Miami (9-7) at New England (10-6)

* The facts: 9:30 a.m., Foxboro Stadium, Channel 4.

* Head to head: The Patriots won both meetings, capitalizing on Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino’s struggles to earn a 27-24 victory at Foxboro and a 14-12 win in Miami. In their first meeting, Marino threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. In their season-ending meeting Monday night, he threw a rally-killing interception.

* Storyline: Call this the Marino Bowl.

Is the great quarterback broken down, washed up, an anvil around the neck of a team trying to rebuild? Or does he still remember how to win a big game?

Amazingly for a guy who used to throw about three touchdown passes every Sunday, Marino couldn’t find the end zone in six of the Dolphins’ 16 games this year. He was blitzed on 25 of his 68 offensive plays in Monday’s loss, and there is no reason to think the Patriots will do anything different this time.

There is a sense that Coach Jimmy Johnson is waiting for an excuse to dump his star. This could be it.

* Keys to the game: While Marino is this game’s most celebrated figure, Drew Bledsoe could be its most important.

Simply, he needs to put as much effort into scoring on the league’s 26th-ranked defense as he does in jumping off stages into mosh pits. With Curtis Martin, Terry Glenn and Ben Coates at his side, there is no reason Bledsoe cannot lead the Patriots to 30 points here.

But then, you probably thought there was no reason for his silly screen pass that cost the Patriots a victory against the Steelers, did you?

Also watch for the matchup of markedly different coaching styles.

These are Johnson’s favorite months: His 7-1 postseason record is bettered only by Vince Lombardi’s 9-1 mark, and he has won six consecutive playoff games. Many believe that Johnson has done what may be the coaching job of his life this fall, pushing and prodding this not-so-talented team beyond reasonable expectations.

Then there is Patriot nice-guy Pete Carroll, a playoff rookie. He has frittered away much of the toughness instilled by former boss Bill Parcells. The Patriots should be a Super Bowl contender, but blew most of their games against similarly talented teams, losing at home to Green Bay and Pittsburgh and on the road against Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Denver.

* Now you know: Nine times in NFL history, teams that met on the final weekend of the regular season met again in the first round of the playoffs. On six of those occasions, the regular-season loser figured it out and won the first-round playoff game.

* They said it: Patriot linebacker Tedy Bruschi on New England’s blitzing defense Monday night: “We threw different looks at them, different looks than we had the first time we played them. And we’ll throw them different looks the third time.�

* The line: Patriots by 5.