Another Year Passes for Marino Without Return to Super Bowl

With two minutes remaining in the game, he was still chewing out Mark Duper and competitively pitching footballs like each throw might change the outcome.

But with 35 seconds to play, Miami quarterback Dan Marino unsnapped his chin strap for the final time this season and accepted a 29-10 AFC championship game defeat against Buffalo.

As the Bills began to celebrate, Marino walked the Dolphin sideline with his own thoughts. No one attempted to console him.

On the field, Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly knelt with the ball and it was official--the Bills were going to the Super Bowl.

“Please go out and win this thing,” Marino told Kelly, and Kelly hugged Marino.

“I’ll do the best I can,” Kelly said, and then Marino was gone, leaving Kelly to be smothered by teammates, photographers and fans.

In the Bills’ locker room, Kelly said, “I can definitely feel for Dan Marino. He is one of the classiest guys I know, and he’s done everything you can in the NFL except win the Super Bowl.”

This was going to be Marino’s chance to play in the Super Bowl, but the Dolphins had stumbled early on under the weight of their own mistakes. Marino, the master of the comeback, had been unable to save the day.

“It’s frustrating when you get to this point and you’re looking at a chance of getting into the Super Bowl,” Marino said. “It’s disappointing when you don’t take advantage of it.

“You have a home game. You feel good about it and think you should move on to the Super Bowl, and then you lose.”

The Bills employed more man-to-man coverage than the Dolphins expected, Marino said, and they concentrated more on covering receivers than sending additional pass rushers.

“But I talked about it all week,” said Marino. “Somebody had to step up and make some plays--me included--and it didn’t happen.

“We didn’t play a good football game at all, and that’s disappointing. The opportunities were there, and we just didn’t come through.”

Marino completed 22 of 45 passes for 268 yards, with two interceptions and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mark Duper. Dropped passes and a strong rush from Buffalo, however, kept Marino from mustering a serious threat.

“Every time we would start to get something done,” Miami receiver Fred Banks said, “someone else would make a mistake.”

Wide receiver Mark Clayton dropped a would-be touchdown pass in the first quarter, and wide receiver Tony Martin was unable to make a difficult catch inside the five-yard line in the second quarter. Martin’s attempt to catch a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter was negated when he stepped out of bounds.

“We didn’t give ourselves a chance to get in the game,” Duper said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, Buffalo is not that much better than us, no matter what the scoreboard says. They are not that good.”

Buffalo’s offense, however, contributed to the Dolphins’ scoreboard woes by running the ball effectively and capitalizing on Miami’s mistakes. The Dolphins turned the ball over five times.

“The team that wins is the team that doesn’t turn the ball over,” said Tom Olivadotti, Miami’s defensive coordinator. “We didn’t get the turnovers on defense, and that’s why we didn’t win. That’s how close these two teams are. We got those turnovers the first time we played them, and we won. The only thing that separates these two teams is turnovers.”

While waiting for the next question, Olivadotti dropped his head and muttered, “Buffalo.”

“It kills me losing this game,” he said. “Especially to . . . It just bothers me to lose this game.”

The Dolphins’ defense had stymied the San Diego Chargers a week ago in a 31-0 victory, but the Bills did as they pleased in gaining 358 yards on offense.

“One of their strengths is, when they get you down, they can keep you down,” Miami tackle Mark Dennis said. “I mean we were so close, but I guess that final step to getting to the Super Bowl is a big one.”

In Marino’s first full season as an NFL starter--his second year in the league--he had guided the Dolphins into Super Bowl XIX. It had seemed so easy at the time.

But now, eight years later, there is no guarantee he will ever return.

“I know I’ve made a mark on the game,” Marino said, “but Super Bowl victories are a barometer for great quarterbacks, and I don’t have any yet.”