Miami Running Game Not a Passing Fancy

Miami Dolphin Coach Jimmy Johnson promised he wouldn’t let the strong start of rookie running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar stop him from playing Irving Spikes, and he kept his word.

Abdul-Jabbar scored the first touchdowns of the game on a pair of three-yard runs against Arizona.

Then Spikes, who was supposed to open against New England last week, but pulled his hamstring and saw Abdul-Jabbar run for more than 100 yards, spiked a Cardinal rally with a 34-yard ramble that set up his one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter as the Dolphins cruised to a 38-10 victory Sunday.

Dan Marino threw two touchdown passes to help the Dolphins (2-0) keep pace with AFC East rivals Buffalo and Indianapolis.

But it was Spikes’ 42 yards in four carries that took the fight out of Arizona after a 26-yard field goal by Cardinal Greg Davis made it 24-10 midway through the third quarter.

Abdul-Jabbar started the drive, gaining 13 yards in two tries. But his ankle was sore, so Johnson sent in Spikes.

Spikes broke several tackles on his 34-yard run to the Arizona 16-yard line. Then he ran for five yards, caught a 10-yard pass and scored on successive plays to make it 31-10.

Spikes, a third-year player who was inactive for seven games last season and notched a career high with 79 yards on 11 carries, left the locker room without talking to reporters. But Abdul-Jabbar said he was glad to have competition.

“As long as we’re putting points on the board, that’s the important thing,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “With them concentrating so much on us, we were able to pass well. If somebody’s hot, you’ve got to keep giving them the ball.”

Miami’s Zach Thomas forced and recovered a fumble with 1:22 left, and Marino passed five yards to O.J. McDuffie for another touchdown before leaving the game less than five minutes into the fourth quarter.

“We tried to play aggressive football, because I know how it is in this league--teams can come back,” Johnson said.

The Dolphins took a 24-0 halftime lead on Abdul-Jabbar’s scores, a 20-yard pass from Marino to Lamar Thomas and Joe Nedney’s 36-yard field goal.