Patriots Edge Dolphins; Win East
A close finish and disputed officiating left Jimmy Johnson eager for a rematch against the New England Patriots.
He’ll get it Sunday - but not in Miami.
New England overcame a slow start and a late Miami comeback Monday night to beat the Dolphins 14-12. The game gave the Patriots the AFC East championship and home-field advantage when the teams meet again in the first round of the playoffs.
“Fortunately it’s not over with,” Johnson said. “Fortunately we get another shot.”
Miami closed within two points on Dan Marino’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Thomas with 3:46 left. But Karim Abdul-Jabbar’s two-point conversion run was negated by a holding penalty on seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Richmond Webb, and on the second conversion attempt, Marino’s pass fell incomplete.
“It was great to see these guys play in championship form,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I thought the heart was so clear and so obvious. They weren’t going to let it get away.
“I don’t feel relief. I’m just jacked that we’re champions, because that’s what we set out to do.”
The defending AFC champs must now try to beat Miami (9-7) twice in one week, but the Dolphins face an even stiffer challenge. They’ve lost seven consecutive postseason road games since winning the Super Bowl in January 1974.
“We’re still the champions until somebody takes it,” Patriots fullback Keith Byars said. “And we’re not going to let that happen.”
New England managed just two first downs in the first half and fell behind 6-0 on two Olindo Mare field goals. But in the second half, they mounted touchdown drives of 70 and 55 yards and forced the Dolphins into repeated negative-yardage plays with frequent blitzing.
A harried Marino completed 28 of 44 passes for 278 yards but was sacked four times.
Marino connected on four third-down passes in a 76-yard drive that culminated with Thomas’ score. On the two-point try, Webb was called for holding Willie McGinest.
“The official called one of the eight or nine penalties he called against us,” Johnson said. “I think they had one penalty. So we didn’t make it.”
Johnson as also unhappy that an apparent Miami touchdown on a fumble recovery in the first half was negated when the officials ruled the play had been blown dead before Jerry Wilson’s 36-yard return.
“When the referee tells me he screwed up and he had an inadvertent whistle and it should have been a touchdown, that doesn’t make me happy,” Johnson said. “Instead of being 13-0, we were only up 6-0.”