Visitor:  Kansas City Chiefs

Home:  Miami Dolphins

Date:  December 31, 1994

AFC Wild Card

 

Scoring:

Team                1          2          3          4          Final

IND                 0          7          3          0            10

KC                  7          0          0          0             7

 

Visitor playmakers:

WR Floyd Turner, CB Ashley Ambrose, LB Quentin Coryatt, CB Eugene Daniel

 

Home playmakers:

WR Lake Dawson, CB Mark Collins

 

Network:  NBC  (WPLG Miami/Fort Lauderdale)

Announcers:  Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann on the sidelines

 

Pregame:  Yes

Halftime:  No

Postgame:  No

Commercials:  No

 

Grade:  Excellent.  Great picture, great audio, mostly clean commercial edits.

 

Notes:  In a game that proved to be the final contest of QB Joe Montana’s legendary career, the Chiefs’ signal-caller provided a dramatic first-half showdown with fellow Western Pennsylvania native, Dolphins QB Dan Marino.  But after these two legendary passers dueled to a 17-17 halftime tie, Miami pulled away in the second half behind Marino for a 27-17 victory.

 

The Chiefs outgained Miami by a 414 to 381 margin in total yardage, but a pair of second-half turnovers and a staunch Dolphins defense was too much to overcome.  Neither club was able to mount a substantial pass rush as Chiefs LB Derrick Thomas recorded the game’s only sack in his hometown return.

 

Both quarterbacks were nearly flawless in the first 30 minutes as Montana completed 12 of 15 passes for 178 yards and two TDs, while Marino hit on 14 of 16 attempts for 182 yards and one score as the two squads each scored on their first three possessions.

 

Montana started the shootout by guiding an exquisite 11-play, 80-yard drive that was capped with a one-yard play-action TD toss to TE Derrick Walker.  Marino immediately answered with a nearly identical 10-play, 72-yard march that ended with a one-yard plunge by RB Bernie Parmalee to tie the score at 7-7.

 

KC struck quickly on its next possession as Montana found FB Kimble Anders on a 67-yard screen pass that hit paydirt.  The two clubs then traded field goals before Marino produced a monster 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 5:50 off the clock.  A one-yard TD pass to TE Ronnie Williams with 0:22 remaining in the second quarter ended an exquisite half of football with the score deadlocked at 17-17.

 

Marino picked up right where he left off on the opening possession of the second half, putting the Dolphins ahead 24-17 on a seven-yard scoring strike to WR Irving Fryar.  But this time the Chiefs and Montana could not answer, going three-and-out on their next two drives.  Meanwhile, Miami tacked on a 40-yard field goal from K Pete Stoyanovich to go up 27-17.

 

The Dolphins defense then clamped down in the fourth quarter.  CB J.B. Brown picked off a Montana pass in the end zone to thwart a golden scoring opportunity, while S Michael Stewart forced a rare fumble by RB Marcus Allen as KC crossed into Miami on its next possession.

 

Miami was then content to grind it out on the ground, consuming over five minutes off the clock before the Chiefs could regain possession.  Montana managed to get Kansas City as close as the Dolphins 19-yard line before his final professional pass fell incomplete on fourth down as he attempted to find WR Willie Davis.  He finished the game with 314 yards on 26 of 37 passes with two TDs and one INT, while Marino ended the day by completing 22 of 29 attempts for 257 yards with two TD passes and no INTs.

Thanks Mike!

 

Running time:  2:07 (1 disc)