NFL Recap (Miami-Oakland)
Posted: Sun December 6, 1998 at 8:55 p.m. EST
MIAMI 27, OAKLAND 17
OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Miami Dolphins recorded
their second victory in Oakland in as many years and set the stage for next
week's AFC East showdown with the New York Jets.
Linebackers Zach
Thomas and Robert
Jones returned interceptions for touchdowns as the Dolphins defeated
the fading Raiders, 27-17, to keep pace with the Jets, who rallied to
defeat Seattle. Miami (9-4) and New York are tied for first place, with New
England and Buffalo one game behind.
"We had to take the crowd out of the game early and we did so," said
Thomas, who also had an interception in the fourth quarter. "That was a key
for us and we talked about that all week."
The Dolphins scored 17 points in less than two minutes late in the
first quarter and improved to just 2-9 all-time at the Oakland Coliseum,
including the playoffs. Miami had lost nine straight in Oakland before
breaking through last year with a 34-16 victory.
Miami, which suffered a 20-9 loss at New York in Week Five, hosts
Denver in Week 16 before closing out the regular season at Atlanta on
December 27th. The Jets visit Buffalo and host New England in their final
two games.
"Our defense was able to force them to make costly mistakes and our
offense capitalized on that," said Miami quarterback Dan Marino. "We didn't change
anything offensively this week. We just stayed with the same game plan."
Miami's tenacious defense forced six interceptions and sacked Donald Hollas eight times,
dealing Oakland's playoff hopes a serious blow. The Raiders (7-6), who led
the AFC wild-card race two weeks ago, suffered their third straight loss
and may have to run the table to make the postseason.
"After my sixth sack or so, I started to watch the seagulls flying
above the stadium every time I was taken down," said Hollas.
Miami opened the scoring on Olindo Mare's 25-yard
field goal with 3:36 left in the first quarter. Just 46 seconds later,
Thomas ran one yard with an interception to give the Dolphins a 10-0 lead.
"I had a great day, I got two picks and a TD," said Thomas. "I was
real lucky. It's always a great feeling anytime you make a catch and get a
touchdown on the same play."
Miami's defense forced another turnover on the next possession as
linebacker Dwight
Hollier recovered Harvey Williams' fumble at
the Raiders 22. The Dolphins needed only three plays to go up 17-0 as
Marino threw a 19-yard TD pass to Oronde Gadsden with 1:46 remaining in the
period.
Marino was 22-of-33 for 170 yards and needs 83 yards to reach 58,000
for his career. Karim
Abdul-Jabbar rushed for 94 yards on 19 carries for the Dolphins, who
have won four of their last five games.
Hollas was 12-of-31 for 131 yards before giving way to Wade Wilson in the fourth
quarter. Hollas, who slipped to 4-2 as a starter, threw five of his six
interceptions in the first half, completing just 5-of-18 passes for 76
yards.
"We're going through some stuff right now that every team does," said
Hollas. "It's stuff that will cost you games, but eventually we'll be all
right. I'm not going to deny I cost the team the game. I can't justify what
I did. I just played hard and didn't get a break."
"We spent the end of the first half and all the second in the
two-minute drill," added Oakland coach Jon Gruden. "You just can't win a
football game in that situation."
Oakland got on the board on Greg Davis' 40-yard field goal with 5:27
left in the second period, but the Dolphins took a 24-3 lead on Jones'
14-yard interception return with 2:38 left before halftime. Miami's first
24 points came off turnovers.
"We played great team ball today," said Jones, who also had two
interceptions. "We studied film all week and we thought we could really hit
them hard by using our linebackers aggressively. It's a great feeling to be
in the position we're in in our division."
Miami was ranked second in the NFL in total defense, yielding just
270.2 yards per game and a league-best 185 points.
Oakland's Tim Brown
had two TD receptions in the second half to make the final score
respectable. Mare added a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter.
"Obviously, the Raiders are a far better team than this," said Miami
coach Jimmy Johnson. "The difference was our defense. They just made big
play after big play. Usually when a team suffers a couple interceptions,
the life just goes out of them and that's what happened with the Raiders."
Napolean Kaufman was held to 26 yards on 10 carries and needs 79 yards
to join Mark Van Eeghen (1976-78) and Marcus Allen (1983-85) as the only
Raiders with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Raiders are 2-10 in December since returning to Oakland in 1995.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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