Indianapolis Colts: Breaking Down 24-20 Loss to the Miami Dolphins

Indianapolis, IN- One thing we know for certain is that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will take to his Twitter account at some point this week at his displeasure with his team’s performance in today’s 24-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Colts clearly were the better team with more talent on both sides of the ball. They beat this same Dolphins team 23-20 in Lucas Oil Stadium just 10 months ago. After signing 10 new players this offseason how on earth could they lose a home game to Miami?

Well let’s break it down.

The game was virtually even. Indianapolis had 23 first downs to Miami’s 21. The Colts had 448 yards of total offense compared to Miami’s 398. The plays were virtually even as Indianapolis ran 72 plays to Miami’s 66, and so was the time of possession as Indy had the ball 30:34 to Miami 29:26.

Indianapolis also out-rushed Miami 133-101.

So with the offenses being practically even it comes down to who made the plays or not. When looking at the final stats  you’d see the turnovers were tied at one as Andrew Luck threw an interception and Ryan Tannehill fumbled the ball on a sack.

Let’s dig a bit deeper.

Indianapolis had five sacks today and forced Tannehill to fumble the ball three times but only recovered the one.

Penalties also weren’t really an issue as Indy only had three penalties for 13 yards and Miami wasn’t penalized.

So where was the game lost for Indianapolis?

The answer is play makers in the secondary and lack of blocking for the offensive line. The Colts gave up too many big plays in the secondary as cornerback Greg Toler was beat multiple times by Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace. Indy also gave up too many yards to tight end Charles Clay.

It also didn’t help when Adam Vinatieri missed an early 52-yard field goal on the first possession and Luck threw a costly interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter. The throw was Luck’s fault as he forced it and severely underthrew the pass to Reggie Wayne. Bring that back along with the field goal and the Colts come home winners.

Overall, this is all on the Colts. They have a slogan this year as “One Play.” It was a combination of plays that beat them. It’s all on their shoulders. This game was lost by the Colts, not won by the Dolphins.

Eric Smith is the Colts Beat Writer for Rant Sports. He’s covered the team the past four years and is recognized as an accredited member of the media by the team. Follow him on Twitter @ericsportsguru