Before the Dolphins faced the Indianapolis Colts at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 4 of the 2021 regular season, we examined five key storylines heading into the game.

We revisit those storylines and examine how they played out in the aftermath of the Dolphins' 27-17 loss.

1. Can the Colts Compete with their Injury Issues?

BEFORE THE GAME: Injuries undeniably are part of life in the NFL, but it's not often a team is dealing with as many issues as what the Colts have going on right now. The Dolphins will face an Indy team that will be without its best starting offensive line (Quenton Nelson), its starting right tackle (Braden Smith) and three defensive starters, including first-round pick Kwity Paye. Oh, and quarterback Carson Wentz had two bad ankles and running back Jonathan Taylor is dealing with a knee injury.

IN THE GAME: As it turned out, the two players who replaced Nelson and Smith were Dolphins discards Julien Davenport at right tackle and Chris Reed at left guard and, except for Emmanuel Ogbah beating Davenport for a sack, those two actually did a solid job. Wentz didn't look overly impressive but found a way to get the job done, while Taylor certainly looked fine, particularly on his 38-yard run to open the second half and his 23-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

2. Brissett Faces his Former Team

BEFORE THE GAME: Dolphins QB Jacoby Brissett completed downplayed the significance of facing the Colts after spending the past four seasons in Indianapolis, but while it won't have an effect on the outcome the relationship absolutely does add an element to the matchup.

IN THE GAME: Yeah, this probably wasn't what Brissett had in mind going against his former team, even though he emphasized before the game there was no revenge aspect involved. His final numbers, particularly his 107.5 passer rating, ended up looking a lot better than his actual performance, though it should be pointed out he didn't necessarily have the benefit of great pass protection.

3. Another New Offensive Line for the Dolphins

BEFORE THE GAME: With center Michael Deiter headed to injured reserve because of the injury he sustained in practice earlier this week, the Dolphins will be using their fourth different starting offensive line in four weeks. The performance against Las Vegas last Sunday was a step up from the Week 2 fiasco against Buffalo, but it will be interesting to see if the line can continue that upward trend against the Colts with Greg Mancz at center.

IN THE GAME: By all appearances, Greg Mancz appeared to do a fine job in place of Deiter, except for a first-quarter shotgun snap that forced Brissett to throw the ball away after recovering it some 15 yards in the backfield. But it was not a stellar outing for his new-look offensive line, whether in run blocking or pass protection.

4.  Can the Offense Deliver Big Plays?

BEFORE THE GAME: One of the biggest issues in the loss at Las Vegas was the offense's inability to create big plays on offense, evidenced by the fact the longest pass play until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter was only 12 yards. The Dolphins do have speed at wide receiver with Jaylen Waddle, Will Fuller V, Albert Wilson (if he plays) and Jakeem Grant (if he's used on offense), so some chunk plays in the passing game would be a welcome sight.

IN THE GAME: This was a good-news, bad-news type of deal because, yes, the Dolphins did produce some chunk plays but they all came in the fourth quarter with the team trailing by 17 points. Before that fourth quarter, the Dolphins had one play longer than 11 yards — an 18-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle when he got loose from the Colts defender after a short reception. This kind of production is simply not good enough.

5. A Case for the Defense

BEFORE THE GAME: When we discussed the Colts injuries on offense, we didn't even mention wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, the former Florida International University star who's been out all season with a neck issue. It's a good opportunity for the Dolphins defense to not only extend its takeaway streak (stands at an NFL-best 25 games) but also produce the kind of dominant all-around effort we have yet to see in 2021.

IN THE GAME: Well, the Dolphins did extend their takeaway streak to 26 games, but that was done on special teams when snapper Blake Ferguson recovered a fumble on a punt return. There was no takeaways by the defense, which faced in the second half after holding Indianapolis to 111 yards in the first two quarters. The defense had its best showing of the season on third down (holding to Colts to a 40 percent conversion rate) and had two sacks, but it was far from a dominant effort.

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