PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AFC PLAYOFFS : Stoyanovich Takes Blame for Miss

Miami kicker Pete Stoyanovich accepted full responsibility for missing the 48-yard field goal with one second left that would have given the Dolphins a victory over the San Diego Chargers in an AFC playoff game Sunday.

“I’ll take the blame for the kick,” said Stoyanovich, who was not available to comment after the game. “That kick was probably the biggest of my career.”

The wide-right miss gave the Chargers a 22-21 victory.

Stoyanovich was eight of 10 during the regular season in the 40-to-49-yard range. His longest was 50 yards.

“I knew that sooner or later I was going to miss a kick,” Stoyanovich said. “Unfortunately, it came at a time when we needed it the most.”

Said Coach Don Shula: “The snap was a little high. Pete kicked it, never did really hit the ball. It was off to the right and short. And that was the end of the season.”

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When Miami’s Keith Jackson pitched the ball forward in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins’ loss to San Diego on Sunday, it was indeed an illegal forward pass, the call made by referee Johnnie Grier.

NFL officiating chief Jerry Seeman, who was at the game, confirmed that Grier made the correct call, despite the Chargers’ objections.

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The Chargers undoubtedly are happy with the long-range weather forecast for Sunday’s AFC championship game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Rather than the customary ice, snow and cold of a normal mid-January day in Pittsburgh, forecasters projected a late-week warming trend that could raise temperatures into the high 40s or low 50s by Friday.

It would certainly be a contrast to the snowy, minus-1 degree day the warm-weather Raiders experienced last January in Buffalo.

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The Chargers are 0-6 in Three Rivers Stadium since a 31-28 victory during the strike-interrupted 1982 season’s playoffs. They are 1-9 overall in Pittsburgh.