NFL PLAYOFFS : Miami Gives Traveler’s Aid as Bills Take a Familiar Trip : AFC: Dolphins turn ball over five times to help Buffalo win, 29-10, and make it to a third consecutive Super Bowl.

It has taken 12 months, 19 games and 14 victories.

It has taken the will to withstand anticipated injuries and an unanticipated quarterback controversy.

It has taken the greatest comeback in NFL history and anything-but-great performances by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins.

It has taken two quarterbacks, two running backs, an unlikely playoff victory at home and two dominating victories on the road.

But finally, the Buffalo Bills are headed back to where they have been each of the last two Januarys--the Super Bowl.

The Bills nailed down the AFC berth in the Jan. 31 game in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl by beating the Dolphins, 29-10, in Sunday’s AFC championship game, played before 72,703, a record crowd at Joe Robbie Stadium for a Dolphin game.

The fans came in their bright colors and brought their bright hopes, but they quickly learned this was to be a disappointing day in Dolphin history.

If they had been travel agents, the Dolphins could not have done a better job of arranging the Bills’ trip to Pasadena.

They handed the ball over to Buffalo time and again. They misread coverages, missed blocking assignments, mishandled a kickoff, dropped passes and generally dropped the ball in blowing their chance to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in eight years. In all, Miami turned the ball over five times--two interceptions and three fumbles.

Buffalo, with strong performances by quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas, an overpowering defense and five field goals from Steve Christie might, well have been the better team anyway, but the Bills weren’t truly tested Sunday.

“It was a real disappointment that we didn’t play better in a game that meant so much to us,” Miami Coach Don Shula said.

Across the hall Buffalo defensive lineman Bruce Smith, who has been bothered by rib injuries the last couple of weeks, beamed as he walked out of the locker room and yelled for all the world to hear, “No pain.”

The pressure of a stressful season and difficult postseason had lifted.

The road to Pasadena was filled with potholes for the Bills.

They entered the playoffs as a wild-card team with a backup quarterback and an injured running back. They had to overcome a 35-3, third-quarter deficit against the Houston Oilers in the playoff opener, and had to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the second round.

Having done that, Sunday’s victory seemed a breeze.

The most relieved man in Joe Robbie Stadium was Kelly.

Having suffered a sprained right knee in the Bills’ regular-season finale, Kelly had to sit through the first two playoff games while backup Frank Reich threw six touchdown passes in leading Buffalo to two victories.

In Buffalo, controversy swirled when Coach Marv Levy announced last week he was going to start Kelly.

But Kelly responded by completing 17 of 24 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.

“I cannot think of a time when a quarterback entered a game under more pressure than Jim Kelly did,” an obviously upset Levy said. “He was unjustly criticized in many areas. Ernest Hemingway once defined character as grace under pressure. Jim Kelly showed that today.”

Had Hemingway covered Sunday’s game, gross , rather than grace , is probably the word he would have used to describe Miami’s performance under pressure.

The undoing of the Dolphins included:

--A fumble by receiver Fred Banks on Miami’s third play from scrimmage to set the tone of the day.

--A first-quarter fumble by quarterback Dan Marino, caused by Smith, that led to Christie’s first field goal, a 21-yarder.

--A second-quarter interception thrown by Marino that led to Christie’s second field goal, a 33-yarder.

--A fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half by Miami’s Mike Williams that led to a two-yard touchdown run by Buffalo’s Kenneth Davis. The Bills’ running game has been kept in high gear by Davis the last couple of weeks while Thomas has struggled with a hip pointer.

Marino, with Smith, Phil Hansen, Jeff Wright and Cornelius Bennett in his face all day, managed to complete 22 of 45 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two crucial interceptions and was sacked three times.

Part of the blame for Marino’s inability to function can be laid at the less-than-dazzling feet of the running backs. Leading ground gainer Mark Higgs was on the sidelines because of knee surgery. And his two replacements were on their backs much of the afternoon. Bobby Humphrey gained only 22 yards in eight carries, Aaron Craver 13 yards in two carries. Overall, Buffalo outrushed Miami, 182-33.

The Dolphins couldn’t seem to do anything right.

With the Bills on the Miami 20-yard line at the start of the second half following Williams’ fumble, Thomas fumbled the ball, the Dolphins’ Marco Coleman recovering--but only for an instant.

Attempting to run with the ball, Coleman fumbled it back to Buffalo’s Don Beebe and the Bills scored shortly thereafter.

In the fourth quarter, Marino appeared to throw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tony Martin, but Martin came down with the ball out of bounds.

On the next play, Marino came back with a pass to Keith Jackson.

Jackson dropped it.

While Miami was struggling offensively, Buffalo was sailing. Effectively using a screen pass out of a run-and-shoot formation for the first time, they kept the Dolphins off balance all afternoon.

Thomas, who rushed for a game-high 96 yards on 20 carries and scored Buffalo’s first touchdown, going 17 yards into the end zone after a screen pass.

Thomas’ touchdown and the first two Christie field goals gave Buffalo a 13-3 halftime lead, Miami’s points coming on a 51-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich.

Davis’ third-quarter touchdown and 21- and 31-yard field goals by Christie boosted Buffalo into a 26-3 lead.

Marino finally broke through with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mark Duper long after the outcome was assured.

Christie closed out the scoring with a 38-yard field goal.

Kelly told reporters, “This is without a doubt the sweetest victory I’ve ever been involved with.”

But if he can somehow win his first Super Bowl in two weeks in his third try, Kelly just might change that call.