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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdown passes to Mo Alie-Cox, Jonathan Taylor rushed to…
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdowns to Mo Alie-Cox, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards and a score and the Indianapolis Colts secured their first win of the season passing the Miami Dolphins 27-17 on Sunday.
Wentz completed 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards for the Colts (1-3), who avoided what would have been their first 0-4 start since 2011. They spent most of the day frustrating the former quarterback. Indianapolis fullback Jacoby Brissett, who completed 20 of 30 passes but threw for 123 of 199 yards in the final quarter.
It was the first game of two TDs for Alie-Cox, who scored a total of four points in his first 43 NFL appearances on Sunday.
Brissett found Mike Gesicki with 10:40 left on the fourth and the 1’s goal – two runs from there went nowhere, so the Dolphins got back in the air – to get Miami in the 20-10. It was only the second touchdown of the season for the Dolphins, the first to come in the Week 1 win in New England when Tua Tagovailoa hooked up with Jaylen Waddle.
If there was hope for Miami, it didn’t last long.
The Dolphins’ ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving Indianapolis the ball at 40. Wentz threw a 41-yard pass to Zach Pascal in the first possession game to bring the Colts inside the Dolphins’ red zone then ended up finding Alie-Cox seven later playing for the dropout.
Driving was fueled by Miami mistakes, a recurring theme of the day.
Among the problems of the Dolphins: They were outscored 226-15 in the middle of the two quarters; spent 30 minutes – playing time, not real time – between first tries; jumped offside on a punt to extend a Colts practice that turned into Indianapolis’ first touchdown; then Brissett lost the ball early in the fourth quarter for a turnaround after avoiding two tackles but not a third wave.
Wentz found Alie-Cox for a score that restored the 17-point lead halfway through the fourth and Miami fans started to leave en masse. Brissett threw another TD pass, this one to DeVante Parker to get Miami back in the 10 on the possession that followed.
But a pass interference call on the third down extended Indy’s next practice instead of returning the ball to Miami with about 4 minutes left, and the Colts ran out of time.
INJURIES
Colts: G Quenton Nelson missed the first game of his career; he had played in the 54s since being drafted, including the playoffs.
Runners-up: WR Will Fuller was lost in the first half with a hand injury, as was CB Byron Jones (quad). Additionally, Miami was without LB coach Anthony Campanile (health and safety protocols) for a second game in a row.
IMPROVED
Indianapolis allowed 421 rushing yards in its first three games – 140 in Seattle, 101 in the Los Angeles Rams and 180 in Tennessee.
Against the Dolphins, the Colts have allowed 35 yards in 16 attempts. The Colts are 28-1 since 1988 when allowing 50 yards or less rushing; the loss, ironically, was in the most recent play for Indy before Sunday. They gave Pittsburgh 22 yards in a 28-24 loss on Dec. 27.
TWENTY SOME THINGS
It was the third straight game in which the Dolphins allowed at least 20 consecutive points. They lost to Buffalo 35-0 in Week 2, gave up 25 unanswered in last week’s 31-28 loss to Las Vegas, and saw a 3-0 lead turn into a 20-3 deficit. Sunday.
FOLLOWING
Colts: Visit Baltimore on Monday, Oct.11 to end a three-game road swing, Indianapolis’ longest in a single season since 2011.
Dolphins: visit Tampa Bay next Sunday; Every time Tom Brady wins a Super Bowl, his team lost to Miami once the following season.
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