Marino Finally Can Enjoy Milestone

Dan Marino achieved two more milestones Sunday, and this time the Miami Dolphins turned the occasion into a celebration.

Marino threw his 4,000th completion, surpassed the 50,000-yard mark and added three touchdown passes to help Miami send the Indianapolis Colts to their fourth consecutive defeat, 37-13.

“It feels good because we won,” Marino said. “It makes it a lot more enjoyable.”

Last year, Miami was 0-3 when Marino broke NFL career passing records for touchdowns, yardage and completions. Two of the defeats came against Indianapolis.

This time, the Dolphins rolled to an easy victory as Karim Abdul-Jabbar rushed for two touchdowns and their defense scored a safety, intercepted Jim Harbaugh twice and held Marshall Faulk to 13 yards rushing in 10 carries.

The blowout left both AFC East teams at 5-5. The Colts, ravaged by injuries, have lost five of six games since beating Miami, 10-6, at home.

“I’ve been in this business a long time, and this is as bad as it has been,” Indianapolis Coach Lindy Infante said. “I’m sure everybody is going to write us off. I know that it’s going to take a real gut-check for us to come out of this.”

The Dolphins ended a three-game losing streak that dropped them below .500 for the first time in five years.

“I was getting a little discouraged,” Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson said. “This really helps.”

Marino, making his third start since recovering from a broken ankle suffered at Indianapolis in September, completed 13 consecutive passes in one stretch. He finished 17 for 24 for 204 yards with scoring passes of 12 yards to O.J. McDuffie and 15 and 12 yards to Fred Barnett, a free-agent acquisition who scored his first touchdowns in a Miami uniform.

Barnett made his first start of the season after knee surgery.

“I don’t think he’s totally 100%” Johnson said. “And he’s obviously not on the same page with Marino yet. As time goes on, it’s going to get better and better.”