PRO FOOTBALL : Marino Pulls Dolphins Through Again : AFC: His short touchdown pass to Greg Baty with 35 seconds to play gives Miami a 24-20 victory over the Colts.

This one was almost too close for even Dan Marino, who has made a career of comeback victories.

“We shouldn’t have to win like this, but we did and it’s a win, and in a couple of weeks, no one will remember the fact we struggled some offensively,” said Marino, who took Miami 80 yards in the closing minutes Sunday.

Marino gave the Dolphins a 24-20 victory over the Colts with a one-yard touchdown pass to Greg Baty with 35 seconds to play.

“It was an option play. If I had the corner, I would have run it in,” Marino said. “We were only on the six-inch line, and I figure I can run that far.

“We had plenty of time. That’s the whole thing, to be patient.”

The Colts took a 20-17 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass play from Jack Trudeau to rookie Sean Dawkins early in the fourth quarter and a 33-yard field goal by Dean Biasucci with 5:04 remaining.

But Marino, who has engineered 25 fourth-quarter comeback victories in his career, completed eight consecutive passes during the winning drive. Four of the completions went to rookie Terry Kirby, whose 11-yard reception took the Dolphins to the six with 1:17 left. Keith Byars ran to the one, and after no gain by Kirby, Marino passed to Baty for the touchdown.

The last drive for the Colts ended on an interception by the Dolphins’ Troy Vincent with 10 seconds left.

The Colts, the NFL’s worst offensive team last year, rushed for only 10 yards in the first half and 42 for the game.

But Trudeau’s 232 passing yards almost matched Marino, who completed 22 of 40 passes for 236 yards. Marino, who had one pass intercepted, also had touchdown passes of 40 and 27 yards to Keith Jackson.

Rookie O.J. McDuffie, the Dolphins’ first-round draft pick, helped give the Colts their first lead. The first time McDuffie touched the ball, on a first-quarter punt return, he was tackled by Scott Radecic and fumbled, and the Colts’ Rodney Culver picked up the ball and ran 56 yards for the touchdown.

Miami tied the score on the next possession on passes of 12 yards to Irving Fryar, 10 yards to Byars and 40 yards to Jackson, who broke two tackles for the touchdown.

The Dolphins reached the Colts’ one on a 22-yard pass from Marino to Fryar early in the second quarter. Byars twice was thrown for one-yard losses, however, and Marino threw an incomplete pass before Pete Stoyanovich kicked a 20-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.

The only other Indianapolis threat in the first half ended when Jeff Cross blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Biasucci.

Biasucci tied the score with a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Jackson scored his second touchdown with 2:57 left in the quarter.