MIAMI (Ticker) -- Jay Fiedler reminded no one of the legendary Dan Marino, but he did enough to lead the Miami Dolphins to victory at rain-swept Pro Player Stadium.
On the night the Dolphins retired Marino's No. 13, Fiedler stayed under control through difficult conditions and made the plays he had to as Miami shut down the Baltimore Ravens, 19-6.
Fiedler kept his poise during a difficult first half, when driving rain made it nearly impossible to control the ball. He engineered methodical drives that led to two field goals by Olindo Mare before taking to the air in the second half.
Fielder set up a seven-yard touchdown run by Lamar Smith on the opening drive of the third quarter and connected on an eight-yard strike to Smith in the fourth quarter that put the Dolphins ahead, 19-3.
Fiedler completed 11-of-16 passes for 160 yards and a TD for Miami (2-1), which has allowed only one touchdown this year. Smith carried 22 times for 63 yards in the mud and caught three passes for 47 yards.
"I don't feel any pressure in light of the Marino situation," Fiedler said. "It's a new season, a new team and I'm not going out there trying to be Dan Marino. There's no pressure or shadows on me whatsoever about Danny."
The most prolific passer in NFL history, Marino's number was retired during a raucous halftime ceremony. He became the second Dolphin to have his jersey retired, joining fellow quarterback Bob Griese, whose No. 12 was immortalized on May 6, 1982. Griese served as emcee for the event celebrating Marino's career.
"Danny's celebration at halftime added some pressure," Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We've been feeling it all week long. Keeping our concentration after halftime was important."
Ironically, the Dolphins won by 13 points, matching Marino's uniform number.
Tony Banks, who threw a career-high five touchdown passes in last week's upset of Jacksonville, struggled with the weather and the Dolphins defense. He was sacked six times, had trouble with his footing and his hold on the ball and completed 19-of-31 for 189 yards.
The Ravens (2-1) were shooting for the first 3-0 start in their brief history.
"A lot of us envisioned being 3-0 and getting ready to play at home next week and that didn't happen," Banks said. "They played in (the weather) too. They beat us at their game."
Mare opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal, capping a 10-play, 47-yard drive with 1:55 left in the opening quarter. Veteran running back Thurman Thomas kept the drive alive with a five-yard run to the Ravens' 48 yard-line on third down and Fiedler set up the kick with a seven-yard connection to Leslie Sheppard at Baltimore's 24.
"That's one of the reasons they brought me here. My big thing is to get a first down every time I touch the ball," said Thomas, who signed as a free agent with Miami in the offseason after an outstanding 12-year carerr with the Buffalo Bills.
Mare extended the lead to 6-0 with a 41-yard boot early in the second quarter, set up by a 12-yard strike to Oronde Gadsen and a nine-yard run by Thomas on 3rd-and-4. Miami took the lead into halftime.
The Ravens were unable to sustain much offensively in the half and squandered two golden opportunies late in the second quarter.
James Trapp intercepted Fieldler with 4:28 left, giving the Ravens possession at the Dolphin's 27-yard line. But two plays later, Patrick Surtain picked off a pass intended for Patrick Johnson at the Dolphin's four-yard line, ending the threat.
After the Dolphins were unable to make a first down on the subsequent drive, the Ravens regained possession at their own 20 with 2:07 left.
Jamal Lewis rushed for 45 yards on first down to the Dolphin's 35. A 10-yard run by Lewis, sandwiched by completions to Ben Coates and Shannon Sharpe, set up a 30-yard field goal attempt by Matt Stover. But Stover's effort was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Kenny Mixon and fell short, keeping the Ravens frustrated and scoreless.
Baltimore was 0-for-5 in third-down conversions for the half.
"We have to get better on first downs," Banks said. "We kept going second and eight and third and eight. We're making it so hard on ourselves to have to come back against good football teams in the second half."
Possibly inspired by the halftime ceremonies, the Dolphins took the opening drive of the third quarter and marched 61 yards in five plays to take a 13-0 lead. Fiedler connected with Sheppard for 19 yards to Baltimore's 35-yard line and threw a 28-yard strike to Smith, who scored on a seven-yard burst on the next play.
"I couldn't quite make my cuts because of the muddy turf," Smith said. "Me and Jay were on the same page. We just made plays. We were going to run the football no matter what. It was muddy and we felt we could push them around."
The Ravens again drove deep into Miami territory late in the third period but had to settle for a field goal.
Lewis ignited the drive with a 17-yard run and Banks hit Sharpe for 35 yards to the Miami 11. Baltimore got to the one-yard line two plays later but, after calling timeout, Banks was sacked for an eight-yard loss by cornerback Brian Walker.
Banks scrambled to the Miami 3 on the next play but was sacked for a seven-yard loss on 3rd-and-3, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Stover that cut the deficit to 13-3 with 3:13 left in the period.
But Fiedler engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with an eight-yard TD strike to Smith with 1:45 gone by in the fourth quarter. He accounted for 70 yards in the air during the drive, including a 41-yard strike to Jed Weaver. Mare missed the extra point, but Miami stretched its lead to 19-3.
With Baltimore desperate for points, Banks led the Ravens down the field looking to get into the end zone. The Ravens advanced to the Miami 16-yard line, helped along by a 26-yard completion to Obafemi Ayanbadejo and a 15-yard face mask penalty.
But Lewis gained only one yard on the next play and Banks threw two incompletions, forcing Stover to boot a 33-yard field goal that made it 19-6 with 9:35 remaining.
Miami's defense took over the rest of the way, holding Baltimore to its lowest point total of the season on a rain-drenched field better suited for Dolphins.
"It was a heck of a win for our team," Wannstedt said. "We made a commitment to run the football and we stayed with it. We wanted to show the nation that we have a good football team."
"They beat us in every aspect of the game," Ravens coach Brian Billett said. "We got beat physically by a very good football team. There's no other explanation for it."
