Air Marino Is Still a Strike Force

The Denver Broncos had two problems Monday night: not enough incentive and too much Dan Marino.

Dominating his first matchup against John Elway since 1985, Marino threw for a season-high 355 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Miami Dolphins past the Broncos, 31-21.

Miami (10-5) clinched the final AFC playoff berth as a wild-card entry, giving the AFC East four teams in postseason. Denver (13-2), who were unbeaten and looked unbeatable two weeks ago, lost its second game in a row.

The Broncos had little motivation because they had already clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Denver’s loss to the New York Giants last week dashed the tantalizing prospect of an unbeaten Bronco team playing in Miami, where the 1972 Dolphins are revered for achieving the NFL’s only perfect season.

But it was the Dolphins who looked flat at the outset. They fell behind 10-0 before Marino threw touchdown passes of nine, 56 and 17 yards to Lamar Thomas, who came into the game with only seven touchdowns in a six-year career.

Marino also connected with Oronde Gadsden for an eight-yard touchdown pass that gave Miami a 28-13 lead.

“He’s a Hall of Famer,” Bronco cornerback Darrien Gordon said. “He threw the ball as well as he had in a long time.”

Marino was 23 for 38 and went over 3,000 yards passing for the 13th season, an NFL record.

“When you play a team like Denver, you’ve got to score every opportunity you get, because they have a lot of firepower,” Marino said. “We knew everybody had to play well for us to win because they’re the best team in the league.”

Miami’s defense played as if it was the best in the league.

Elway, playing in Miami for the first time in his 16-year career, completed only 13 of 36 passes for 151 yards, and was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter.

“John is a special player,” Marino said. “He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever seen. To play against him was fun, but the more important thing was winning the game.”

Running back Terrell Davis also had a subpar game--a season-low 29 yards in 16 carries that leaving him 170 yards shy of 2,000.

“Our guys really gave a great effort, every one of them,” Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson said. “I don’t know if you can say enough about our defense.”

Johnson coached the game despite the death of his mother Sunday in Port Arthur, Texas. He said nothing to the team about the situation before the game.

“Jimmy is very businesslike,” Thomas said, “but we gave him the game ball.”

The Broncos scored on a kickoff return for the first time since 1972 on Vaughn Hebron’s 95-yard runback with eight minutes left, and Bubby Brister’s two-point conversion pass to Ed McCaffrey made the score 28-21.

A 42-yard field goal by Olindo Mare with 1:10 left clinched the win for the Dolphins.

Denver had shut down Miami’s feeble running game to control the game early, but Marino got hot late in the first half. After a controversial ruling cost the Dolphins an apparent fumble recovery deep in Denver territory, Marino moved Miami 50 yards and connected with Thomas for with a nine-yard touchdown pass, cutting Denver’s lead to 10-7.

A 56-yard catch-and-run play by Thomas--helped when George Coghill failed in an attempt at an interception--resulted in a touchdown that put Miami ahead for the first time, 14-13, early in the third quarter.

On Miami’s next possession, Thomas made an acrobatic catch for a 17-yard touchdown and a 21-13 Dolphin lead.

“It feels great,” said Thomas, who made six catches for 136 yards. “We came out tonight and played our hearts out.”

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NFL Playoff

Possibilities

Playoff scenarios as provided by the league (Teams in CAPS have clinched a spot):

AFC

* BUFFALO--Has clinched playoff berth.

* DENVER--Has clinched AFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

* JACKSONVILLE--Has clinched AFC Central title.

* MIAMI--Has clinched playoff berth.

* NEW ENGLAND--Has clinched playoff berth.

* N.Y. JETS--Have clinched AFC East title and a first-round bye.

NFC

* Arizona--Can clinch playoff berth with a win or a N.Y. Giants loss.

* ATLANTA--Has clinched NFC West title and a first-round bye.

* DALLAS--Has clinched NFC East title.

* GREEN BAY--Has clinched playoff berth.

* MINNESOTA--Has clinched NFC Central title and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

* N.Y. Giants--Can clinch playoff berth with a win, a Tampa Bay loss and an Arizona loss.

* Tampa Bay--Can clinch playoff berth with a win, a N.Y. Giants win and an Arizona loss.

* SAN FRANCISCO--Has clinched playoff berth.