Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Miami Dolphins to a 16-12 win over Brian Hoyer and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
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Final Score
Miami Dolphins 16, Indianapolis Colts 12
Miami Dolphins
While this wasn't an offensive shootout by any means, Ryan Fitzpatrick made just enough plays to win this game for the Dolphins. He had a few big throws on third down to move the chains while dealing with pressure, but he did most of his damage with his legs, including a scramble touchdown run in the first half.
The Dolphins' offensive line had a hard time with the Colts' front seven all game. They had a hard time creating much room to run for Kalen Ballage and also couldn't give Fitzpatrick very much time to operate in the passing game.
The Colts went into the game seemingly with the plan of targeting cornerback Nik Needham often, and it did not work for them. Needham made a great play for his interception in the fourth quarter as well as a couple of other pass defenses. Even at the end of the game, Needham tackled Eric Ebron one yard short of the first down on fourth down to end the Colts' comeback opportunity.
The Dolphins front four really struggled to get any kind of pass-rush going. Taco Charlton had a few pressures but was mostly a non-factor, as was Vince Biegel. The best performance came from linebacker Jerome Baker, who had a sack and a couple of hurries on his limited blitzing pass rushes.
Indianapolis Colts
Darius Leonard flew around the field all game, chasing down a number of perimeter runs from his inside linebacker position. He also had a huge interception on the day, driving on a hitch route intended for Mike Gesicki.
Justin Houston gave J'Marcus Webb fits all game long. The Dolphins left tackle could not contain Houston's speed rush around the edge and got beat on the up-and-under move multiple times. Houston was also great against the run, utilizing his quickness to beat the Dolphins' blockers.
Brian Hoyer is no Jacoby Brissett. That was the biggest difference in this game, as Hoyer really struggled to find his groove. He had a handful of nice throws but then made some really poor decisions or just completely missed on passes. If he was just a little more accurate when pushing the ball downfield, then the Colts likely win this game.
To the surprise of very few, the best player on the Colts' offense looked like Quenton Nelson. While he did give up a couple of run stops, he was manhandling whoever he had to move out of the way. Then in the passing game, he was perfect and didn't give up any pressure all game.
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