ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Damon Huard wanted to grow up to be just like Dan Marino. He's now giving it a shot.

Marino, whose poster hung on Huard's bedroom wall in Puyallup, Wash., has been out of action since Oct. 17 with a pinched nerve in his neck.

That leaves Huard at the controls for Miami's trip to Buffalo on Sunday, a game that could either loosen the logjam in the fiercely competitive AFC East or make the race even tighter.

Miami coach Jimmy Johnson doesn't care who looks up to whom as long as he sees a win on the scoreboard.

One thing that's hard to see is any sign of a quarterback controversy. Huard offers a patriarchal portrait of Marino.

"When you get down or make mistakes, he's right there to pick you up," Huard said. "He just encourages me to hang in there. We're going to get this thing done in the fourth quarter, and that's kind of what we have been doing here the last few weeks."

What Miami (7-1) has been doing is beating teams with its defense, while Huard has been careful not to do anything stupid with the ball.

"He understands that if he's thrown into the fire and turns it over, we're going to look in a different direction," Johnson said. "That's what happens to a lot of young quarterbacks; before they realize the importance of protecting the football they want to get out there and make plays."

Marino, 38, has been making plays in the NFL since 26-year-old Huard was in elementary school. If the most prolific passer in league history has anything left, Johnson is sure to goad it out of him.

"We've tried to incorporate some things as far as utilizing Damon Huard's talents," Johnson said. "He's more mobile than Dan was."

So is Doug Flutie, who doesn't always draw praise from Johnson. Here's what the Miami coach said about the Buffalo quarterback earlier this season, on the flip side of a compliment intended for Huard:

"If they have it covered and the protection breaks down, Damon will scramble. Doug Flutie has made a living on this thing. He's not Flutie, because he throws the ball a lot better than Flutie."

Responded Flutie: "I don't worry about what he has to say."

If anyone should worry about what Johnson says, it's Johnson. He changed his tune just in time for the kickoff in Buffalo.

"I've always said that the No. 1 thing with Doug Flutie is he makes great decisions," Johnson said. "He has unique talents, a flair for making big plays, he's got great feet, and he's underrated as a passer."

Buffalo defensive end Bruce Smith knows better than to provoke an opponent before a game. Smith recalled that the Bills' bus blew a tire on the way to Pro Player Stadium last month, and Dolphins fans hooted and gestured as the bus crept along protected by a police escort.

"We knew that when we got there, we were just not going to lose," Smith said.

The Bills sacked Marino twice and intercepted him twice in handing the Dolphins their only loss.

Huard, who has thrown only two interceptions but has been sacked 19 times, already can hear footsteps.

"They only have to rush four or five guys to get pressure on the quarterback," he said. "When you do that, you can drop six or seven guys into coverage."

At least one Buffalo player is mystified by the Dolphins' quick acceptance of Huard.

"They believe in him, and that's kind of odd just because you have Marino and then you have Damon Huard," Buffalo defensive end Marcellus Wiley said.

"You would think that the guys would make him prove himself, but they showed him love from the gate," said Wiley. "He's undefeated as a starter, too. And he's more mobile than Marino. But who isn't more mobile than Marino?"

Flutie picked apart the Redskins last week, but the Dolphins haven't allowed a touchdown in 14 quarters.

"It's great to know that you can have a bad game and score like seven points and still win with our defense," said wide receiver Tony Martin, who leads Miami with 36 catches for 610 yards.

The Dolphins want to strengthen their grip on first place in the division while avoiding a second loss to the Bills, who need the win to stay close in the race for the AFC East title.

"We can't worry about if we lose, where does that put us, or if we win, where does that put us in the standings?" Bills fullback Sam Gash said. "It's good to win. Period."

MIAMI Season schedule and results

BUFFALO Season schedule and results

September 13 @Denver W 38-21 September 19 Arizona W 19-16 October 4 Buffalo L 18-23 October 10 @Indianapolis W 34-31 October 17 @New England W 31-30 October 24 Philadelphia W 16-13 October 31 @Oakland W 16-9 November 7 Tennessee W 17-0 November 14 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET November 21 New England 1:00pm ET November 25 @Dallas 4:15pm ET December 5 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET December 12 @NY Jets 4:05pm ET December 19 San Diego 1:00pm ET December 27 NY Jets 9:00pm ET January 2 @Washington 4:15pm ET

September 12 @Indianapolis L 14-31 September 19 NY Jets W 17-3 September 26 Philadelphia W 26-0 October 4 @Miami W 23-18 October 10 Pittsburgh W 24-21 October 17 Oakland L 14-20 October 24 @Seattle L 16-26 October 31 @Baltimore W 13-10 November 7 @Washington W 34-17 November 14 Miami 1:00pm ET November 21 @NY Jets 1:00pm ET November 28 New England 1:00pm ET December 12 NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 19 @Arizona 8:20pm ET December 26 @New England 1:00pm ET January 2 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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