OVERALL SUMMARY:

The Dolphins played a wild game against a tough foe on Sunday, but with the help of some Dan Marino heroics, they won the game in the final minute of play, keeping themselves in competition for the lead in the AFC East.

Overall, the defense had a mixed game, but made some serious errors that cost them a lot of points. The offense was inconsistent early in the game, but exploded for 23 points in the 4th quarter, including the winning touchdown with just 27 seconds left on the clock.

This was about as good a comeback game as the Dolphins have played since the great "Clock Play" game against the Jets back in 1994. And like that game, this one was driven by Dan Marino.

The game started at 4:15 in the RCA Dome with Cecil Collins getting his first start at running back for the Dolphins. Other major changes to the Dolphins lineup included Kevin Gogan starting for Mark Dixon and Brent Smith starting for Richmond Webb. On defense, Rich Owens started for Kenny Mixon.

For the Colts, the biggest change was starting Jerome Pathon instead of EG Green at receiver. Inactive for the game for the Dolphins were LB Anthony Harris, C Grey Ruegamer, DE Kenny Mixon, RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar, OT Richmond Webb, OG Mark Dixon, and WR Yatil Green. QB Jim Druckenmiller was the emergency inactive quarterback.

The game started with the Colts getting the ball first and using imaginative play calling to free up receivers, they moved well on their first series and drove to the Dolphins' 24 before they stalled and had to settle for a field goal. The Dolphins responded after a decent kickoff return by going 3 and out on their first series. Cecil Collins had 2 good runs, but on 3rd and 1, the Colts stuffed Rob Konrad at the line of scrimmage.

On their 2nd series, the Colts again moved well using the pass and, aided by a blatant pass interference penalty on Derrick Rodgers in the endzone, they were done to the Miami 1 yard line. On 1st and goal, Manning handed off to Edgerrin James, who started for the left side of his line. Knifing through from the middle, Zach Thomas met James in the backfield, slamming him to the ground and knocking the ball loose in the process.

Daryl Gardener picked up the loose ball and rambled back to the Dolphins' 35 before being cut down by a diving Peyton Manning. Marino took over there and drove down the field with passes to just about everyone, until the Dolphins stalled at the Colts' 19. On the last 2 plays of this drive, Dan threw one questionable and one bad pass and was almost picked off twice. However, the Colts' defenders couldn't hold on to the ball and the Dolphins kicked a field goal to tie the game 3-3.

The Dolphins then tried one of Olindo Mare's special onsides kick and recovered the ball at their own 49, but promptly went 3 and out, not capitalizing on their special teams' execution. The Colts returned the favor by also going 3 and out and the Dolphins got the ball back after OJ McDuffie had a nice punt return to the Colts' 29.

Unfortunately, the Dolphins couldn't find the endzone again and sputtered at the Colts' 9, settling for a field goal and a 6-3 lead. Following the kickoff, the Colts drove to the Miami 33 and when Terrell Buckley went out with a sprained ankle, Marvin Harrison caught a straight 33 yard touchdown pass while being (sort-of) covered by CB Ray Hill. The Dolphins elected to replace T-Buck for that one play with Hill, which turned out to be a mistake. T-Buck did return to the game later, however.

The score gave the Colts a 10-6 lead. The Dolphins had good field position after the kickoff and after a 40 yard sideline pass to Tony Martin, the Dolphins had a first and goal at the Colts' 3. However, after 2 passes and 1 run netted just 2 yards, the Dolphins kicked a field goal on 4th and 1 to cut the lead to 10-9 in favor of the Colts. The Colts then knelt down to end the first half.

At the half, the Dolphins were not running the ball well and were having trouble with short yardage plays and inside the red-zone. The Dolphins had been inside the 10 yard line twice in the first half and had come away with no touchdowns.

To open the 2nd half, the Dolphins went 3 and out on their first series. Following the punt, the Colts responded by driving 83 yards and scoring a touchdown on a very nicely executed rollout pass by Peyton Manning to Marcus Pollard at the back of the endzone.

Pollard was the Colts' backup tight end and apparently the Colts' game plan was to use their backups a lot more and it worked very well. This drive was spurred on by a 43 yard catch and run by Terrence Wilkins, who is a very fast receiver and kick returner for the Colts.

With the Colts up 17-9, the Dolphins responded by taking the kickoff and driving to the Colts' 3 yard line, mostly on a 62 yard pass and run from Marino to Oronde Gadsden on the left. However, after 4 Cecil Collins runs, the Dolphins had not scored a touchdown and the ball went over to the Colts on downs.

Here is where the real game controversy started. On third and goal from the 3, the Dolphins ran Collins on the toss-sweep to the left. Collins was stopped right at the goal line and the referees ruled that he didn't get in. However, instant replay on the TV seemed to show that Collins might have gotten the ball across the plane of the goal and that should have been a touchdown. The Dolphins (even though I was screaming for a challenge) did not challenge the call at the time and the fourth down play was run, with Cecil getting stuffed.

Following the 4th down play, JJ claimed that he had tried to challenge the 3rd down call and force a review to see if Collins got over the goal line, but that he was ignored. The referees claimed that they didn't get the page that would have signaled a challenge and ruled on the field that since the play was not challenged before the next play was run, the Dolphins could not challenge it.

In my opinion, having watched the replay several times now, Collins did break the plane of the goal line and that should have been a touchdown.

The Colts took over at the 1 and moved out to the 28 before Manning was sacked twice, forcing the Colts to punt at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Following a short punt, the Dolphins started at the 50 and moved to the Colts' 28, where Marino found Tony Martin on a deep slant and put the ball into his hands perfectly for a touchdown. Following a failed 2 point conversion attempt. the Dolphins trailed 17-15.

On the kickoff, the Colts' Terrence Wilkins ran right up the middle of the Dolphins' kickoff coverage team and after 3 of the Dolphins' coverage players blew their assignments, he raced untouched to the endzone to put the Colts up by the score of 24-15.

The Dolphins took the kickoff at their 32 and drove to the Colts' 25 using Tony Martin again and Rob Konrad. At the Colts' 25, Marino gave the ball to Cecil Collins, who raced around right end and outran the Colts defenders for 25 yards to the endzone. This cut the Colts' lead to 24-22.

Following the kickoff, the Colts came right back and after two excellent runs by Edgerrin James netted 35 yards, Manning again found Marcus Pollard open and he ran through the Dolphins defense for another touchdown that pushed the Colts' lead to 31-22.

After yet another kickoff, the Dolphins again moved the ball well, down to the Colts' 26, but when JJ Johnson slipped and fell on 3rd down, the Dolphins were forced to choose to go for it on 4th and 1 or to kick the field goal. Since they needed 2 scores to take the lead, the Dolphins elected to go for the field goal. It was good and cut the lead to 31-25.

Now, with 3:20 left to play in the game, the Colts took over at their 20 after Mare's kickoff sailed out of the endzone. Two runs by James appeared to get the Colts a first down, but a pretty blatant holding call on the Colts moved them back to their 13 and after Zach tackled James in the backfield, the 2 minute warning was sounded.

Now, the Colts faced 4th and 18 from their 12. Rather than punt from their 12, the Colts had Peyton Manning run out of the endzone and take a safety. This kicked the score up to 31-27 in favor of the Colts, but they got a free kick from their 20 instead of trying to punt from the 12.

The Dolphins took the ball at their 36 after a nice return by OJ and two quick passes to Martin moved the ball to the 50. Now, with 1:22 remaining, Marino dropped back to pass and couldn't find anyone while the pocket collapsed around him. He ran forward from the pocket and was hit from his right by Shawn King of the Colts.

Now comes the second controversy of the game. Marino pulled the ball up to his chest and pushed it away from him with both hands, like a basketball foul shot, as he was being hit. The ball sailed up in an arc and came down in front of Rob Konrad, but was pounced on by a Colts' player.

At first, the referees ruled that it was a fumble that the Colts had recovered because the ball was hit by the defensive lineman as Dan was drawing it back to toss it and it wasn't exactly a classic pass. However, after it was challenged, the referees reversed their ruling and ruled that it was an incomplete pass.

The basis of the ruling was the observation that Marino was pretty clearly trying to shovel it forward to Konrad. The real question was whether it was knocked loose before he started to push it forward.

In my opinion, the ball was knocked loose from Dan's hand as he was drawing it back to his chest. However, I also think that even though he didn't have total control over it, he did manage to shove it forward from his chest deliberately. I don't believe that it bounced from his helmet or chest forward as a loose ball.

Does that constitute an incomplete pass or a batted fumble? Given that the benefit of the doubt always goes to the quarterback, I'd have to call it an incomplete pass. But, boy, it was a very close call.

Anyway, after that controversial play, Marino now had 1:16 left to play, but threw 2 incomplete passes and ended up with a 4th down and 10 at the 50. On 4th down, Marino told Oronde Gadsden in the huddle that he expected a cornerback blitz and if the cornerback did blitz, that Gadsden was not to break off his pattern early, but to continue straight up the field.

When the ball was snapped, the cornerback on Gadsden blitzed and Gadsden ran straight up the field on the right sideline. Marino then lofted the ball deep down the right sideline and Gadsden gathered it in, fighting his way down to the Colts' 2 yardline.

Now, with 34 seconds left, Marino threw the ball away on 1st down, finding no one open. On 2nd down, Marino tossed the fade pass to Gadsden on the left and Gadsden made a terrific leaping catch on the side of the endzone. He got one foot down and was then shoved out of bounds, but it was ruled that he was pushed out of bounds and the touchdown was good. This put the Dolphins ahead 34-31.

After careful kickoff coverage held the Colts at their 26 and a false start pushed them back to their 21, Manning tried to hit Marvin Harrison as he ran straight up the field from the slot position. However, Patrick Surtain had him blanketed and knocked the pass up in the air, where T-Buck made a diving catch for the interception that ended the game.

Overall, it was a game that had just about everything - some tough defense, some sloppy defense, some running, a lot of passing and even special teams fireworks. And what game in the NFL would be complete these days without a genuine controversial referees call?

This time, the Dolphins' offense, led by Dan Marino, bailed out the special teams and the defense, instead of the other way around. It showed what this team is capable of, if they could just put all the pieces together in one game.

GOOD STUFF:

The passing game, in particular, stood out as the best thing the Dolphins did on Sunday. Marino found Tony Martin 10 times for 166 yards and Oronde Gadsden 4 times for 123 yards. They proved that they can pass even when OJ McDuffie doesn't get a lot of passes.

The offensive line didn't allow Marino to be sacked, but that was only by the grace of Marino's quick release, because he was pounded regularly by the Colts' defense. Tim Ruddy did do a good job calling the blocking, although he had some problems in other areas.

The defense did not have a great game overall, but they did a pretty good job on Edgerrin James for most of the game. Unfortunately, they gave up a couple of big runs late, but they were expecting the pass at that point.

And, except for the big touchdown play where T-Buck was on the sidelines, they did manage to keep Marvin Harrison from exploding too much. He only caught 3 passes in this game.

Special teams did a fair job, getting some good returns on kickoffs and punts.

The play calling and coaching was improved this week, with the Dolphins keeping up a decent run-pass balance, considering the circumstances. Also, Kippy Brown did put Tony Martin in motion a lot more to get him out of double-coverage and that paid off in a big way. And the team's attitude was great, right through the end of the game. They never quit and never stopped playing hard, no matter how poorly things were going. They're going to need that resolve later in the year.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

The defense gave up way too many long pass plays, especially to tight end Marcus Pollard. They didn't adjust well to what the Colts were doing for most of the game. If the Colts hadn't gone conservative on their last series, it's not clear if the Dolphins would have won.

The problem with the pass defense was a combination of a lack of a pass rush and coverage problems. JJ started the game playing more zone coverages than they were used to and that is not a good choice for this defense in any circumstances. This is not a zone defense team.

The pass rush picked up later in the game, but the problems with coverage on the tight end and on the deep plays continued.

On offense, the repeated failures in short yardage situations were pretty bad. It's hard to tell how much of that was due to the lack of Richmond Webb and Mark Dixon, but it doesn't really matter. If Brent Smith is the future at left tackle and Kevin Gogan is this super-nasty Pro-Bowler, they should be playing better on the left side.

The special teams had a major breakdown on the kickoff return and almost gave up another big play. When your kicker has a special teams tackle in the stats, then your coverage men aren't doing their jobs.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:

Dan Marino embarrassed his detractors and added to his legend on Sunday, throwing for 393 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He could have had 2 picks early in the game, but otherwise he had a fine day. He stood in the pocket in the face of a pass rush that knocked him to the ground many times, but always managed to get the ball off. He directed the offense to 23 4th quarter points in as stunning a comeback win as I can remember seeing.

Cecil Collins got his first start at running back and gained 76 yards on 21 carries. More importantly, he didn't fumble. He looked pretty good and only had 2 plays that went for losses, but his best play was the 25 yard touchdown run. The bad side was his failure in short yardage, but those were mostly offensive line problems and he might have been awarded one more touchdown if that play had been reviewed. He still needs work on blitz pickups, but he didn't have any terrible failures in that regard.

Rob Konrad ran just once and failed to pick up a first down on 3rd and short, but had no place to run. He also caught 4 passes for 33 yards, continuing to do a good job out of the backfield.

Stanley Pritchett ran once for 1 yard on a busted 3rd down play from the shotgun, and made 2 nice catches late in the game for 18 yards.

Tony Martin exploded, catching 10 passes for 166 yards, including a touchdown and getting open regularly. He also surprised me with the way he sometimes broke tackles, although he's still not a tough guy like Oronde Gadsden

Oronde Gadsden had "only" 4 catches, but they were 4 of the most crucial catches of the game for 123 yards. He caught a 62 yarder and the last two passes of the game that converted a 4th down and scored the winning touchdown.

OJ McDuffie was pretty quiet, catching 4 passes for 42 yards, but he diverted attention from Martin and Gadsden.

Troy Drayton caught 1 pass for 11 yards and was pretty quiet otherwise.

The offensive line did not have a good game. Both Brent Smith and Kevin Gogan had trouble with their assignments and let Dan get hit a lot. Also, Tim Ruddy had a crucial missed block at the 1 yard line that allowed Collins to get nailed in the backfield.

On defense, Zach Thomas led the team in tackles for the 4th straight game - in fact, every game this year. He had 10 tackles, knocked down a pass and, most importantly, forced an Edgerrin James fumble early in the game that prevented a touchdown at the Dolphins' 1 yard line.

Robert Jones was 2nd in tackles, but following a Colts' fumble on a kick return, he tried to pick up the ball instead of falling on it. As a result, the Colts recovered. He played solidly, but didn't distinguish himself with any big plays.

Sam Madison was third in tackles and played cornerback well enough to keep Manning from throwing his way.

Daryl Gardener had 4 tackles and was his usual self, locking up the middle and pressuring Manning. He also recovered an Edgerrin James fumble and returned it 33 yards.

Rich Owens had a mixed game, getting in on 4 tackles and making a nice sack in the second half.

Brock Marion had 3 tackles, but had what he himself called his worst game as a Dolphin. He was out of position on a number of big Colts' plays and had coverage problems all night.

Jason Taylor had 3 tackles, but was pretty quiet except for one nice stop of Edgerrin James at the line of scrimmage.

Trace Armstrong had 2 tackles and one nice sack where he blew past the guard and made a sure tackle of Manning.

Tim Bowens had 2 tackles and was pretty invisible most of the game, but was constantly double-teamed in the middle and didn't get many opportunities to do anything.

Terrell Buckley also had two tackles and was not seriously beaten on any big plays that I saw. He also didn't draw any pass interference penalties. He had the only interception of the game, but he had Patrick Surtain to thank because Surtain knocked the ball up into the air.

Surtain was also pretty quiet, but was not beaten badly that I saw and made a terrific play on the last Colts pass when he was covering Marvin Harrison and knocked the ball up to Terrell Buckley. He sealed the victory.

Shawn Wooden had 2 tackles and knocked a pass down, including one nice backfield stop.

Derrick Rodgers had 2 tackles and a terrible mistake in the endzone when he got beaten badly and was forced to knock the receiver down to prevent a catch. He was flagged for pass interference on that play, but it turned out OK, because Zach caused a fumble on the next play that saved the touchdown. He had trouble in coverage for a lot of the game.

Ray Hill was in for T-Buck on the pass to Marvin Harrison and he was beaten badly after he let Harrison run by him at the line of scrimmage.

Calvin Jackson started the game at strong safety, but he was completely invisible, having no tackles and no passes defensed.

Dwight Hollier, Larry Izzo, Nate Jacquet, Greg Jeffries and Olindo Mare' all had tackles on special teams. Izzo forced a fumble with his tackle, but it was recovered by the Colts.

Olindo Mare' hit all 4 of his field goals and did a pretty good job on kickoffs. He has now hit 4 field goals in each of the last 3 games.

INJURIES:

The only injury of note was to Terrell Buckley, who sprained his ankle in the 2nd quarter, but played the rest of the game. He is expected to be available for the Patriots game.

My Comments:

These are the kinds of games that I hate. The defense wasn't playing well, offensive players were making mistakes and the special teams gave up that huge play in the 4th quarter. Every time it looked like the Dolphins were about to come back, the Colts would score again.

The game looked a lot like some of the other Colts' games that we've suffered through in the past. You know the ones I mean.

Still, the Dolphins never gave up and fought right down to the end, which is why they won.

That and the fact that they still have Dan Marino at the helm.

Speaking of which, Dan certainly put the lie to the idea that he is washed up and can't play anymore. The problem with that, of course, is that now some people will expect him to play great every week.

But that's the price you pay for fame - especially fame as big as Dan Marino's. No matter what he does, he'll be under the microscope and scrutinized.

But the victory over the Colts did more than just add to the story of Dan Marino. It verified that the Dolphins finally do have a very dangerous passing game based on someone other than OJ McDuffie. Tony Martin did exactly what he was hired to do on Sunday and has justified JJ's faith in him.

Unfortunately, the Colts game also showed that the Dolphins aren't going to have much of a running gamee until Mark Dixon comes back. Of course, he doesn't guarantee an effective running game, but he clearly adds a dimension that makes a huge difference. The latest word is that he'll return to practice this week.

Up next are the Patriots and they have a lot in common with the Colts. They rely mainly on their passing game and have a big play receiver who is playing very well. They have a running game that must be respected, but that isn't overwhelming.

The biggest difference that they have is that the Patriots' defensive unit is more dangerous than the Colts', although the Colts' defense has improved from last year.

The Dolphins have shown that they have all the pieces in place to beat the Patriots, but they have to put it together next week in New England.

Related Info:

• ESPN.com: NFL - Marino gets the last word
• Miami Dolphins Official Press Box: Coaches Corner
• Miami Herald: The Dolphins have much to be happy about today
• Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
• Palm Beach Post: Nobody's perfect, according to J.J.
• Palm Beach Post: Buzzer beef brings Motorola a headache
• Palm Beach Post: J.J. leaves Marino out of it
• Sun-Sentinel: Mare's kicking clicking
• Sun-Sentinel: Marino's blockers getting the heat -- JJ says Smith, Gogan subpar
• CBS SportsLine: Colts call for another look at replay ruling
• Sun-Sentinel: Q&A with J.J.
• CBS SportsLine: Johnson mostly mum on Marino
• TSN: Team Report by Jason Cole
• Palm Beach Post: Photo gallery - Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
• CBS SportsLine: Dolphins 34, Colts 31
• Palm Beach Post: Gadsden, Martin provide spark
• Palm Beach Post: The replay buzz
• Palm Beach Post: Marino answers when it counts
• Palm Beach Post: Collins not spectacular but not unsuccessful
• Palm Beach Post: Still the man
• Miami Herald: KEYS TO THE GAME
• Miami Herald: `D' struggles, feels `lucky'
• Miami Herald: Criticized QB rallies Miami in 4th quarter
• Sun-Sentinel: Game 4 wrapup
• Sun-Sentinel: Manning gets good look at what greatness is about
• Sun-Sentinel: Karim contributes even without playing
• Sun-Sentinel: Martin, Gadsden gave Dolphins big plays they've been lacking
• Sun-Sentinel: Excerps from Dan Marino's postgame news conference
• Sun-Sentinel: Dolphins' grades from Colts game
• Sun-Sentinel: Dolphins 34, Colts 31
• Sun-Sentinel: Excerps from Coach Johnson's postgame news conference