Dopey Report Card -- Colts vs. Dolphins

Looking for the key to the game? The Colts held Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to two catches and 19 yards. Remarkable. An ugly win while looking forward to the toughest stretch of the season.

RUN OFFENSE

If you can’t feel good about running back Tyler Goodson, check your pulse. This is the same player who mishandled Gardner Minshew’s admittedly off-target pass on fourth down of the Colts’ finale last season against Houston, ensuring the Colts would miss the playoffs – again. That day, he was fighting back tears, talking about how he would avoid social media and surround himself with the people who love him regardless of on-field performance. Then Sunday against Miami, the third-year player, an undrafted free agent, took over the primary running responsibilities from Trey Sermon (while Jonathan Taylor is out) and rushed 14 times for 51 yards. I’ve felt this way for a couple of games: Goodson is a more explosive, see-the-hole-and-hit-it-guy than Sermon, who tends to dance and be patient. Goodson ran 14 times for 51 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown. The run game also benefitted greatly from Anthony Richardson being used frequently on the ground, going for a team-high 56 yards on 14 carries. The Colts finished with 155 rushing yards and a 4.7 yards-per-carry average. Impressive.

Grade: B+

RUN DEFENSE

Yeah, the Dolphins gashed the Colts’ 31^st-ranked run defense, finishing with 188 rushing yards, a 5-yard-per-carry average, but that came as little surprise. The Colts came into this game with one goal in mind: Limit the explosives. The Dolphins have two of the most electric speed merchants in the league, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and they did nothing. I mean, zero. Two combined catches for 19 yards. Miami’s only big plays came on fullback screens. The Colts two deep safeties played waaaay back, guarding against the long pass, willing to give up some yards on the ground while limiting the homerun. Grant Stuard, another feel-good story like Goodson, finished with 18 tackles, the most by a Colt since Shaq Leonard announced his arrival with a 19-tackle game at Washington Week 2 of the 2018 season. (Such a shame about Leonard; he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory; now, he’s not employed by an NFL team.) Anyway, Zaire Franklin – tremendous. Grover Stewart – excellent. Segun Olubi (who?) – made a game-changing play. They bent, a lot, but rarely broke.

Grade: C