Andrew Luck led the Indianapolis Colts to a 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins while breaking the NFL single-game rookie record by throwing for 433-yards, Cam Newton previously held the record of 432-passing yards and Luck’s opponent Ryan Tannehill came close earlier this year, throwing for 431.
The emotional win snapped the Dolphins three-game winning streak. The Dolphins now fall to 4-4 while the surprising Colts improved to 5-3 and are remaining in contention for a Wild-Card spot in the AFC.
The first meeting of these two rookie quarterbacks gave us a game that exceeded expectations. Tannehill turned in a very strong performance, going 22 of 38 for 290 yards with one touchdown pass.
“We knew the game was in our hands coming out in the second half and we’d have to go out and score some points,” said Tannehill. “They were able to move the ball and as an offense we have to rise to that challenge. No matter what happens out on the field we have to be able to move the ball and score points. We took that upon ourselves and unfortunately we weren’t able to get it done.”
But the Luck would get the best of him this round, with 6:52 remaining in the game; Luck would complete a quick 2-yard shovel pass to tight end Dwayne Allen, giving him enough yardage to break Cam Newton’s record by one yard. It turned out to be Luck’s final completion of the game. Luck’s total stats for the day were 30 of 48 for 433-yards and two touchdowns.
Luck wasn’t done setting records on the day, he also became the second rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 or more yards four times.
“I’ll let you guys write about records and all of those things,” Colts Interim Coach Bruce Arians told the media. “The only record we care about is our wins and losses. That was a big win for us.”
After the Dolphins took the first lead on a 37-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter, Luck got his record day underway by tossing a 9-yard pass to Reggie Wayne to take the lead 7-3 by the end of the first quarter. But the rookie Tannehill followed his 2012 classmate step for step when he connected with Charles Clay on a 31-yard pass to take the lead back. Then after the reliable Adam Vinatieri added a 23-yard field goal to knot it up at 10-10, Dolphins running back Reggie Bush scored on a beautiful 18-yard run. Bush ran a design play to the right, then cutback left, where three defenders were waiting for him. Bush stopped right in his own tracks, losing all three defenders and cut right back for a touchdown.
That proved to be Bush’s only highlight of the day as the Colts defense held him in check for the rest of the day. Bush only totaled 41-yards on 10 carries and added 2 receptions for 25-yards.
After the Bush touchdown, Vinatieri added another field goal of 47-yards to cut the lead to 17-13. In the third quarter the Colts took the lead again when Luck connected with fellow rookie T.Y. Hilton in double coverage in the endzone for his second touchdown pass, this one a 36-yarder to make it 20-17 Colts.
After the Dolphins tied it up in the fourth quarter on a 31-yard Carpenter field goal, the Colts came back on to take the lead for a final time when Vinatieri connected on a 43-yard field goal.
The Dolphins had one final chance to get in field goal range to send the game into overtime, but with 1:48 remaining, Tannehill‘s pass to Daniel Thomas came one yard short on 4th and 15.
The Dolphins will try to bounce back at home against the Titans before a quick turnaround when they travel to Buffalo for a Thursday night game. The Colts have a quick turnaround of their own as travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars on Thursday night.
But the real story of the game wasn’t the Colts winning or Andrew Luck’s multiple record-setting day but the return of Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano who was able to attend and watch the game for the first time since he took his leave of absence from the team to battle his fight with leukemia.
Moments before the Colts took the field against the Dolphins; Coach Pagano walked into the locker room to speak to his players and urged every one of them to face the obstacles that lie ahead of them.
After the Colts had one, when Coach Arians called in the team in the locker room for a prayer, Coach said “Open up the back door.”
The players and coaches looked and Coach Pagano came through the door. It was a rowdy standing ovation for the coach that went on for quite some time, and was quite moving. Coach Pagano had one final message for his team.
“I mentioned before the game that you guys were living in vision and you weren’t living in circumstances. Cause you know where they had us in the beginning, every last one of them. But you refused to live in circumstances and you decided consciously, as a team, and as a family to live in a vision. And that’s why you bring things up like you brought home today. That’s why you’re already champions and well on your way. I got circumstances. You guys understand it. I understand it. It’s hard to beat. And my vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters get married, dance at their weddings and hoist that Lombardi times. I’m dancing at two more weddings and we’re hoisting that trophy together men. Congratulations, I love all of you. Thank you so much.”
Coach Arians brought the team in one more final time and said “Chuck on three.”
The whole Colts team yelled back as one united team “1, 2, 3, CHUCK”!!!
Game Notes:
- Reggie Bush recorded his 27th career rushing touchdown and 10th as a Miami Dolphins with an 18-yard run in the second quarter at Indianapolis.
- Luck’s first half passing total of 273 yards is the fourth highest total in franchise history for a first half (Peyton Manning, 324 vs. Buffalo on Sept. 23, 2001). He also became the second player this season with 270-plus passing yards in the first half (Drew Brees, 314 in Week 7 vs. Tampa Bay).
- Miami’s defense did not allow a rusher to go over 100 yards for the 22nd consecutive game
- Miami’s longest streak without allowing a 100-yard rusher is 38 consecutive games: 12/20/70 – 11/11/73.
- Kicker Adam Vinatieri contributed with three field goals of 23, 47 and 43 yards and added two extra points for 11 points on the day. He improved his consecutive games scoring streak to 138.
- With one sack at Indianapolis, Cameron Wake now has 36.5 sacks in his career, the most ever by a Dolphins player in their first four seasons with the team.
- On the team’s second possession of the game, quarterback Andrew Luck threw a nine-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Reggie Wayne to give the Colts a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. With the touchdown, Wayne surpassed Edgerrin James (75) for third place on the franchise’s all-time touchdowns list. Wayne also passed James (458) for seventh place on the team’s all-time scoring list.
Colts’ All-Time Touchdown List
Player Years Touchdowns
Marvin Harrison 1996-2008 128
Lenny Moore 1956-67 113
Reggie Wayne 2001-12 76
Colts’ All-Time Scoring List
Player Years Points
Mike Vanderjagt 1998-2005 995
Dean Biasucci 1984-94 783
Marvin Harrison 1996-2008 778
Lenny Moore 1956-67 678
Adam Vinatieri 2006-12 655
Lou Michaels 1964-69 586
Reggie Wayne 2001-12 460
