MIAMI (Ticker) -- Dan Marino missed a game for the first time in three years but the Miami Dolphins survived with Damon Huard running the show, pulling out a 16-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Marino sat out with a shoulder problem but Huard had a respectable afternoon and benefited from an improved rushing attack as the Dolphins went to 5-1, staying on top in the AFC East.

Huard completed 15-of-21 passes for 142 yards with no touchdowns and his only interception was returned 67 yards for a score. But that was one of his only two incompletions in the second half.

"Other than checking off the pass there and giving them the touchdown, I liked it," Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson said of Huard's performance. "Other than that, I thought he did a good job."

"The fans were great and anytime you win your first game and in your first start, you feel pretty good about it," Huard said.

Miami rushed for 149 yards, including 97 by Cecil Collins. Fellow rookie J.J. Johnson contributed an 18-yard touchdown run.

"We stayed pretty simple as far as our plan goes, but we were pretty efficient," Huard added.

The Dolphins had lost nine of the last 10 games in which Marino had not started. The future Hall of Famer missed a start for the first time since Miami played at Philadelphia on October 20, 1996.

Marino was unable to practice this week due to a bone spur in his neck that caused weakness in his throwing shoulder. He had made 48 straight starts for the Dolphins, including the playoffs.

The Dolphins listed Marino as the emergency quarterback and Jim Druckenmiller, acquired from San Francisco in September, served as the backup but was not used.

Marino was forced to leave last week's game against the New England Patriots due to the injury and watched Huard lead the Dolphins to a 31-30 win. The third-year signal-caller came in for Marino on Miami's third possession with 8:51 left in the first quarter and his first pass attempt was intercepted by cornerback Ty Law and returned 27 yards for a touchdown.

However, Huard recovered and showed the poise of a veteran, leading the Dolphins to two scoring drives in the final 2:45. He hit running back Stanley Pritchett with a five-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left to lift Miami to the win, finishing 24-of-42 for 240 yards and two scores.

His numbers were not as good today, but the result was the same. The Dolphins have won their last three games by a combined seven points.

The 26-year-old Huard, a former star in NFL Europe, played in just two games as a backup in his first two seasons with Miami and completed 6-of-9 passes for 85 yards with an interception.

In the spring of 1998, he led the Frankfurt Galaxy to the World Bowl, completing 154-of-290 passes (54.8 percent) for 1,857 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Marino underwent an extensive examination on Monday, including an MRI and a CT scan, and no herniated cervical discs were identified, according to Dolphins team physician Dr. John Uribe. However, a small bone spur at the C6-C7 disc space on the right side was identified that Dr. Uribe believes may have caused a nerve root irritation leading to Marino's muscle spasms and associated muscle weakness in his throwing shoulder.

Marino had an epidural injection on Monday to alleviate the pain and continues to undergo a course of treatment which includes some anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy and exercise to reduce the irritation.

The NFL's most prolific passing quarterback, Marino was noticeably bothered by the spasms in pregame warmups last Sunday and had little velocity on his throws. On his first attempt, he hit Tony Martin with an eight-yard completion, giving him 60,001 yards in his legendary career.

However, three plays later, Marino threw a wobbly pass to his right that was picked off by Patriots linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer and returned 57 yards for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 7-0 lead just under three minutes into the game.

Marino stayed in for Miami's second possession, but was unable to reach Oronde Gadsden with a a short pass near the sideline on a 3rd-and-6.

The 38-year-old Marino started every game each of the last two seasons and was signed to a two-year extension last June. This year, he has completed 59 percent of his passes (84-of-142) for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions.

In 1998, Marino completed 58 percent of his passes (310-of-537) for 3,497 yards and 23 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. He ranked in the top three among AFC quarterbacks in completions, yards and touchdown passes and surpassed 3,000 yards for a record 13th time.

A nine-time Pro Bowler, Marino is the NFL's all-time leader in completions, attempts, passing yardage and touchdown passes. In his 17-year career with the Dolphins, he has completed 4,847 of 8,131 passes (59.6 percent) for 60,001 yards and 414 touchdowns with 240 interceptions in 236 games.

Marino ranks second in all-time regular season victories with a 145-88 record as a starter. He ranks fourth all-time in passing efficiency behind Steve Young, Joe Montana and Brett Favre.