INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts got the respite they needed.
After losing five straight and enduring three weeks of tumult, they finally celebrated a victory.
Daniel Jones threw for one score, Seth McGowan ran for another and Adetomiwa Adebawore recovered a fumble for a touchdown on Sunday as the Colts held on for a 24-22 victory over the Miami Dolphins to end their skid.
“It definitely feels good to win,” Jones said. “It's hard to win in the NFL, so you have to enjoy them.”
Colts fans didn’t seem to enjoy this one much.
Some showed up wearing bags over their heads after Indy shipped away two Pro Bowl captains and their top two receivers before the trade deadline. The Colts held onto Jones and star running back Jonathan Taylor, who said goodbye to Indy fans last week only to suit up again and finish with 103 total yards.
While he helped the Colts (3-7) rush for 172 yards, Jones was booed loudly during the second half, when he had just one completion beyond the line of scrimmage. Jones was 11 of 22 for 108 yards with two interceptions.
Indy also was flagged 13 times, several of which prevented the Colts from sealing the victory sooner. They wound up needing a fourth-down stop with 1:36 left and McGowan's run for a first down on the ensuing possession to close it out.
The offense's struggles led to questions about a possible quarterback switch, which coach Shane Steichen quickly shut down because Indy plays Thursday night.
“Yeah, he'll be the starting quarterback this week,” Steichen said of Jones. “I think we need to continue to get better. There are a lot of things that happen out there every day, self-inflicted wounds for sure, but we've all got to be better.”
Kyle McCord had a solid starting debut for Miami (1-8), which lost its third straight. He was 17 of 32 for 209 yards, ran for a score and lost one fumble in place of Malik Willis, who went on injured reserve earlier this week with a groin injury. Ollie Gordon II had 20 carries for 76 yards.
Miami missed three kicks, including a 51-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter that would have given the Dolphins the lead.
“We've got to make the extra point, and we've got to make the field goal,” coach Jeff Hafley said. “It's 24-22, we miss an extra point, which forces us to go for 2, and we miss two field goals, that's seven points. We have to make those.”
Indy broke a 7-7 tie when Jones found Laquon Treadwell for a 7-yard TD with 39 seconds left in the first half. It was Treadwell's first TD catch since 2021 with Jacksonville.
The Colts then swung the game on the Dolphins' first play of the second half when cornerback Justin Walley stripped McCord near the Miami goal line and Adebawore fell on the ball in the end zone to make it 21-7.
Zane Gonzalez made a 53-yard field goal to cut the Dolphins' deficit to 21-10, and Miami got within 21-16 on Chris Johnson's 59-yard interception return for a TD — ending the Dolphins' 46-game stretch without a pick-6 that dated to 2023.
Shane Spencer extended Indy's margin to 24-16 with a 51-yard field goal, and McCord scored on a 3-yard run before his 2-point conversion pass was broken up by A.J. Haulcy to keep the Colts ahead by two.
Injuries
Dolphins: Miami played without C Aaron Brewer (concussion protocol) and lost DT Zeek Biggers (knee) in the first half. Backup C Andrew Meyer left late in the game with a stinger but returned.
Colts: Indy's offensive line already was short-handed without RT Jalen Travis (knee) and it got thinner when LT Bernhard Raimann entered the concussion protocol in the first quarter. He did not return. The Colts' bigger concern may be the secondary, which lost All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner (calf) and Pro Bowl CB Charvarius Ward (leg) in the third quarter.
Tough day for Miami's kicker
Gonzalez was wide left on field goal tries from 47 and 51 yards, and the second would have given the Dolphins the lead. He also missed the extra point after the interception return. Gonzalez was promoted from the practice squad Friday after making 5 of 7 field goals and all five of his extra point attempts over the previous three games.
Taylor finishes just shy of 10,000 career yards
Taylor nearly became the fifth Colts player to reach 10,000 yards from scrimmage. He needed 104 yards to join Hall of Famers Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James and Lenny Moore and current receivers coach Reggie Wayne. But he finished with 16 carries for 83 yards and two catches for 20 yards, leaving him with 9,999.
Up next
Dolphins: At Buffalo next Sunday.
Colts: Go for a season sweep when they visit Houston on Thursday.
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