Dolphins-Colts Week 7 Instant Takeaways

More injuries and more mistakes as the Dolphins lose for the fourth time in five games.

Indianapolis Colts running back Tyler Goodson (31) rushes into the end zone for his first career touchdown during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium . / Christine Tannous/IndyStar USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts?

We'll start with the inactive list, highlighted by a couple of defensive starters out because of injuries:

• Safety Jevon Holland (hand)
• Linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (bicep)

CB Ethan Bonner, OL Andrew Meyer, LB Channing Tindall, and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. were also inactive.

Quarterback Skylar Thompson was designated as the emergency third quarterback.

Rookie fifth-round pick Mohamed Kamara was active for the first time in his NFL career.

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FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins started on defense after they won the toss and deferred.

Calais Campbell started as a defensive end and, on the first play, quickly snuck past right guard Dalton Tucker to drop Trey Sermon for a 2-yard loss. The number of plays per snap this guy keeps making is astounding. If we were to name a team MVP to this point, he would belong in the conversation.

The defense saw what facing Anthony Richardson was about after he scrambled for 6 yards on second down thanks to his athleticism but was badly off target on a third-and-6 throw.

So much for the Dolphins quickly establishing the running game. After a 2-yard run by De'Von Achane on their first offensive play, the Dolphins went to the pass, and that drive ended with a quick three-and-out.

It should be noted that Achane wore the Guardian cap to provide extra protection after his concussion.

Did you notice who it was who committed an offside penalty on the Dolphins' first touchdown drive? Yep, that was former Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, whose penalty on third-and-3 around midfield negated an incompletion.

The Dolphins stuck with the run more on that drive, which paid off.

Props to Terron Armstead and Aaron Brewer for their downfield blocks on the 10-yard TD pass from Tyler Huntley to tight end Jonnu Smith, who had an 18-yard catch on the drive earlier.

Man, talk about the full Richardson effect. It was all there on the Colts' next drive, when the talented but erratic quarterback turned a potential sack by Kader Kohou on a blitz into a 3-yard scramble, then turned a Zach Sieler sack into a 21-yard scramble to the Miami 7-yard line before he dropped a snap and then failed to fall on it before Sieler got his big play after all with the fumble recovery.

The quarter ended with a low block penalty on fullback Alec Ingold, who we'd suspect will get fined by the NFL.

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SECOND QUARTER

Ingold returned with a great lead block that sprung Achane for a 15-yard run.

It's great to see Jonnu Smith continue being involved in the offense, this time with a 15-yard reception.

This drive stalled after Julian Hill failed to come up with a pass that was thrown behind him, but it was very catchable in a play where Austin Jackson was flagged for an illegal formation. The Dolphins' penalty problems continue.

It was a great pass breakup on third down by Kendall Fuller, who has proven to be a suitable replacement for longtime starting cornerback Xavien Howard.

Penalties continued to be an issue for the Dolphins, with Durham Smythe's holding negating a 32-yard run by Raheem Mostert — though we have to say that call seemed pretty weak. There is no excuse, though, for Jonnu Smith to later lineup offside.

Guard Liam Eichenberg's facemask penalty put the Dolphins in a first-and-24 hole and killed a drive.

Odell Beckham, Jr., got a rare target, but he looked like he wanted to make a move before catching the ball to avoid a big hit and ended up dropping it. The only consolation is that it came on third-and-18 and wouldn't have produced a first down anyway.

Ingold also contributed in the first half when he leaked out of the backfield unguarded and caught a 25-yard pass from Huntley to start the two-minute drive.

That came after the Colts decided to punt on fourth-and-3 from midfield, trailing 7-0.

In any event, this was a pretty good two-minute drive engineered by Huntley, including a nifty 13-yard completion to Jonnu Smith after he scrambled to his left.

The drive ended with a Jason Sanders field goal that made it 10-0, but the Dolphins then gave up a long completion in the final seconds — just like they did against Tennessee.

That gave the Colts the opportunity to kick a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer to make it 10-3.

It was disappointing to end a solid first half overall, even with the penalties and zero targets for either Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle.

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THIRD QUARTER

It was more of a run to start off, with Achane gaining 20 yards on three carries. Then Huntley went deep on third-and-2 from midfield, and it looked like he threw a perfect pass down the left sideline to Tyreek Hill.

The only problem was that Hill never saw the ball, and it fell a few yards in front of him.

Up 10-3, Mike McDaniel made the prudent decision to punt instead of going for it on fourth-and-2 from midfield — even though it goes against his aggressive nature.

After forcing yet another three-and-out on defense, the Dolphins committed the kind of mistake they can't afford when Raheem Mostert was stripped at the end of a 7-yard run, and the Colts returned the fumble to the 28.

That set up a short touchdown drive for the Colts, which tied the score and illustrated the perils of playing ball-control offense.

If you believe in momentum, the Dolphins followed the Colts touchdown with a three-and-out.

Of course, it didn't help that tight end Julian Hill was left to block rookie first-round pick Laiatu Latu one-on-one and was beaten for a sack on second down.

On the third-down incompletion, Huntley fell on his right shoulder after being chased out of his pocket, which gave Tim Boyle time for the next possession.

If you're wondering why Siran Neal is on the roster, check out his play as a gunner when he tackled returner Josh Downs for no gain after a 56-yard punt. Great work there.

Never mind the fact that Jalen Ramsey doesn't have a pick on the season; he's making an impact with his blitzing. He forced back-to-back incompletions on a Colts drive and forced a fumble until officials ruled that Richardson's arm was coming forward when Ramsey knocked the ball loose.

Jaylen Wright got his turn at running back — possibly because Mostert fumbled — and looked as good as he has all season, ripping off 9 and 19 yards on his first two carries. The guy needs to get more work.

Boyle's first pass attempt was a 12-yard completion that converted a third-and-8, but then it was Ingold's turn to fumble at the end of a run when the Colts stripped the ball away from him.

Kader Kohou had himself a really good game, coming up with a third-down pass breakup.

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FOURTH QUARTER

While the Dolphins' run game has been very good, the run defense has been suspect, and so it was again here when the Colts used four runs to gain 28 yards to set up a field goal that gave them a 13-10 lead.

The most disappointing play of the drive came when Chop Robinson got through the line and met Trey Sermon in the backfield. But instead of making the tackle for a 3— or 4-yard loss, Robinson allowed Sermon to bounce off him, resulting in an 11-yard gain. Unfortunately, this is how Robinson's rookie season has gone so far, meaning his inability to finish plays.

In the meantime, Calais Campbell continued to make plays, and his penetration led to Da'Shawn Hand making a tackle for a loss.

On the ensuing kickoff, Braxton Berrios sustained an apparent knee injury.

Boyle had a couple of really good completions, another one to Jonnu Smith, and finally one to Jaylen Waddle before the drive stalled.

The Dolphins have hit a wall in short-yardage situations, and the fullback dive, in particular, has gone nowhere lately. This latest example was when Alec Ingold was stuffed for no gain.

Then Mike McDaniel made a very questionable decision when he had Jason Sanders attempt a 54-yard field goal on fourth-and-1 to tie the score with under six minutes left instead of going for the first down.

We would be critical of the decision even had Sanders made it, but his kick bounced off the left upright, leaving the score at 13-10.

The defense then gave up two first downs, leading to another Colts field goal that left the Dolphins down 16-10 with 1:55 remaining and no timeouts.

No pressure, Tim Boyle.

The quarterback did a good job of getting the Dolphins into Indy territory, but Miami ran out of time with too many completions in the field of play, including one to Achane that lost one yard.

The game ended with an insanely ugly fourth-down pass that fell out of bounds — and to rookie Malik Washington no less.

It was an ugly ending to an ugly game that felt like the Dolphins should have won.

Instead, the Dolphins find themselves at 2-4.