SEATTLE (AP) -- For Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins, there apparently is nothing like a 3,000-mile road trip.

	O.J. McDuffie breaks away from Seattle's Darrin Smith for a 17-yard gain.

The Dolphins won their first playoff road game since 1972 by beating the Seattle Seahawks 20-17 Sunday as the NFL's 38-year-old career passing leader, playing in the shadow of speculation he is about to retire, pulled off some of his old magic, and the defense returned to its early-season form.

"It's a big win for this team to come all the way to Seattle and play in front of a hostile crowd," said Marino, who engineered an 11-play, 85-yard drive capped by J.J. Johnson's 2-yard run for the winning score with 4:48 left.

"It's as loud as it gets here in the Kingdome. We just had to be patient."

Marino was at his best on that drive, going 4-for-7 for 84 yards, including completions of 23 yards to Tony Martin on third-and-12 from his 13, and a 24-yard third-down completion to Oronde Gadsden at the 5-yard line that set up Johnson's game-winner.

"Dan did a great job of executing the plan. He did a great job of throwing the ball," said coach Jimmy Johnson, who hasn't been on great terms with Marino for much of this year.

Marino's counterpart is now rooting for him, too.

"Now that it's over for us, maybe Dan will get the Super Bowl ring he deserves to cap off a great career," said Seattle quarterback Jon Kitna. "He did what he had to do, particularly in the fourth quarter. He made some great throws.

It was the 37th fourth-quarter comeback of Marino's career, second only to John Elway, and it sent the Dolphins (10-7) to Jacksonville for a second-round AFC playoff game with the Jaguars next Saturday. Tennessee will be at Indianapolis in the other AFC game Sunday.

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Why the Dolphins won: 1. Staying grounded. In Jimmy Johnson's tenure in Miami, the Dolphins are 37-6 when they run the ball 25 or more times and just 1-25 when they fail to run the ball at least 25 times. Even when the ground game wasn't getting big results in the first half, Jimmy stuck with it. Rookie J.J. Johnson ended up with 86 yards on 27 carries, and Miami ended up with a win. 2. A Miami vice. The Dolphins defense was outstanding especially in the second half. Miami allowed just 32 yards after halftime and 171 for the game. With Seattle no threat to run the ball, Miami's defensive line pinned its ears and rushed the passer, resulting in six sacks. 3. Been there, done that. Miami's playoff experience certainly paid off in the fourth quarter. The leadership of Dan Marino was paramount on the game-winning drive. Plus, the Dolphins didn't panic when Seattle regained the lead on Charlie Rogers' kickoff return in the third quarter. Why the Seahawks lost: 1. Running on empty. We commend Ricky Watters for playing on his sprained knee, but Seattle's workhorse was clearly not his usual self. Watters mustered just 40 yards on 19 attempts, and Mike Holmgren completely abandoned the run at halftime. The one-dimensional offense was no match for Miami's tough defense. 2. One that got away. The Seahawks had a chance to almost put the game away when they had the Dolphins in a third-and-17 from the Miami 8-yard line with about eight minutes left. Instead, Tony Martin made a sliding catch of a Marino pass for 23 yards, giving Miami a first down and keeping the game-winning drive alive. 3. Not heard in the third. Seattle got just three offensive snaps in the third quarter and was never able to get its attack in gear after that. Holmgren said that third-quarter lull took his team completely out of the flow. Game ball goes to: In a game like this, it must go to a defensive player, and we're going with Dolphins DE Trace Armstrong. The 11-year veteran had three of Miami's six sacks and harassed Jon Kitna all afternoon. Up next: The Dolphins will travel to Jacksonville for an AFC divisional playoff game next Saturday at 12:35 p.m. ET. The two Florida rivals did not meet during the regular season, but the Jaguars claimed a 28-21 victory over the Dolphins in 1998.

Marino, who was 17-for-30 for 196 yards and had a 1-yard TD pass to Gadsden, didn't do it alone as Miami won on the road in the playoffs for the first time since a victory in Pittsburgh on Dec. 31, 1972.

The defense sacked Jon Kitna six times, three by Trace Armstrong, and held the Seahawks to just 171 yards, 32 in the second half. Two of Armstrong's sacks came on one series after the go-ahead TD, and Armstrong almost got a fourth -- Kitna got a 1-yard gain, so it wasn't a sack.

"I've had a bunch of twos," the 34-year-old Armstrong said. "But not many like this."

This game was hard work for both struggling teams -- like Miami, Seattle lost five of its last six regular-season games. The Seahawks backed into the AFC West title and were struggling on offense coming in.

Seattle's biggest play was by the special teams, an 85-yard kickoff return by rookie Charlie Rogers after Marino's pass to Gadsden tied the score at 10-10 in the third quarter. Even that was flawed -- Rogers bobbled the ball before picking it up and racing for the touchdown.

Johnson thought the aftermath of the return was the key for the Dolphins.

"It's not the bad thing that get you beat. It's how you react to bad things," Johnson said. "We worked hard to tie the game, and then they go right back up on the kickoff return. Our guys could have very well crumbled at that time. Instead, I think they showed what's inside them."

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren suggested the kickoff and an onside kick recovered by Miami cooled off his offense.

"We only had three offensive snaps in the third quarter," he said. "It was hard to get back momentum."

All this overshadowed the pre-game speculation about Marino, who was 4-6 in 10 starts in the regular season.

This game also might have prolonged the coaching career of Johnson, who stepped down for 12 hours a year ago before reconsidering, and he reportedly is thinking of resigning again this year.

Seattle led 10-3 at halftime as its defense limited the Dolphins to 69 yards.

The Seahawks scored on their second possession on a 9-yard pass from Kitna to Sean Dawkins at the end of an eight-play, 47-yard drive.

Miami's only first-half scoring drive resulted in a 32-yard field goal by Olindo Mare after Johnson declined to go for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 13.

Todd Peterson's 50-yarder with 45 seconds before intermission was the other Seattle score.

But Miami opened the second half by almost doubling its yardage output, going 60 yards in 10 plays, capped by Marino's 1-yard TD pass to Gadsden. Marino, who was just 5-of-8 for 28 yards in the first half, was 6-of-6 for 55 yards on the drive.

Then came Rogers' return, which stood up until Marino demonstrated his old magic.

That was good enough for Johnson.

"One road win in the playoffs after you haven't done that for 28 years goes a long way," Johnson said.

So does one aged quarterback.

"Dan is a legend in this game," Armstrong said. "No one is more respected or loved on this team than Dan. It was great for him to have a great day."

Game notes
Rogers' touchdown on a kickoff return was the first of his career. He had a 94-yard TD return on a punt against Pittsburgh on Sept. 26. ... Marino's touchdown pass was his 31st in the playoffs, moving him into sole possession of second place on the career list ahead of Terry Bradshaw. Joe Montana leads with 45. ... In what could have been his final game with Seattle, Joey Galloway had one catch for 22 yards. Galloway will become a restricted free agent after the season. ... Cornerback Shawn Springs of the Seahawks sustained a concussion in the third quarter. ... Mare, who set an NFL record this season with 39 field goals, went 2-for-2 from 32 and 50 yards. ... The Dolphins ran more than they threw for the first time in their past seven games.