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| Mark Duper lived up to his nickname of "Super Duper" as he caught eight passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the Dolphins' 21-17 win over the Jets. |
One of Marino's favorite targets was Mark Duper, who caught 71 passes for 1,306 yards and eight touchdowns during the 1984 season earning him the nickname "Super Duper".
Following the '84 season, Duper actually changed his middle name to "Super" so his name would Mark Super Duper.
Duper lived up to his nickname in the Dolphins' November 10, 1985 meeting with their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets.
The Dolphins entered the game with the Jets with a 5-4 record, two games back of the 7-2 Jets for 1st place in the AFC East.
Miami was perhaps suffering from a Super Bowl hangover as they had been trounced by the San Francisco 49ers 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX back in January.
Plus, it didn't help that Duper had been sidelined with a hairline fracture in left tibia since the second game of the season, taking out one half of the "Marks Brothers" and leaving Mark Clayton, who had set the NFL record for most touchdown catches the year before, as Marino's only threat as wide receiver.
After losing three of their previous four games, the Dolphins needed a lift and they got it as Duper returned in time for the Jets' arrival in Miami.
As aforementioned, the Jets entered the game in 1st place with a 7-2 record, thanks in large part to third-year quarterback Ken O' Brien and their ferocious defensive line known as the "New York Sack Exchange" featuring Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Mark Gastineau.
One month earlier, the Jets had trounced the Dolphins 23-7 on Monday Night Football, so another win over the Dolphins not only would mean a seasons sweep of Miami, but almost would knock the Dolphins out of the race for the AFC East title, so Miami needed to win this game badly.
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| Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino avoids the rush of Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau as Marino finished the game 362 yards on 21-of-37 passing and three touchdowns and three interceptions. |
The Jets got the ball to start the game as they begin their initial possession from their 19-yard-line and drove to their own 47-yard-line where the drive stalled, forcing a punt.
But the Jets got a reprieve when Miami returner Tommy Vigorito fumbled during his punt return after a hit by the Jets' Guy Bingham, causing a fumble that was recovered by Rocky Klever to give New York the ball at the Dolphins' 36-yard-line.
The Jets drove 13 yards before having to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt by Pat Leahy, but his kick sailed wide right as New York was unable to convert the turnover into points, giving Miami the ball at their 24-yard-line.
Both teams would trade punts until the Jets drove into Dolphins territory as the first quarter come a close after starting their drive at their own 15-yard-line.
However, on the second play of the second quarter, running back Johnny Hector lost the football when he was hit by Dolphins linebacker Alex Moyer, leading to a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Kim Bokamper at the Miami 43-yard-line.
From there, the Dolphins drove to the Jets 31-yard-line until Marino was sacked by Klecko for a 12-yard-loss on 3rd-and-6, forcing the Dolphins to punt the ball back to the Jets, who took over at their 20-yard-line after Reggie Roby's punt landed in the end zone.
The Jets decided to go to the running game as running back Freeman McNeil carried the ball on five of New York's next eight plays, gaining 26 yards, leading to a 3rd-and-9 at the Miami 40-yard-line, when O'Brien dropped back and found Jo-Jo Townsell for 36 yards, setting up a 1st-and-goal at the four-yard-line.
However, the Miami defense rose up and did not allow another yard, forcing the Jets to settle for three points as Leahy's 21-yard field goal broke the scoreless tie and put New York ahead 3-0 with just over six minutes before halftime.
After Leahy's field goal, it only took the Dolphins 25 seconds to score as Marino and Duper connected on back-to-back plays, the first for 20 yards, followed by a bomb that was caught by Duper at the Jets' 30-yard-line, who then outran the rest of the Jets defense for the 60-yard touchdown to give Miami a 7-3 lead with 5:39 lead left in the first half(double-click to play).
The Dolphins kept the momentum going as they forced a New York punt, giving Marino the ball back at the Miami 42-yard-line, only for the Dolphins to go three-and-out.
However, the Dolphins were allowed to continue their drive when Jets defensive back Bobby Humphrey was called for running into the kicker when he ran into Roby during his punt, giving the Dolphins a 1st down at the New York 46-yard-line with 2:27 left before halftime.
From there, Marino got the Dolphins to the Jets' 20-yard-line until he was picked off on a pass intended for tight end Joe Rose by Jets defensive back Davlin Mullen in the end zone with a minute left in the half.
The Jets were unable to put together a serious scoring threat following the interception and the first half came to a close with the Dolphins up 7-3.
Miami got the ball to start the second half as they began their initial possession of the second half from their 19-yard-line, only to give the ball right back to the Jets four plays later when Marino lost the football when he was sacked by New York linebacker Rusty Guilbeau forcing a fumble that was recovered by Klecko at the Dolphins' 34-yard-line.
However, the Jets could only gain 14 yards and had to settle for another field goal attempt by Leahy, this time from 37 yards out, whose kick sailed wide left, marking the second time the Jets failed to capitalize on a Miami turnover.
The Dolphins responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that saw Marino complete four of six passes for 73 yards, culminating with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Clayton, to push the Miami lead to 14-3 with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
The Jets come back by driving from their 31-yard-line to the Dolphins' 31-yard-line in just four plays, until the Dolphins defense forced another field goal attempt by Leahy, who for the third time in the game missed as his 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, giving Miami the ball at their 25-yard-line with 2:35 left in third quarter.
But the Jets got the ball back on the very next play as New York linebacker Joe Clifton picked off a Marino pass intended for Clayton to give the Jets the ball at the Miami 37-yard-line.
It didn't look like the Jets were going to capitalize on the turnover as a holding penalty on the 1st down pushed them back 10 yards, leading to a 3rd-and-15 at the 42-yard-line.
That is when O' Brien found Al Toon down the right side for 28 yards, which was followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass to McNeil to cut the deficit to 14-10 with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
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| Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien threw for 393 yards on 26-of-43 passing with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Jets' loss to the Dolphins. |
After forcing a Miami punt, the Jets took over at their 22-yard-line with 12:21 left in the fourth quarter and a chance to take the lead.
However four plays later, McNeil lost the football after being hit by Miami nose tackle Mike Charles and linebacker Bob Brudzinski forcing a fumble that was recovered by Mark Brown giving the Dolphins the ball at the 50-yard-line.
Miami went three-and-out, but Roby pinned the Jets deep on his punt which was downed at the three-yard-line by the Dolphins' Joe Carter.
The Jets went three-and-out, giving the Dolphins the ball in Jets territory at the New York 40-yard-line with 7:08 left and a chance to make it a two-score game.
But on 2nd-and-3 from the New York 16-yard-line, Marino was intercepted for the third time in the game, this time by cornerback Bobby Jackson, who picked off Marino's pass intended for Clayton in the end zone for a touchback and giving the Jets the ball at their 20-yard-line with 5:02 to play.
The drive began with a five-yard run by McNeil on 1st down, but those five yards were lost on an illegal motion penalty on the next play, forcing a 2nd-and-10.
No matter, the Jets got the yardage back and more as McNeil ran for 13 yards and a 1st down, which was followed by a 12-yard pass from O'Brien to Toon putting New York at their 45-yard-line.
A series of penalties by the Jets led to a 3rd-and-11 from the New York 44-yard-line when O'Brien found Toon for nine yards, setting up a game deciding 4th-and-2 at the Miami 47-yard-line with under two minutes to go, when O'Brien connected with Toon for six yards, to give the Jets a 1st down at the 41-yard-line with 90 seconds to go as the New York took a timeout.
Following a timeout, Toon made his fourth catch of the drive, this one for 21 yards to the Dolphins' 20-yard-line, which was followed by O' Brien finding tight end Rocky Klever for a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Jets a 17-14 lead with 1:06 to go in regulation.
Even though they were trailing, the Dolphins still had three timeouts and Marino at the the helm in hopes of driving into Jets territory and setting a potential game-tying field goal by Fuad Reveiz.
The Dolphins' chances of forcing overtime got off to a good start as running back Lorenzo Hampton returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Miami 44-yard-line, giving the Dolphins great field position.
Marino fired a short pass for Clayton, who gained six yards and then went out-of-bounds at the 50-yard-line, leading to a 2nd-and-4.
That is when Marino, lined up in the shotgun, dropped back and fired a pass down the right side for Duper, who made a juggling one-handed catch at the 15, and then ran into the end zone for the 50-yard touchdown that sent the Orange Bowl crowd into a frenzy as Miami retook the lead, 21-17 with 41 seconds to go(again, double-click to play).
After Duper's heroics, the Jets got one last shot to pull out a miracle as they took over at their 20-yard-line with one timeout left in their pocket.
The drive started with a 16-yard pass to Toon, followed by a 15-yard pass to Wesley Walker, that put the Jets in Miami territory at the Dolphins' 49-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, O'Brien hit Walker for 13 yards, who got out of bounds at the Miami 36-yard-line with five seconds left, giving the Jets one last play.
That is where O' Brien fired a pass for the end zone, intended for Toon, only to have Dolphins free safety Bud Brown break up the pass as time expired to preserve the 21-17 win for the Dolphins, dropping the Jets to 7-3 while improving the Dolphins to 6-4.
Duper's game-winning touchdown reception had major repercussions in the AFC East race as the last-second win over the Jets began a seven-game winning streak for the Dolphins, which included a 38-24 win over the Chicago Bears, ending their chances of an undefeated season, to finish the regular season 12-4, one game ahead of the Jets, who finished 11-5 as Miami would win the AFC East while the Jets had to settle for a Wild Card berth.
However, both teams would lose to the New England Patriots in the playoffs as the Jets lost 26-14 in the AFC Wild Card Game while the Dolphins would fall 31-14 in the AFC Championship Game.
As for Duper, he would remain with the Dolphins for the next seven years until his retirement after the 1992 season, all with the Dolphins as he finished his career as the all-time leader in receiving yards in Dolphins history with 8,869 yards on 511 receptions(2nd in Miami history) and 59 touchdown catches(3rd in Miami history).
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