AFC Divisional: Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins (Orange Bowl), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff time: 12:30pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. Cleveland Browns traveling to Miami Dolphins at Orange Bowl, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Orange Bowl shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Cleveland Browns versus Miami Dolphins in the AFC Divisional. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Cleveland Browns-Miami Dolphins cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 8-8 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-9 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-9 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 5-11 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 12-4 | W7 |
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 11-5 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 5-11 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2-14 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Raiders | 12-4 | W6 |
| Denver Broncos | 11-5 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-8 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-8 | L2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-10 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams | 11-5 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10-6 | W2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5-11 | L3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4-12 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 15-1 | W3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8-8 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7-9 | L3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-9 | L2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-14 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 10-6 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10-6 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7-9 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-11 | L2 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 714212121 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 33172424 |
Scoring summary unavailable for this game.
| Browns | Dolphins | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 17 | 20 |
| Total Yards | 313 | 330 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 10/19 | 25/45 |
| Pass yards | 66 | 238 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 1 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 4 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 62 | 238 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 37 | 19 |
| Rush yards | 251 | 92 |
| Rush TD | 2 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 6 | 2 |
| Penalty yards | 49 | 20 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | |||||
| Bernie Kosar | 10/19 | 66 | 1 | 1 | |
| MIA | |||||
| Dan Marino | 25/45 | 238 | 1 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | ||||
| Earnest Byner | 16 | 161 | 2 | 66 |
| Kevin Mack | 13 | 56 | 0 | 12 |
| Curtis Dickey | 6 | 28 | 0 | 10 |
| Bernie Kosar | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| MIA | ||||
| Ron Davenport | 6 | 48 | 2 | 31 |
| Tony Nathan | 7 | 21 | 0 | 12 |
| Woody Bennett | 4 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Joe Carter | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | ||||
| Earnest Byner | 4 | 25 | 0 | 8 |
| Ozzie Newsome | 2 | 22 | 1 | 16 |
| Clarence Weathers | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Herman Fontenot | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Harry Holt | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| MIA | ||||
| Tony Nathan | 10 | 101 | 0 | 39 |
| Bruce Hardy | 5 | 51 | 0 | 18 |
| Nat Moore | 4 | 29 | 1 | 10 |
| Dan Johnson | 2 | 17 | 0 | 10 |
| Joe Rose | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Mark Clayton | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Woody Bennett | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Joe Carter | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Miami Dolphins defeated Cleveland Browns 24-21 at Orange Bowl in the AFC Divisional. The result came down to the final possession; Miami Dolphins won by 3. Top line of the day: Dan Marino: 238 pass yards on 25-of-45, 1 TD, 1 INT. Miami Dolphins move on to the conference final.
Miami Dolphins walked out of Orange Bowl as the team that survived an AFC Divisional Cleveland Browns will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 24-21. The game stayed within 3 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. Miami Dolphins move on to a conference championship.
Miami Dolphins 24, Cleveland Browns 21.
Round: AFC Divisional.
Top performers: - Dan Marino: 238 pass yards on 25-of-45, 1 TD, 1 INT - Earnest Byner: 161 rush yards on 16 carries - Tony Nathan: 10 catches for 101 yards
AFC Divisional, played at Orange Bowl. Final: Cleveland Browns 21, Miami Dolphins 24, with Miami Dolphins taking the result by 3.
**Top performers**
- Dan Marino: 238 pass yards on 25-of-45, 1 TD, 1 INT - Earnest Byner: 161 rush yards on 16 carries - Tony Nathan: 10 catches for 101 yards
A 3-point margin in AFC Divisional is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.