The game against the Chargers on Sunday was a rematch of last year's AFC playoff game that the Dolphins lost 22-21. That game ended the Dolphins' season in a very disappointing fashion as the Chargers used power football to out-muscle and out-last the Dolphins.

The Chargers were coming off a bye week and were as healthy as they had been all year. On top of all that, the Dolphins hadn't won a game in Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego since 1978. This made the Chargers the favorite.

However, by the time the game was over, the Dolphins had turned last year's tables on the Chargers, out-muscling and out-playing them, especially late in the game where they had faded last year. This 24-14 win kept the Dolphins in a tie for 1st place with the Bills and dropped the Chargers to 4-5.

FIRST QUARTER:

The Chargers won the initial toss and elected to receive the kickoff, which Andre Coleman took at the 10 and raced all the way out to the Dolphins' 46 yard line before he was dragged down from behind by Mike Williams.

Stan Humphries started the Chargers' first drive with a 13 yard pass to Tony Martin down to the Dolphin 33. Means took the next handoff for 3 yards and on 2nd down, a quick draw to Ronnie Harmon took the ball down to the Dolphins' 23 and another first down.

Means ran the ball again for 3 yards to the 20 and then a screen pass, also to Means, moved the ball down to the Dolphin 15. However, on this play, Means strained a groin muscle as he was tackled by Bryan Cox and Means left the game at this point and didn't return.

Now with a 3rd and 2 at the Dolphin 15, the Chargers ran Ronnie Harmon around right end for 7 yards to the Dolphin 8. There, with a 1st and goal, Ronnie Harmon carried the ball for 3 yards to the 5 and again on 2nd down, Harmon got the call but was stopped at the line of scrimmage by Louis Oliver for no gain.

This left the Chargers with a 3rd and goal at the Miami 5. On the next play, Humphries apparently hit Tony Martin all alone in the back of the endzone for a touchdown, but Harry Swayne was called for holding Marco Coleman and the ball came back to the Dolphin 15. Replay showed that Swayne had tackled Coleman to keep him away from Humphries.

With a 3rd and goal, the Chargers tried a quick pass to Harmon, but it fell incomplete and the Chargers were forced to settle for a 33 yard field goal and a 3-0 lead over the Dolphins.

Randal Hill (returning kicks in the absence of Irving Spikes) took the kickoff at the Dolphin 2 and showing great speed, ran across the field and got out to the 30, where the Dolphins took over for the first time.

On the Dolphins' first play, Marino went to Fryar on the sideline for 9 yards. On 2nd and one at the 39, the Dolphins tried to run Parmalee up the middle, but he was stuffed for no gain. However, on 3rd and 1, Parmalee went around the right end for 10 yards out to the Dolphins 49 and a 1st down.

There Marino stepped back into the pocket on first down and hit Eric Green down the middle for 22 yards to the San Diego 29. Marino then hit Byars for 6 more and a 2nd down and 4 at the 23. On the next play, Byars missed a block and Parmalee was forced out of bounds for a loss of one yard.

With a 3rd and 5 at the Chargers' 24, Byars made a great one-handed catch of a Marino pass for 4 yards down to the 20, but that left the Dolphins with a 4th and 1. At this point, the Dolphins took their first time out to talk about their situation.

They decided to go for it and, on 4th and 1 at the 20, Terry Kirby leaped over the line for 2 yards and a first down at the 18. On the next play, Eric Green was penalized for a false start, pushing the Dolphins back 5 yards to the 23.

However, facing a 1st and 15 at the Chargers' 23, Marino stepped back in the pocket and hit Irving Fryar on a quick slant over the middle at about the 12. Fryar cut back and forth and as he was being tackled, fell forward into the endzone for the touchdown. Stoyanovich added the extra point for a 7-3 lead.

The kickoff was taken by Coleman at the 4 and he managed to get out to the 19 before Frankie Smith took him down. An illegal use of hands penalty on Louis Oliver added 5 more yards and the Chargers started at their own 24.

Now without Natrone Means, Humphries started by going to Tony Martin on a short pass, but Troy Vincent stopped him immediately for a 3 yard gain. Then, Humphries fumbled the snap and lost 2 yards recovering it, leaving the Chargers with a 3rd and 9 at the 25.

On the next play, Humphries dropped back in the pocket, but Jeff Cross bull rushed his way to Humphries, knocking the ball out of his hands and sacking Humphries. The ball was recovered by San Diego's Eric Moten, but the Chargers now faced a 4th and 18 at their own 16 and wisely decided to punt.

The punt was a short one, but it got a good bounce and rolled down to the Miami 34, where it was downed by the Chargers. Marino handed off to Parmalee on 1st down and Parmalee went behind Billy Milner out to the 42. On 2nd and 2 at the Dolphins' 42 a 13 yard dump pass to Keith Byars got the Dolphins into Charger territory at their 45.

The next play on 1st and 10 was a run by Parmalee, but poor blocking at the line of scrimmage allowed Parmalee to be stuffed for no gain. With a 2nd down, the Dolphins again tossed a little dump pass to Byars who got down to the Charger 39, where, on 3rd and 4, Marino hit Gary Clark for 10 yards down to the San Diego 29 as the first quarter ended.

SECOND QUARTER:

The second quarter started with the Dolphins running Parmalee on a sweep to the right on 1st and 10 for about 7 yards, down to the 22. On 2nd and 3, Marino couldn't quite get the ball to Byars, but on 3rd and 3, the quick shovel pass to Kirby from the shotgun got 7 yards down to the San Diego 15 and gave the Dolphins a 1st down.

Terry Kirby took the handoff next, but only got 1 yard to the 14. However, Marino passed to Kirby on a crossing pattern on 2nd down and Kirby got down to the 5 before Seau could bring him down. This gave the Dolphins a 1st and goal at the 5.

On 1st down, Kirby ran off right tackle for 3 yards to the 2, but on 2nd down, a quick pitch to Parmalee was stopped for a 2 yard loss after Byars missed a block on a safety penetrating the backfield. With a 3rd and goal at the 4, Chris Gray was penalized for a false start and that moved the ball back to the 9.

From the shotgun at the 9, Marino tried to hit Eric Green in the endzone over the middle, but Junior Seau had positioned himself in exactly the right spot and leaped up to make the interception and end the drive. Marino probably should not have thrown this pass, but a lesser player than Seau probably would not have intercepted it. The Chargers took over at their own 5 and a quick draw to Terrell Fletcher up the middle for 9 yards got them out of danger. Another run by Harmon on 2nd down went for 4 yards to the 19 and another 1st down.

On 1st and 10 at their 19, Humphries stepped back to pass, but Marco Coleman bull-rushed his way through Harry Swayne and got to Humphries for a 12 yard sack. Facing a 2nd and 22, Humphries hit Martin for 7 yards to the 14 and then hit a wide open Ronnie Harmon for 20 yards out to the 34 and a 1st down.

From there, the Chargers ran Ronnie Harmon around right end for 4 yards on 1st down. A 2nd and 6 pass to Jefferson got 7 more yards and another 1st down out at the 45. From there, Humphries missed Mark Seay with his 1st down pass. And on 2nd and 10, good penetration by Bryan Cox stopped Terrell Fletcher for a 1 yard loss.

With a 3rd and 11 at their own 44, Humphries hit Mark Seay for 10 yards to the Miami 46, but it was just inches short of the 1st down, so the Chargers elected to go for it on 4th down. Humphries then got just enough yardage on a quarterback sneak to make the first down.

With a 1st and 10 at the Miami 45, Humphries threw three consecutive incompletions - one to Pupunu and two to Tony Martin and that left the Chargers with a 4th and 10 and they elected to punt to McDuffie, who made a fair catch at the Dolphins' 14.

The Dolphins started there by running Parmalee around right end for 15 yards out to the 29. From there, Marino tossed the ball to Byars on 1st down and Byars was pushed out at the Dolphin 40 for 11 more yards. They then went back to Parmalee on a sweep around right end, but this time could only get 2 yards.

This left the Dolphins with a 2nd and 8 at the 42, and Marino hit Irving Fryar on a quick slant to pick up the 8 yards and get a 1st down at the 50. A first down pass to McDuffie sailed over his head, but a 2nd down pass to Keith Byars gained 14 yards down to the San Diego 36, where the officials called the 2 minute timeout before the end of the 1st half.

With a 1st and 10 at the Chargers 36, Marino threw the ball out of bounds as he was being pressured, but because he was still in the pocket, the officials penalized him for intentional grounding. This pushed the Dolphins back to the 47, where Marino's 2nd down pass to Fryar went incomplete. Facing a 3rd and 21, Marino responded to San Diego's blitz by hitting Gary Clark with a quick pass, but Clark could only get 5 yards before being brought down.

With a 4th and 15 at the Chargers' 41, John Kidd hit a perfect punt which was downed at the Chargers' 2 yard line. With only 1:28 remaining in the half, the Chargers just ran Ronnie Harmon up the middle three times in a row for 1, 2 and 9 yards respectively, electing to essentially run out the clock and end the first half trailing the Dolphins 7-3.

THIRD QUARTER:

John Carney opened the 2nd half by kicking off to OJ McDuffie, who took the ball at the 2 and made a nice return out to the Dolphin 33 yard line. The Dolphins started by running Parmalee around left end for 7 yards and then hit Eric Green with a quick pass for 2 more yards. However, Bernie Parmalee's 3rd down run was stopped for no gain and the Dolphins were forced to punt on 4th and 1.

The Dolphins couldn't quite get the punt off on time, however, and were penalized for delay of game back to their 37. From there, Kidd hit a 45 yard punt to the 18, where Andre Coleman was stopped for no gain on a fine tackle by Sean Hill.

The Chargers started on 1st and 10 with an incomplete pass as Trace Armstrong was putting pressure on Humphries. On 2nd and 10, Trace Armstrong again made his presence felt by stopping Terrell Fletcher after a 1 yard carry. And again, on 3rd and 9 from their 19, Humphries was pressured by Armstrong. However, as Armstrong was dragging Humphries down, Humphries mad a beautiful play by side arming the ball to Ronnie Harmon, who gained 20 yards out to the Chargers' 39 for a 1st down.

Harmon ran around right end for 4 yards on 1st down and Humphries 2nd down pass to Tony Martin was incomplete as Martin made the catch out of bounds deep down the right sideline. However, on 3rd and 6 from their 43, Humphries hit Mark Seay for 8 yards to the Dolphin 49 yard line and another 1st down.

Terrell Fletcher took Humphries' handoff on 1st down, but was stopped for no gain by Bryan Cox. On 2nd down, Humphries hit Martin for 8 yards to the Dolphin 41 and on 3rd down, Ronnie Harmon was pushed out of bounds just short of the 1st down marker by Frankie Smith after a great one-handed catch.

On 4th and inches at the Dolphin 40, the Chargers ran Terrell Fletcher up the middle. It appeared that he may have fumbled at the line of scrimmage, but not only did the referees not call the fumble, but they penalized Marco Coleman 15 yards for a face mask violation that I couldn't see on the replay.

With a 1st and 10 at the Miami 24, Harmon tried to run up the middle, but Bowens stopped him for no gain. Humphries then hit Pupunu for 3 yards on 2nd down to the 21, but on 3rd an 7 at the Miami 21, Humphries missed Shawn Jefferson and the Chargers were left with a 4th and 7 at the Dolphin 21. They elected to settle for the field goal and after Carney's 39 yard field goal, the Chargers trailed by the score of 7-6.

Carney's 64 yard kickoff was taken by McDuffie at the 6 and returned to the 34, where Marino's first pass of the series to Eric Green was poorly thrown and fell incomplete. However, on 2nd and 10 from the shotgun, Marino hit Gary Clark for 11 yards out to the 45.

From their own 45 on 1st down, Marino overthrew a double-covered Irving Fryar. However, on 2nd and 10 from the Miami 45, Marino started in the shotgun and hit a streaking Randal Hill deep down the left sideline with a perfect pass for a 50 yard gain. Hill was actually fairly well covered, but Marino put it in the perfect position and Hill made a great diving catch at the San Diego 5 yard line.

With a 1st and goal at the 5, Marino tried to hit Eric Green with a timing pattern down the middle, but Green got held up at the line of scrimmage and the ball went long. On 2nd and goal, Marino tried a timing pattern to Fryar on the left, but the ball was knocked away by Terrence Shaw.

However, on 3rd and goal, Marino started from the shotgun and hit Terry Kirby at the 1 yard line right in the middle of the field. Kirby just turned and trotted into the endzone for a touchdown that gave the Dolphins a 14-6 lead.

The kickoff was taken by Andre Coleman at the 4 and returned to the San Diego 24, where the Chargers started their next drive by trying to run Harmon up the middle. Harmon was stopped for no gain, however, and the Chargers faced a 2nd and 10. Humphries hit Tony Martin for 24 yards over the middle on the next play and with a 1st and 10 at their own 48, Humphries hit Shawn Jefferson for 1 yard to their 49, but Vincent made a great tackle and stopped him immediately. A 1 yard run by Terrell Fletcher then left San Diego with a 3rd and 8 at the 50.

On the next play, Humphries dropped back to pass and Tony Martin ran a simple post pattern down the middle. Terrell Buckley let Martin go by him, apparently thinking he had help behind him, but Gene Atkins had closed on the left side of the line and Martin was all alone 10 yards behind Buckley when Humphries lofted him a perfect pass. Martin gathered it in down the middle for a 50 yard touchdown.

The Chargers, behind 14-12 at this point, elected to go for two and a quick pass from Humphries to Mark Seay tied the score at 14-14 late in the 3rd quarter. The ensuing kickoff sailed into the endzone for a touchback and the Dolphins started at their 20.

Marino started out by hitting Parmalee with the shovel pass for 9 yards to the 29. A 2nd down run by Parmalee was stopped short for a 1 yard loss by Leslie O'Neal, but Marino hit OJ McDuffie with a 7 yard pass on 3rd and 2 to the 35 as the 3rd quarter ended.

FOURTH QUARTER:

On the first play of the 4th quarter, Marino hit Eric Green in the hands, but Green dropped the ball. Then, on 2nd and 10 from the 35, a blitz caused Marino to throw behind Green, leaving the Dolphins with 3rd and 10. However, Marino was then able to hit Kirby with a little dump pass that Kirby turned into a 16 yard gain down to the Chargers' 49 yard line for a 1st down.

Parmalee ran the ball around right end for 4 yards on 1st down and then went up the middle for 2 more yards on 2nd and 6. Facing a 3rd and 4 at the Charger 43, Marino's pass was incomplete, but Leslie O'Neal was offsides, to the Dolphins got a 1st and 10 at the 38.

Marino's pass to Kirby on 1st down was behind Kirby and either Kirby ran the wrong pattern or Marino was way off target. On 2nd and 10 from the 38, Marino completed a pass to Eric Green for 9 yards down to the 29 and on 3rd and 1, Keith Byars took a handoff and dove over the top for the 1st down.

The Dolphins had a 1st and 10 at the Charger 27 and Parmalee ran around right end for no gain as Seau read the play and took him down. Marino's 2nd down pass to Fryar was incomplete as Terrence Shaw knocked the ball away and his 3rd down pass to Randal Hill was just a little short of the 1st down as Hill only managed to pick up 9 yards.

With a 4th and 1 at the Charger 18, the Dolphins elected to settle for the field goal and Stoyanovich's 36 yard kick gave the Dolphins a 17-14 lead with about 10 minutes left in the game.

The Dolphins' kickoff was taken by Andre Coleman at the 4, but Frankie Smith took him down at the 17 after a 13 yard return. Ronnie Harmon then ran around left end for 9 yards on 1st down to the 26, but on 2nd down, Harmon was stopped for no gain and Isaac Davis was called for holding, so the ball moved back to the 16.

Facing a 2nd and 11 from their 16, Humphries attempted to hit Tony Martin on a crossing route, but the ball was thrown behind Martin and went in and out of his hands into the waiting arms of Chris Singleton for an interception. This gave the Dolphins the ball at the San Diego 18.

From the 18 on 1st down, Marino tried another timing pattern on 1st down to Fryar down the left sideline and this one was complete, with Fryar just getting knocked out of bounds at the one yard line. The Dolphins now had a 1st and goal at the 1 and Parmalee tried to hurdle over the line into the endzone, but couldn't quite get there before being stopped.

With a 2nd and goal at the 1 inch line, the Dolphins handed off to Keith Byars, who was the "up" back in the I formation. Byars also tried vaulting into the endzone and after tumbling head over heals in the middle of the pile at the line of scrimmage, the referee signaled that the Dolphins had a touchdown and the Dolphins suddenly stretched their lead to 23-14.

The replay of the touchdown showed that the ball probably did not cross the plane of the goal, even though both Byar's head and feet crossed the plane as he tumbled over the pile. Nevertheless, after the extra point, the Dolphins lead 24-14.

The short kickoff was taken by Terrell Fletcher at about the 20, but he turned and lateraled the ball back to Andre Coleman at the 16 and he returned it to the 34, but a holding penalty on Rodney Harrison moved the ball back to the San Diego 24.

With 7:22 remaining, Harmon tried to run off right tackle, but could only get a yard. However, on 2nd and 9 from the 25, Humphries hit Harmon for a 13 yard gain to the 38. With a 1st and 10 at the 38, Humphries went back to pass again, but this time Steve Emtman pushed the right guard back into Humphries and registered his first sack of the year for an 8 yard loss.

Facing a 2nd and 18, Humphries once again went back to pass and hit Mark Seay with a terrific pass for a 32 yard gain down to the Dolphins 37. From there, Humphries again went to Tony Martin for 16 more yards down to the Miami 21.

With about 5 minutes remaining and the Chargers trailing by 10, with a 1st down at the Miami 21, Humphries hit tight end Alfred Pupunu over the middle down to the Miami 5, but safety Gene Atkins put his helmet right on the ball, forcing Pupunu to fumble. JB Brown recovered at the Miami 5 and the Dolphins took over with 4:49 remaining in the game.

From 1st and 10 at the Miami 5, Parmalee ran up the middle for 3 yards to the 8. With a 2nd and 7, Marino tried to go to McDuffie, but McDuffie couldn't hold on to the ball. This left the Dolphins with a 3rd and 7 from their own 8 and on this play, Marino completed a quick pass to Eric Green for 8 yards and a 1st down.

On 1st and 10 from the Miami 16, the Dolphins ran Parmalee around right end twice in a row for 3 yards and then for 4 more yards. At this point, with the Dolphins facing a 3rd and 3 at their own 23, San Diego took at timeout with 2:23 remaining in the game.

The Dolphins decided to run Parmalee around left end on the next play and it turned out to be a good choice, because Parmalee ran through a huge hole on the left side and broke a couple of tackles on his way to a 40 yard romp down the left sideline.

This run gave the Dolphins a 1st down at the San Diego 37 and the Dolphins ran Terry Kirby to the 35 before the 2 minute timeout was called.

On 2nd and 8 at the 35, Kirby ran around left end for 4 yards down to the 31 and on 3rd and 4, Kirby picked up 11 more yards down to the San Diego 20. This 11 yard run gave the Dolphins a first down and Marino only had to kneel down once to run out the clock and complete the 24-14 victory.

Overall, this was a very important victory for the Dolphins, partly because of the trouble they've had over the years on the west coast and partly because of the way that they accomplished it. They played a full 60 minutes of football and out-muscled the Chargers, especially late in the game, when it counted most.

It was exactly the kind of game that they should have played against the Chargers and it was good to see.