Shula, who has 306 victories in the NFL, and were being directed by quarterback Dan Marino, who has 22 pages in Miami’s press guide dedicated to his brilliant career.

Notify Ripley’s: The Chargers, who failed to score more than 24 points in any one game this season, posted 28 fourth-quarter points to rock the Dolphins. The Dolphins must defeat the New York Jets now in Miami Sunday to advance to the playoffs.

The 28-point outburst matched the club record and was the first time since Oct. 20, 1968--against Denver--that the Chargers have been so productive. The last time the Chargers scored 28 points in the fourth quarter came against the Dolphins on Oct. 2, 1966.

“I didn’t know that we’d be able to get into a shootout and win it,” said Chargers Coach Dan Henning. “Those guys in there have been fighting. They sure deserve the just rewards for having hung in there. They got one today and it was a good one.”

The Chargers upset the New Orleans Saints and started them on a four-game death march. They knocked off the Raiders in the Coliseum, and although the Raiders have a tie-breaking advantage on Denver, they may fall one win short of the opportunity to use it. Seattle won four of its last five games before falling to the Chargers, and the Seahawks have gone on to lose five of their last six.

“I think Denver should be concerned,” Chargers nose tackle Joe Phillips said. “Let’s bring them on. Let’s have a good time and give the fans something to cheer about.”

Fans who attend the final Chargers game next Sunday are advised not to leave early. The average margin of victory in the seven games played in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium this season has been 3.7 points.

True to form, the Chargers had a 31-30 lead on the Dolphins in the closing moments of Sunday’s game. They were trying to kill the clock, but on second and four from the Chargers’ 37, running back Rod Bernstine went 63 yards untouched to finish off the Dolphins.

“This was a situation where if they won today with the Jets losing, they were in the playoffs,” Chargers linebacker Gary Plummer said. “That just gives you a taste of what it’s like competing for the playoffs. We came out of this with a victory over a team that had everything to gain.”

The Dolphins took a 3-0 first-quarter lead on Pete Stoyanovich’s 34-yard field goal. Miami went ahead 10-3, after John Carney’s hit from 35 yards, on Marino’s 10-yard touchdown run.

“I was trying to chase him and wondering where all my speed went,” said Chargers defensive end Burt Grossman. “Actually Marino outran Junior Seau so it made me feel a little better. If he had outrun me and George Thornton, I would have had to second-guess myself.”

Chargers center Courtney Hall dove into a pile of Dolphins and recovered John Friesz’s fumble in the closing moments of the first half and gave his team a chance to earn a halftime tie.

After Hall’s recovery at the Miami 45 with 37 seconds to play, Ronnie Harmon provided another classic run and gained 33 yards on a draw play. While the Dolphins tried to regain their composure, Friesz stepped back and fired a 12-yard touchdown dart to H-back Craig McEwen with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The Dolphins took a 16-10 third-quarter lead on Marino’s nine-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tony Paige. Paige, however, was found guilty of holding on Stoyanovich’s try for the extra point, so the Dolphins were penalized and Stoyanovich was forced to attempt a 30-yard kick. And he missed.

No matter. The Dolphins came right back moments later and scored again on Marino’s 10-yard pass to Mark Clayton.

The Dolphins took a 23-10 lead into the fourth quarter, but Friesz completed five consecutive passes, including a 25-yard touchdown toss to Harmon to put the Chargers back in the game.

On the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage following Carney’s kickoff, Marino was blindsided by Chargers linebacker Leslie O’Neal and was forced to fumble.

O’Neal, unhappy with his inside pass-rushing assignment, drew outside pass-rushing duties against the Dolphins. And for the first time in five weeks, he picked up a sack.

“I saw the ball come out after Leslie hit him,” said Phillips, who recovered for the Chargers at the Miami 13. “I told Plummer I tried to swallow it so nobody could get it away from me.”

The Chargers handed the ball to Bernstine for a gain of three yards, and then to Bernstine again for five yards, and then to Bernstine for the five-yard touchdown run behind the smashing block of Marion Butts. Carney’s kick gave the Chargers a 24-23 advantage.

On the Dolphins’ next possession the fans took to making noise and Miami appeared to be rattled. A fierce pass rush forced Marino to hurl the ball toward El Cajon, and after closing arguments from would-be lawyer Phillips, the referee called Marino for intentional grounding.

An angry Marino failed to change the referee’s decision, and on the following play a rushing Grossman forced him to throw a pass up for grabs, which was intercepted by Chargers safety Stanley Richard at the Miami 43.

The Charger drive stalled, however, at the Miami 37 when Friesz’s third down pass with four yards to go for a first down fell incomplete. The Chargers were hit with a 15-yard face mask penalty on the play, but rather than decline it and leave the Chargers with a fourth and four from the 37, Shula had his team accept it.

The Chargers were given another chance on third down, and Friesz needed 19 yards for the first down. He got 29 with a sideline pass to rookie Shawn Jefferson.

“I think this was a helluva game for John,” Henning said. “There were some plays he made today that big-time football players make.”

The Chargers went on to score with Bernstine running right for a one-yard touchdown for a 31-23 lead with 4:29 to play.

Marino came back to throw an eight-yard touchdown to Clayton with 2:37 remaining, but Bernstine’s 63-yard run--aided by blocks from Derrick Walker and McEwen--had fans cheering.

“It’s a very good win for the players being able to go against Marino,” Henning said, “and it’s a good win for myself because I think that guy (Shula) is as good as has ever been in the league.”