PRO FOOTBALL : Dolphins’ Hopes Are Shattered : Atlanta Beats Miami, 20-14, and Snaps Its 5-Game Losing Streak

MIAMI — The Atlanta Falcons pulled out of their nose dive Sunday and dropped a bomb on the bumbling Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes with a 20-14 victory in the Orange Bowl.

The Dolphins (6-7) can make the playoffs now only if they win the rest of their games and the Raiders lose the rest of theirs.

“We had to find ourselves against the top-rated offense in the league,” said Falcons Coach Dan Henning, whose team ended a five-game losing streak. “It’s a statement by this team that it wants to progress.

“We haven’t been able to get into the win column for six weeks, so this was a very pleasant experience.”

The Falcons (6-6-1) intercepted Miami quarterback Dan Marino four times to hold the league’s No. 1 offense in check. Although Marino completed 20 of 40 passes for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns, Henning said his defense did a great job.

“Marino is a guy who is the least-sacked in the league, so we were going to do more covering than pressuring,” Henning said. “Our secondary picked off four balls and that’s what you’ve got to do against Marino.”

Meanwhile, Atlanta running back Gerald Riggs ran for 172 yards in 33 carries, and quarterback Turk Schonert was 8 of 13 for 143 yards with no interceptions.

Schonert also scrambled four yards for a touchdown.

Schonert, who is starting at quarterback in place of the injured David Archer, rolled right then circled back to the left and scooted untouched into the corner of the end zone with 14:07 left.

That put the Falcons up 17-7, and they made it 20-7 with 9:19 left on a 47-yard Ali Haji-Sheikh field goal set up by a 31-yard Riggs run.

Marino brought Miami right back down field, but two penalties killed the drive deep in Atlanta territory. A fourth-and-goal pass to Tony Nathan gained only 11 yards before Joel Williams tackled him at the Atlanta seven-yard line.

On their next possession, the Dolphins went 54 yards in 7 plays, with a 20-yard pass from Marino to Tim Jensen closing the gap to 20-14 with 1:50 to play.

Atlanta’s Stacey Bailey finally wrapped up the game by holding onto Miami’s ensuing on-side kick.

Atlanta converted two Miami mistakes into a one-yard touchdown run by Riggs, who went over 1,000 yards for the third straight season, and a 32-yard Haji-Sheikh field goal in the first half.

Miami’s first score came on a 52-yard pass play from Marino to Mark Duper with 4:50 left in the third period.

In addition to the interceptions, the Dolphins botched one punt attempt to turn the ball over deep in their own territory, and commited back-to-back penalties to kill a fourth-quarter drive.

“We were our own worst enemies,” Coach Don Shula said. “It didn’t seem like we were ready to play, from the opening kickoff that we dropped.

“It hurts when a game like this knocks you out of a chance at the playoffs, especially in a game you could have and should have won.”