|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Thursday, Aug. 10 7:00pm ET
Mare's fifth FG beats Bucs | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Dolphins' running game, kicking game and defense looked sharp Thursday night. The only thing missing was a touchdown. Miami dominated the opening half, when starters for both teams played, and Olindo Mare kicked his fifth field goal with nine seconds left to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15-13 in an exhibition game. Mike Quinn, competing for the third-string quarterback job, moved Miami 44 yards in the final 1:03 to set up Mare's game-winning kick, a 42-yarder. The Pro Bowl kicker finished 5-for-5, also scoring from 26, 21, 54 and 25 yards. "Olindo is unbelievable," Dolphins quarterback Damon Huard said. "He's a great kicker and I love him to death. But I don't like him kicking five field goals a game -- maybe two or three." In the opening half, the Dolphins' first team rushed for 76 yards, converted six third downs and controlled the ball for more than 18 minutes. But Miami (1-1) led only 6-0 at halftime because of two turnovers by Huard. Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy found little consolation in the play of his reserves. Helped by two long kickoff returns, they rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to briefly give the Bucs (1-1) the lead. "It was a disappointing night for us," Dungy said. "We obviously didn't get a lot of things accomplished that we wanted to. We had some guys step up in the second half and play well. But as a group we took a step backward, and that's something you never want to do." Huard, trying to solidify his position as Miami's starting quarterback, was 10-for-17 for 101 yards with three sacks. He threw an interception at the Bucs' 12 and lost a fumble at their 23. "We were moving the ball well," Huard said. "We had opportunities to score. We didn't get it done, and it was my fault. Fortunately it's a preseason game." Miami's Lamar Smith rushed for 72 yards in 17 carries, all in the first half. "I was real happy with the running game, and I really liked what Lamar Smith did," coach Dave Wannstedt said. The Dolphins twice used receiver Bert Emanuel at quarterback in third-and-short situations, and each time they picked up the first down. He handed off once and kept once for 2 yards. Tampa Bay started slowly, receiving a delay of game penalty before kicking off to begin the game, and didn't muster much offense until the final period. The Bucs' first-team offense was 0-for-5 on third down and struggled running the ball for the second consecutive week. Warrick Dunn managed just 18 yards in nine carries. Shaun King played the first two quarters and went 9-for-13 for 83 yards, but he threw an interception to end the Bucs' best threat of the half. "We're a young group," King said. "Nobody is going to get too frustrated at this point. We know we're going to be OK." The Bucs and Dolphins meet in the regular season Dec. 10 in Miami. "We didn't want to show them too much because we know we're going to play them again," King said. Tampa Bay lost two safeties to injury in the first half. John Lynch bruised his ribs and Dexter Jackson sprained his right ankle. Miami cornerback Patrick Surtain left the game in the first half with bruised ribs. Yo Murphy's 51-yard kickoff return set up the Bucs' first score, which came on a 17-yard pass from Eric Zeier to Kevin McLeod. Aaron Stecker returned a kickoff 78 yards, then scored on a 2-yard run with 3:50 left to put the Bucs ahead 13-12. A mistake by Shevin Smith gave the Dolphins three points at the end of the first half. With 16 seconds left, Huard threw an alley-oop pass from midfield, and Smith tackled receiver Emanuel before the ball came down. The 48-yard pass-interference penalty set up a field goal by Mare as time expired. The biggest ovation from the crowd of 58,703 followed a 17-yard reception by Miami newcomer Thurman Thomas, long a thorn in the Dolphins' side with the Buffalo Bills. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse Miami Clubhouse Dolphins' Fiedler hopes to play in final exhibition game
| |||||