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| Wesley Walker is held up in the air by defensive tackle Joe Klecko after scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the Jets' 51-45 win over the Miami Dolphins. |
One of the other three quarterbacks taken in that famous draft was from NCAA Division II's University of California at Davis, or UC-Davis, Ken O'Brien, who was taken with the 24th pick by the New York Jets, three picks ahead of Marino, who was taken by the Miami Dolphins.
The O'Brien selection left many Jets fans furious especially after Marino set numerous passing records in 1984.
But on one muggy Sunday in the Meadowlands, O'Brien kept pace with the future Hall-of-Famer in one of the most famous quarterback duels in NFL history.
Both teams entered the game with a 1-1 record and high expectations as the two teams had Pro Bowl quarterbacks in Marino and O'Brien.
While Marino's numbers were down in 1985 compared to his historic 1984 season where he threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdown passes, which were NFL records at the time, Dan did throw for 4,137 yards and 30 touchdown passes in leading the Dolphins to AFC Championship Game which they lost to the New England Patriots.
With Marino at the helm, the Dolphins entered the 1986 season with Super Bowl expectations but so did the Jets as they were coming off a 11-5 season and their third trip to the playoffs in five years.
Though Marino had clearly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, O'Brien was also coming off a Pro Bowl season as finished the season as the NFL's highest rated passer with 96.8 quarterback rating as the UC-Davis grad finished with 3,888 yards and 25 touchdown passes in his first full season as the starting quarterback of the Jets.
As the Dolphins and Jets meet in Week 3 of the 1986 NFL season, some NFL experts believed that a shootout would occur with Marino and O'Brien.
Little did anyone know it would be a shootout for the ages.
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| Ken O'Brien would threw for a career high 479 yards and four touchdown passes. |
The Dolphins got the ball to start the game and Marino came out smoking as he hit his first two passes totaling 33 yards to put Miami at the Jets' 37-yard-line.
But an illegal motion penalty and a five-yard loss on a run by Lorenzo Hampton would kill the drive forcing a Miami punt.
The Jets used the running game to get their offense on their opening possession as Johnny Hector and Dennis Bligen traded carries as New York drove 32 yards from their 11-yard-line to the 43-yard-line when Hector was stopped for no gain on 3rd & 1, forcing the Jets to punt the ball back to Miami.
However, the Jets would get the first points of the game when Kurt Sohn returned a Dolphins punt 27 yards to the Miami 23-yard-line, leading to a 32-yard field goal by Pat Leahy to give New York a 3-0 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left in the 1st quarter.
The Dolphins began their ensuing possession at their 33-yard-line but Marino had them at the nine-yard-line with a 1st & goal after hitting back-to-back passes to Mark Duper for 43 yards, then followed by a 15-yard pass to Hampton.
After two plays picked up three yards, Marino found James Pruitt for a six-yard touchdown to give Miami a 7-3 lead with 2:36 left in the quarter.
The Jets responded with a 10-play, 83-yard drive where O'Brien completed all four of his passes on the drive for 56 yards, which culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Hector to give the lead the back to the Jets, 10-7 with 12:09 left in the second quarter.
It didn't take long for the Jets to get the ball back as Marino was picked off on the next play from scrimmage by New York strong safety Lester Lyles, whose 14-yard return to the Dolphins' 19-yard-line helped set up Hector's eight yard touchdown run to push the Jets' lead to double digits at 10-7 with exactly 10 minutes left in the first half.
Marino would come back with four straight completions; a six-yarder to Hampton, followed by back-to-back passes to Mark Clayton for 55 yards, and then a 21-yard pass to Duper to give the Dolphins a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line when Marino hit tight end Dan Johnson for a one-yard touchdown to cut the Jets' lead to 17-14 with 7:20 to go before halftime.
Just 90 seconds later, the Dolphins had the ball at the Jets' 13-yard-line following a 17-yard interception return by Don McNeal, which led to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Marino to Duper to put the Dolphins back on top, 21-17 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
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| Dan Marino would threw a career high six touchdown passes and threw for over 400 yards for the sixth time in his career(He finished with 15 games with over 400 passing yards). |
The offensive explosion continued on the Jets' next drive when O'Brien lofted a deep pass for a wide open Wesley Walker, who made the catch at the Dolphins' 30-yard-line and then ran in untouched for a 65-yard touchdown to retake the lead for New York at 24-21 with 3:12 left before the halftime break.
It looked like the Dolphins were going to drive for another score as Marino completed two passes for 23 yards to give Miami a 1st down at their 47-yard-line until Jets nose tackle Joe Klecko sacked Marino to stall the drive and force a Miami punt, giving the Jets the ball back at their 16-yard-line with 67 seconds left to put more points on the board.
However, O'Brien threw two incomplete passes and Hector picked only two yards on a 3rd down run leading Miami to call timeout as they poised to get the ball as the Jets were forced to punt on 4th down.
But as Dave Jennings' punt was coming down near midfield, Miami's Reyna Thompson collided with Pruitt, leading to a fumble that was recovered by the Jets' Matt Monger at the 50-yard-line with 42 seconds to go.
It only took the Jets one play to get into the end zone as O'Brien found Walker, who got away from his defender at the 20-yard-line to make the catch and then ran in for his second touchdown of the game to increase the New York lead to 31-21.
But there was still 30 seconds left, plenty of time for Marino to get the Dolphins into field goal range, as Marino was able to get Miami to the 50-yard-line with two seconds left, leading to a Hail Mary attempt that was intercepted by Johnny Lynn to end a wild 2nd quarter that saw a combined 42 points and 341 yards of total offense as the Jets took a 31-21 lead into the halftime break.
However, neither team was done with the offensive fireworks.
The Jets got the ball to start the second half but a rare thing happened: they went three-and-out and were forced the punt the ball back to the Dolphins where it took them five plays to get back in the end zone as Marino hit a wide open Duper for a 46-yard touchdown to make it a 31-28 game with 10:48 to go in the third quarter.
The Jets were poised to put more points on the board as a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Miami cornerback James Lankford gave New York a 1st down at the Dolphins' 36-yard-line.
But after a five-yard pass to Rocky Klever on 1st down, O'Brien was sacked on 2nd down by Miami linebacker Mark Brown, forcing a fumble that was recovered by defensive end George Little, giving the Dolphins the ball at the Jets' 47-yard-line.
Following a 15-yard run by Tony Nathan, Marino would throw three straight incomplete passes, including a potential touchdown dropped by Clayton, forcing the Dolphins to settle for 44-yard field goal by Fuad Reveiz that tied the game at 31 with just over seven minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Dolphins' defense would force another turnover two plays later when Brown recovered a Bligen fumble to give Miami the ball at the Jets' 25-yard-line with a chance to take the lead.
Six plays later, the Dolphins were back in front as Marino connected with tight end Bruce Hardy on a one-yard touchdown pass to give Miami a 38-31 lead with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
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| Mark Duper and Mark Clayton combined for 15 catches for 328 yards and three touchdowns. |
After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Jets took over at their 20-yard-line with 13:44 left in the 4th quarter with a chance to end the Dolphins' 17-0 run.
Following two runs by Hector which gained 11 yards, O'Brien connected with Al Toon for a 36-yard completion to give the Jets a 1st down at the Miami 33-yard-line.
Then on 3rd & 8, O'Brien threw 14-yard pass to Sohn for another Jets 1st down at the Miami 17-yard-line.
Three plays later, the Jets were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Miami' eight-yard-line when New York decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.
The gamble paid off as Tony Paige picked up the one yard for the 1st down, which was followed by a seven-yard touchdown run by Hector that with the extra point tied the game at 38 with 8 1/2 minutes to go in regulation.
The Dophins were able to drive to around midfield on their next possession but were forced to punt the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 17-yard-line when O'Brien fired a 10-yard pass to Walker, only to have Walker lose the football when he was hit by McNeal, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Jackie Shipp at the New York 27-yard-line.
From there, Marino hit Hardy for a 11-yard completion, which became a 19-yard play when Jets linebacker Kyle Clifton was called for a late hit, giving Miami a 1st-and-goal at the eight-yard-line.
Then after a four-yard run by Woody Bennett, Marino fired his sixth touchdown pass of the game, a four-yarder to Clayton to give the Dolphins a 45-38 lead with 2:56 to go in the game.
Taking over at his 20-yard-line with 2:50 left and all three timeouts, O'Brien found Toon for a 19-yard gain to give New York a 1st down, only to fire three straight incomplete passes to force a 4th & 10 with 2:09 to go.
With little time remaining and the fact that the defense had not been able to stop the Dolphins' offense, the Jets decided to go for it on 4th down.
O'Brien would connect with Toon, but it was only good for six yards, forcing a turnover on downs and giving the ball back to Miami with 1:57 left and a chance to run out the clock.
But the Dolphins were unable to pick up a 1st down and punted the ball back to the Jets, giving O' Brien one last chance to send the game into overtime as New York took over at its 20-yard-line with 64 seconds left in regulation and one timeout.
The drive began with a five-yard completion to tight end Mickey Shuler, which was followed by O'Brien scrambling for eight yards and a 1st down.
Then, O'Brien threw a seven-yard pass to Shuler, who lateraled the ball back to Hector, who proceeded to run down the left sideline before stepping out of bounds at the Dolphins' 39-yard-line with 35 seconds left.
O' Brien and Shuler connected on two straight passes, picking up 18 more yards, to give New York a 1st down at the Dolphins' 21-yard-line when O'Brien took a shot toward the end zone, only to overthrow Toon, leaving the Jets with five seconds left to come up with the game-tying touchdown.
That is when O'Brien dropped back 10 yards and fired a pass through the middle, that somehow avoided several Miami defenders and ended up in the hands of Walker for the touchdown as time expired.
The Jets celebrated in jubilation after the dramatic touchdown, but they still trailed 45-44 as Leahy needed to kick the extra point to send the game into overtime.
Leahy was able to make the extra point tying the game at 45 after 60 minutes of play, forcing overtime where the Jets won the crucial coin toss and elected to receive to began the extra period.
The Jets began their drive at their 22-yard-line as O'Brien hit back-to-back passes to Toon gaining 25 yards.
This was followed by two straight running plays which picked the Jets another 10 yards and a 1st down at the Miami 43-yard-line.
That is when O'Brien fired a deep pass toward the end zone for Walker, who was able to beat his defender, free safety Bud Brown, to make 43-yard touchdown catch to give the Jets the 51-45 overtime win.
The offensive numbers were astromical as both teams combined for 1,096 yards of total offense as both quarterbacks threw for over 400 yards as Marino finished with 448 yards on 30-of-50 passing with six touchdown passes, one short of the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a game, while O'Brien threw for 479 on 29-of-43 passing with four touchdown passes, all of them to Wesley Walker who finished with six catches for 194 yards as Walker was one of four receivers to finish with 100-yard games(Clayton-174, Duper-154, Toon-111).
The game would be a microcosm of the Dolphins' season as Marino and the offense were able to put up points but the defense could not stop anybody as Miami finished the season 8-8 and out of the playoffs even though Marino threw for 4,756 yards and 44 touchdowns during the season.
As for the Jets, their memorable win over the Dolphins began a nine-game winning streak for New York, giving New Yorkers hope for a New York Super Bowl as the Giants were dominating the NFC and went on to finish with a 14-2 regular season.
But a five-game losing streak which began with a 45-3 loss to the Dolphins in a rematch in the Orange Bowl, where Marino threw for four touchdown passes on 29-of-36 passing, dropped the Jets to the Wild Card Game with a 10-6 record.
The Jets defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-15 to move on to the Divisional Playoffs where it appeared that the Jets were on the verge of earning a trip to the AFC Championship Game as they held a 20-10 lead over the Cleveland Browns with four minutes to go.
But a crucial roughing-the-passer penalty on Mark Gastineau kickstarted the Browns' comeback as they were able to score 10 points to send the game into overtime where they eventually won on Mark Moseley's 27-yard field goal in double overtime.
O'Brien would remain with the Jets, leading New York to another playoff appearance in 1991, before losing his starting quarterback job to Browning Nagle in 1992, leading to his release from the Jets.
He landed with the Eagles and started four games for Philadelphia during the 1993 season before his retirement in the offseason.
O'Brien finished his career throwing for over 25,000 yards and 128 touchdown passes, nowhere near the 61, 361 yards and 420 touchdown passes that Marino finished with after his 17-year career.
But for one September afternoon in New Jersey, O'Brien could say he was better than Dan Marino.
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