6 seconds, Reveiz preserve Miami 'rout' Andy Cohen October 1985 Call it the rout that got away. The Miami Dolphins saw a 17-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate on a wild Sunday in the Orange Bowl, leaving it up to rookie place-kicker Fuad Reveiz to pull the plug on the never-say-quit Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Turning what would have been a devastating defeat into a pulsating 41-38 victory, Reveiz kicked a 43-yard field goal with 6 seconds left as a crowd of 62,335 erupted into a wild celebration. Fittingly, the Bucs gave the Dolphins one last scare, a 57-yard pass from Steve DeBerg to Kevin House on the final play. But cornerback Don McNeal tackled House at the Miami 33, and the Dolphins walked away with the victory against an 0-7 team that in no way resembled an 0-7 team. The Dolphins are 5-2, tied for first place in the AFC East with the New York Jets, 20-13 losers Sunday to the New England Patriots. ``Talk about everything you want in a football game, this was it,`` Dolphins coach Don Shula said. ``When you win one like this one, you have to be thankful.`` Thankful that the Miami offense was able to put together a game-winning drive that began with 37 seconds left following Donald Igwebuike`s tying 38- yard field goal and ended with Reveiz pounding his fist in the night air as he was carried off the field. ``Everything was perfect: the snap, the hold, everything,`` said Reveiz, who also kicked a 20-yard field goal. ``It was like hitting a 250-yard golf shot 9 feet from the pin. It felt great.`` Shula greeted Reveiz in the locker room with a smile. ``I forgave him for what his brother did Saturday against Alabama,`` Shula said. Reveiz`s brother, Carlos, kicked three field goals to lead Tennessee over a Crimson Tide team quarterbacked by Shula`s son, Mike. ``I`m just happy it all worked out well,`` Reveiz said. ``I even got a game ball, got it from the defense.`` And rightfully so. It was the Miami defense that failed miserably, allowing four touchdown passes from DeBerg to tight end Jimmy Giles as the Bucs racked up 476 yards. It was the Miami defense that gave up an average of 8.35 yards a play. It was the Miami defense that got a 28-yard interception return from new starter Hugh Green, but not much else. Green called it the worst game of his life. ``We struggled on defense all day,`` Shula said. ``Tampa Bay made about every play a team could make.`` And still it wasn`t enough, as the Bucs dropped their 14th consecutive road game. ``I don`t have anything but admiration for the way my players fought,`` Tampa Bay coach Leeman Bennett said. ``Miami played better than we did, and they scored three more points. That was the difference.`` For so long, it seemed like the difference would be much more. The Dolphin offense was moving almost at will, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on their first four possessions to take a 24-7 lead. Two more touchdowns in the third quarter opened the lead to 38-21, and it seemed so easy. Dan Marino had thrown three touchdown passes 16 yards to Nat Moore, 4 yards to Jim Jensen and 3 yards to Bruce Hardy while Tony Nathan and Ron Davenport added 1-yard scoring runs. They had all of that, and the 38-21 lead, when the fourth quarter began. ``It was ridiculous,`` linebacker Bob Brudzinski said. ``We were kicking their butts. The first quarter went by so fast it was like a dream.`` Then came the nightmare. Marino fumbles a snap at his 21-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. Five plays later, DeBerg hits Giles for a 7-yard score. Marino is intercepted by cornerback Jeremiah Castille, who returns it 11 yards to the Miami 38. Five plays later, DeBerg hits Giles for a 16-yard score. Miami 38, Tampa Bay 35. The fun is just beginning. The Dolphins put together a few first downs and the drive stalls, forcing a Reggie Roby punt. The Bucs take over at their own 11-yard line. DeBerg scrambles 13 yards for a first down. DeBerg hits House on back-to-back passes of 22 and 23 yards. Suddenly, the Bucs are in field-goal position. With 43 seconds left, Igwebuike kicks a 38-yard field to tie the game at 38. ``We just let them shove the ball down our throats,`` defensive end Doug Betters said. ``Score 38 points on us? Hard to believe. It wasn`t very pretty, was it?`` But that was no longer important when the Miami offense took over at its 29-yard line with 37 seconds left. What mattered was moving into field-goal position, and Marino did it with All-Pro efficiency. He found Duriel Harris for 11 yards and a first down. Harris tried to lateral to Nathan remember the flea-flicker against San Diego in the 1981 playoffs? but the ball was knocked out of bounds. Good thing. It stopped the clock. Marino followed with two crucial passes to Nathan, covering 19 and 15 yards. First down at the Tampa Bay 26. Eleven seconds on the clock. Miami calls a time out. Enter Reveiz. Exit Tampa Bay. ``You hate to win a game like this, but when you do, it gives you a lot of confidence,`` said Marino, who hit 27 of 39 for 302 yards. ``We got the plays when we needed them. We were very fortunate to pull this thing out.`` The Dolphins went into the game hoping to slow down Tampa Bay running back James Wilder, and they did farily well. Wilder gained 98 yards on 24 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run. But they never figured on DeBerg opening it up the way he did, and Giles 7 receptions for 116 yards playing the best game of his life. ``Their offense made it a long, tough day for us,`` Shula said. ``I understand we`re tied for first place in the AFC East, but we`re going to have to play a lot better to stay there.`` The Dolphins did have some bright spots. Except for the two turnovers, Marino enjoyed his best day of the season. Nathan was equally brilliant, gaining 62 yards on 12 carries and catching 8 passes for 80 yards. Rookie Lorenzo Hampton had his best game as a pro, rushing for 78 yards on 13 carries. Take all of this and add an impressive showing by the Miami offensive line, allowing no sacks, and it should have been a lopsided victory. But the Bucs kept coming back. ``The way they were scoring, we were in a situation where we had to score,`` DeBerg said. ``That opened our offense up. This is probably the best I`ve thrown the ball in a long time.`` The Dolphins wasted little time taking control. Jim Jensen tipped Frank Garcia`s punt on Tampa Bay`s opening possession, giving Miami a first down at the Buc 48. Six plays later, after Hampton`s 11-yard run put Miami at the 16, Marino found Moore three steps ahead of cornerback John Holt for the touchdown. Tampa Bay got one first down, a 10-yard run by Wilder, and punted to Mark Clayton, who returned it 11 yards to the Miami 42. This time it took the Dolphins 11 plays to get into the end zone. Marino used his short passing game to near perfection, hitting Bruce Hardy twice and Clayton twice before finding Jensen in the front left corner of the end zone for a 4-yard score. That came with 2:31 left in the first quarter, and the Dolphins were up 14-0. If the defense had followed suit, it might have been the beginning of a Sunday afternoon waltz. ``We just had a lack of communication all day,`` safety Glenn Blackwood said. ``We have the potential to be a very good defense. We just didn`t show it today.``