INDIANAPOLIS, Ind – Coming off a two-game road trip in which they went 1-1, the Indianapolis Colts (3-4) returned to Lucas Oil Stadium for their week seven matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
While the Colts struggled in the homecoming contest, the game ended in good fashion for the blue and white as they downed the Dolphins 16-10.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
The return of Anthony Richardson
One of the biggest notes during pregame was that Richardson would be starting after missing two games due to an oblique injury. On his first drive, the Colts’ QB1 scrambled once and threw an incompletion. His second drive wasn’t much better as both passes fell incomplete, forcing another Indianapolis punt.
While Richardson found his first two completions in his third drive of the game, it was his legs that helped Indianapolis the most as he had two rushes for 24 yards. But the positive play was interrupted after the QB1 fumbled the snap inside the Miami 10-yard line, allowing the Dolphins to take possession.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Richardson continued the up-and-down outing as multiple pass attempts hit the turf. The inconsistent play returned in the second half as he had some misses in the second half. However, his showing on the ground was better as he finished the game with 14 rushes for 56 rushing yards.
Richardson’s passing game also improved in the fourth quarter as he completed five of his final six passes, going 10-for-24 with 129 passing yards in the win.
Rough offensive performance for the Colts
Though Richardson’s performance was shaky initially, it wasn’t just the quarterback as the Indianapolis offense followed suit. The Colts’ first drive of the game was a three-and-out, forcing the blue and white to punt.
After the Dolphins copied and pasted the result, the Colts continued the trend with another three-and-out. After Miami received the punt, the Dolphins earned the inaugural first down due to an offsides penalty on the Indianapolis defense. To end the drive, Miami scored the first points of the day when quarterback Tyler Huntley hit tight end Jonnu Smith for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
It wasn’t until their third drive that the Colts found some momentum with the football, thanks to running back Tyler Goodson who had multiple rushes for big gains. After Richardson’s turnover, the rhythm was halted.
The momentum Indianapolis had on the lone drive returned before halftime as Richardson completed a 33-yard pass to receiver Michael Pittman, which set up a successful 52-yard field goal for kicker Matt Gay.
But after former Colts’ tight end Dallas Clark was inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime, the offense seemed to go quiet after going three-and-out – their fourth of the game. However, after a Miami turnover, the Colts used the Dolphins’ error to tie the game with a seven-yard rushing touchdown from Goodson.
After that, the Colts' offense found two more drives that housed momentum, with both ending in successful field goals – a 22 and 38-yard kick – from Gay.
Inconsistent defensive play
The Colts’ defensive unit struggled to start the 2024-25 campaign, and those issues only continued against Miami. Missed tackles, bad reads and blown opportunities all plagued Indianapolis.
While Miami had to punt three times in the opening half, that did not stop them from leading at the break, 10-3.
The passing game is where the miscues elevated to problems as Indianapolis could not find a way to slow down Huntley. After going 6-for-11 – with 87 yards and a touchdown pass – to start the game, the Miami starter continued to have success in the second half.
But while the Dolphins’ game plan through the air worked, the Indianapolis defense had its moment when linebacker Segun Olubi stripped and recovered the football – the first of two Miami fumbles that were recovered by the Colts – on a Miami run play. This set up Indianapolis' first and only touchdown on the day a few plays later.
After Huntley left the game due to a shoulder injury, backup quarterback Tim Boyle stepped in under center for the rest of the game. To end the contest, the Indianapolis defense ended on a high note, forcing the Dolphins to attempt a would-be game-tying field goal attempt. However, the 54-yard kick was no good.
Following the miss, Gay hit his third field goal of the afternoon. The Dolphins had one last shot, but the Indianapolis defense held it down in the final two minutes and forced an incompletion on fourth-and-two.
In the win, the Colts gave up 161 passing yards and 188 rushing yards. Linebacker Grant Stuard led Indianapolis with 18 tackles – seven assisted and 11 solo – and linebacker Zaire Franklin had 16 – 11 assisted and five solo.
The blue and white will look to make it back-to-back victories when they head to Houston, Sunday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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