Dolphins Go First Class With Air Marino

So much for the demise of Dan Marino. All it took was seeing the New York Jets on the other side of the football for him to start acting like the NFL’s career passing leader.

Marino threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in leading the Miami Dolphins to a 31-20 victory.

There were few breathtaking throws and not much gambling, the things that made Marino a superstar. But, with excellent protection, there were plenty of sharp short passes and key third-down conversions as Marino completed 27 of 38 passes for his most yardage against the Jets since 1989.

“You don’t have to have a 300-yard game to be great, you just have to be efficient,” said Marino, who has passed for more yards and touchdowns against the Jets than any other opponent.

Marino struggled early this season and there even was a hint from Coach Jimmy Johnson about benching the 15-year veteran. Marino erased those thoughts with his highest passing yardage since Oct. 1, 1995, when he had 450 against Cincinnati.

“I think I am part of a group,” he said. “The whole offense has been having trouble in the red zone but I feel like we’re coming along a lot better than at the beginning of the year. We’ve got guys hurt, so we have to spread it around.”

Which meant throwing to eight receivers, with no completion longer than 36 yards.

“Marino was great today,” Johnson said, noting that the Dolphins are undermanned because of injuries, which puts more stress on his quarterback. “Fourteen surgeries, five players on injured reserve, we’re going to be a good team. It’s coming.”

So, apparently, is the defense.

Miami (4-2) had five sacks of Neil O’Donnell and shut out the Jets (4-3) in the second half until 1:03 remained, ending New York’s winning streak at three games. The Dolphins held Adrian Murrell to 29 yards rushing.

“We came up big against a good team on the road,” said linebacker Zach Thomas, who led Miami with 11 tackles. “We got some confidence. We stood strong.”

Miami scored a touchdown in bizarre fashion with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter. Charles Jordan caught a pass at the Jet 4, was hit hard by Ray Mickens and fumbled. The ball bounced right to Dolphin receiver O.J. McDuffie, who ran it into the end zone.