Redskins Succeed in Virtual Rehearsal

Both teams knew all they needed to know before the coin toss, rendering the game irrelevant in the playoff picture.

The Miami Dolphins made the playoffs. The Washington Redskins didn’t get a first-round bye.

So Sunday turned into an exhibition of sorts, a coronation for the Washington Redskins in front of the home fans before their first playoff appearance in seven years.

With both teams playing reserves for much of the game, the Redskins won, 21-10. Backup Rodney Peete threw two touchdown passes as Washington got its first victory of the season over a team with a winning record.

“I think 10-6 in the paper looks a lot better than 9-7,” Washington guard Tre’ Johnson said. “Why would you not want to win? That’s bad business, that’s a bad philosophy. You can’t put a market value on a win over a team like Miami heading into the playoffs.”

The Dolphins (9-7), despite their collapse from a 7-1 start, clinched the playoffs for the third consecutive season when the New York Jets beat Seattle, 19-9, in an early game. Miami plays at Seattle in a first-round game next Sunday.

“You always feel good about getting in,” said Miami receiver O.J. McDuffie, who didn’t even suit up for the game. “But at the same time, you hate to back in that way.”

The playoff news removed any suspense over whether this would be Dan Marino’s last game as a player or Jimmy Johnson’s last game as coach. In an unusual gesture, Dolphin owner Wayne Huizenga flew Marino’s family to Washington for the game--just in case.

Marino played the first half and again gave the kind of performance that has prompted the retirement questions. He made questionable reads and late throws, completing only 11 of 24 passes for 118 yards and one interception. He finished the regular season with 12 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions.

“We were kind of going in spurts a little bit,” Marino said. “We’d move the ball well and then shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Damon Huard completed 18 of 29 passes for 162 yards in relief, including a four-yard touchdown to Oronde Gadsden with 3:09 to play for the game’s final score. Jimmy Johnson said Marino would start next week’s game.

For the Redskins, the game became meaningless from a postseason standpoint when the Tampa Bay victory over Chicago was flashed on the scoreboard seconds before the coin toss. The Buccaneers got the bye, while NFC East champion Washington (10-6) will play host to Detroit on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.

“It changes now,” Washington Coach Norv Turner said. “It’s a whole different deal. In the playoffs, if you make a mistake that costs you the game, it costs you a chance to play again.”