The Miami Dolphins will look to end their two-game losing streak when they face the Indianapolis Colts at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 4 Dolphins-Colts matchup:
DATE: Sunday, Oct. 3
TIME: 1 p.m. ET
SITE: Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.
WEAHTER FORECAST: Temperatures between 1 and 4 p.m. will be 86 or 87, according to AccuWeather.com, with intermittent clouds and thunderstorms in the 2 p.m. hour. The chance of precipitation is 14 percent in the 1 p.m. hour, but 51 and 47 over the next two. The wind is expected to be 12 mph with gusts up to 15 or 16 mph.
TV: CBS
STREAMING: fuboTV
TV distribution: The game will be shown in most of Florida and most of Indiana.
Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Jay Feely (color analyst)
SI Sportsbook betting line: Dolphins by 2.5 (over/under 42)
Dolphins — C Michael Deiter (foot/quad) is out.
Colts — G Quenton Nelson (ankle/knee), DE Kwity Paye (hamstring), T Braden Smith (foot/thumb) S Khari Willis (ankle/groin) and CB Rock Ya-Sin (ankle) are out; TE Jack Doyle (back), RB Jonathan Taylor (knee), QB Carson Wentz (ankles) and G Mark Glowinski (knee) are questionable.
Regular season series history: The Dolphins lead 46-27
Last five meetings:
Nov. 10, 2019 at Indianapolis; Dolphins 16, Colts 12
Nov. 25, 2018 at Indianapolis; Colts 27, Dolphins 24
Dec. 27, 2015 at Miami; Colts 18, Dolphins 12
Sept. 15, 2013 at Indianapolis; Dolphins 24, Colts 20
Nov. 4, 2012 at Indianapolis; Colts 23, Dolphins 20
Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 44 (1973 at Miami; Dolphins 44, Colts 0)
Colts' largest margin of victory: 41 (1997 at Indianapolis; (Colts 41, Dolphins 0)
Highest-scoring matchup: 73 points (1977 at Baltimore; Colts 45, Dolphins 28)
Lowest-scoring matchup: 16 points (1996 at Indianapolis, Colts 10, Dolphins 6; 1994 at Indianapolis, Colts 10, Dolphins 6; 1991 at Indianapolis, Dolphins 10, Colts 6; 1972 at Miami, Dolphins 16, Colts 0)
Series notes: The Colts have won six of the past eight meetings, with all eight games decided by six points or less ... The 16-0 victory in 1972 ended the Dolphins' perfect regular season ... This is the first time in 10 Dolphins home games against the Colts that the teams will play in October.
Former Colts players with the Dolphins:
QB Jacoby Brissett
Former Colts coaches with the Dolphins:
None
Former Dolphins players with the Colts:
G Chris Reed (2019), T Julién Davenport (2019-20)
Former Dolphins coaches with the Colts:
None
Other connections
WR Mack Hollins and LB Duke Riley both played with Colts QB Carson Wentz with the Eagles ... DE Emmanuel Ogbah and WR Albert Wilson both played with Colts T Eric Fisher in Kansas City ... LB Andrew Van Ginkel and C Michael Deiter both played with Colts RB Jonathan Taylor at Wisconson.
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COLTS SCOUTING REPORT
The Colts come to South Florida after getting off to the worst start they could have imagined after heading into the regular season with high expectations. Those expectations came from the team's playoff appearance in 2020 combined with the addition of former second overall pick Carson Wentz to run the offense. But the defense, which carried the team last season along with the running game, wasn't able to withstand the opening gauntlet of the Seahawks, Rams and Titans offenses and injuries have decimated the offense. In addition, Wentz hasn't shown many signs he's ready to rebound after his disastrous 2020 season in Philadelphia and now he's dealing with not one but two ankle injuries. Put everything together, and that's how you have the Colts sitting at 0-3.
THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...
The Dolphins are catching the Colts at the absolute perfect time given Indy's injury issues, which now include their best player, All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson. With Wentz operating at less than 100 percent, minus two starting guards (tackle Braden Smith is the other) and without star receiver T.Y. Hilton, who hasn't played all year, the Dolphins defense absolutely should be able to dominate this game.
THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...
It's almost inconceivable to envision the Colts putting up big numbers on offense, which means the Dolphins shouldn't need to do all that much offensively to get the win. What the Dolphins can't do is give the Colts cheap scores, whether it be with a turnover or on special teams.
FINAL DOLPHINS-COLTS PREDICTION
Schedule aside, there are probably very few NFL analysts who would have pegged the Colts as an 0-3 team after three weeks and even fewer who would have had them at 0-4. And maybe it's part of the reason there's an uneasy feeling about this game from a Dolphins standpoint, not what pundits think but the fact that good teams find a way to overcome adversity when least expected. Because, let's face it, the Colts are dealing with a ton of adversity right now and looking strictly at the injury report and the players who will be available in the game at Hard Rock Stadium, it's really difficult to come up with a scenario where the Dolphins don't win this game. That said, the gut feeling here says it's going to be a lot closer than maybe it should be, particularly when considering that the Dolphins have their own issues on offense. Dolphins 12, Colts 10.
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