Dan The Man Buries Colts

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 with help from a defense that scored a safety, intercepted Jim Harbaugh twice and held Marshall Faulk to 13 yards rushing in 10 carries.

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

“I was getting a little discouraged,” 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 in three periods.

“Obviously I’m not 21 anymore,” Marino said, “but I can still pretty much throw it with anybody.”

The 35-year-old quarterback threw scoring passes of 12 yards to O.J. McDuffie and 15 and 12 yards to Fred Barnett, an off-season free-agent acquisition who scored his first touchdowns in a Miami uniform.

“It’s a great experience to be in the mix with one of the great quarterbacks ever to play the game,” Barnett said. “He’s probably going to go to the Hall of Fame.”

Chiefs 27, Packers 20

At Kansas City, Greg Hill had touchdown runs of eight and 24 yards and caught a 34-yard TD pass as Kansas City beat Green Bay, ending the Packers’ five-game winning streak. Two of the scores came in a 2-1/2-minute span of the second quarter.

It was an uncharacteristic offensive show for the Chiefs, who completed a 69-yard pass on their first play from scrimmage and gained 383 yards against the NFL’s top-rated defense. By halftime, Kansas City had 255 yards - 6 more than the 249 per game the Packers had been giving up.

The defense, led by Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas, held the NFL’s highest-scoring team to just two TDs. One was a 25-yard pass from Brett Favre to Don Beebe in the third quarter with the Chiefs up 27-6. With 1:02 remaining, Favre hit Derrick Mayes with a six-yarder.

Patriots 31, Jets 27

At East Rutherford, N.J., New England spotted New York a 21-point lead, then rallied to win with the aid of a controversial spot by the officials.

The Patriots won their fourth straight AFC East game, remaining tied for the division lead with Buffalo. They capped their comeback with Drew Bledsoe’s two-yard touchdown pass to Keith Byars with 4:03 remaining.

New England’s winning drive stayed alive when Ben Coates was given a very generous spot on a short reception on fourth-and-2 to the Jets 49. He didn’t appear to even reach midfield, but was given the first down.

The Jets got to the Patriots 11 in the final minute before four incompletions ended the game.

Bledsoe finished 24 for 34 for 297 yards and three touchdowns.

Adrian Murrell rushed for 128 yards for New York.

Bengals 34, Steelers 24

At Cincinnati, the Bengals made Bruce Coslet the first coach in franchise history to win his first three games by beating Pittsburgh at home for the first time in six years.

Carl Pickens tied the franchise record with 12 catches for 103 yards, and David Dunn returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD as the first half ended for the Bengals.

Jerome Bettis rushed for 111 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns for the Steelers.

Bills 24, Eagles 17

At Philadelphia, Buffalo’s defense recorded five sacks to hand Ty Detmer his first loss in five weeks as the Philadelphia’s starting QB. Buffalo is 4-0 against the NFC East this season. The Eagles had a chance to tie it in the final minute, but Bruce Smith recorded his second sack of Detmer on fourth-and-goal at the 3-yard-line.

Detmer had career highs in completions (26) and attempts (42) and threw for 315 yards and two TDs. Thurman Thomas had 90 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo.

Oilers 31, Saints 14

At New Orleans, Chris Chandler, who sat out last week with an injury, threw three touchdown passes - two in the first seven minutes - as Houston built a 28-6 lead.

Rams 59, Falcons 16

At St. Louis, the Rams scored their most points in 20 years with the help of their rookies. Eddie Kennison returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown and caught a TD pass, and Tony Banks and Lawrence Phillips also had big games.

Phillips had 106 yards on 14 carries midway through the third quarter before leaving with a bruised left knee. Banks was 15 for 24 for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucs 20, Raiders 17 (OT)

At Tampa, Fla., Michael Husted’s 23-yard field goal with 3:04 remaining in overtime gave the Buccaneers an improbable victory over the mistake-prone Oakland, which blew an opportunity to win when Cole Ford missed a 28-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in regulation.

Cardinals 37, Redskins 34 (OT)

At Washington, Kevin Butler made a 32-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining in overtime, seconds after hitting the left upright with a 37-yard attempt. But Washington was offsides, giving the kicker, signed last week by the Cardinals, another chance.

Boomer Esiason overcame four interceptions to throw for 522 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona.

Jaguars 30, Ravens 27

At Jacksonville, Fla., Mark Brunell drove the Jaguars down the field twice in the final 5 minutes, throwing an 8-yard TD pass to James Stewart and scoring on a 1-yard run with 41 seconds left. Brunell, the NFL leader in passing yards, threw for 354 yards - 175 in the fourth quarter alone against Baltimore.

Broncos 17, Bears 12

At Denver, safety Tyrone Braxton knocked away Dave Krieg’s pass in the end zone on the final play of the game as the Broncos won their sixth straight. John Elway threw a 15-yard TD pass to Shannon Sharpe as Denver built a 14-3 lead before Chicago rallied.

Panthers 27, Giants 17

At Charlotte, N.C., the Panthers converted a pair of third-quarter turnovers into a 1-yard touchdown run by Anthony Johnson and a 28-yard field goal by John Kasay on the way to outscoring the Giants 17-3 in the second half.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST Quarterbacks Boomer Esiason 35-59-522-3-4 Mark Brunell 24-37-355-2-1 Ty Detmer 26-44-315-2-1 Running backs Adrian Murrell 31-128-2 Terry Allen 31-124-2 Jerome Bettis 21-111-2 Receivers Ronnie Harmon 7-108-1 O.J. McDuffie 6-106-1 Carl Pickens 12-103-0