Dolphins Not Run of Mill in This One

The Miami Dolphins have spent years trying to find a running attack to complement Dan Marino’s passing. Now, just as they’re considering a dramatic move, they may have found the solution from within.

Marino threw scoring passes of 44 and eight yards to Charles Jordan, and Karim Abdul-Jabbar rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown as the Dolphins defeated the Oakland Raiders, 34-16, on Sunday.

The victory moved Miami (8-5), which had not won in eight previous games at Oakland, into a first-place tie with the New York Jets and New England Patriots in the AFC East.

Before the game, Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson said the Dolphins planned to meet in the next few days with Lawrence Phillips, the talented but troubled running back cut by the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 20 for disciplinary reasons.

But Miami, which went into the game with the NFL’s second-worst rushing attack, was solid on the ground against the often-abused Raider defense. Averaging only 84 yards, the Dolphins rushed for 137 yards against the Raiders (4-9).

“I’m not going to do anything with [Phillips] until I have a face-to-face talk, and we’ll go from there,” Johnson said after the game. “It’s not going to be to replace anybody. It’ll just be to add to our roster.”

Marino was 19 of 34 for 241 yards in going over 3,000 yards passing for an NFL-record 12th season. Jordan caught five passes for a career-high 106 yards.

Defensive tackle Tim Bowens recovered Jeff George’s fumble in the end zone for a Miami touchdown after one of six sacks by the Dolphins. Olindo Mare had field goals of 42 and 28 yards.

“We rattled them and got a lot of pressure,” said linebacker Zach Thomas, whose sack of George forced the fumble recovered by Bowens. “We’re a basic team, but if we blitz and it works we’re going to keep bringing it.”