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Tannehill, Dolphins top Colts

Sep 15, 2013 - 10:41 PM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Ryan Tannehill threw for 319 yards and a touchdown and Charles Clay had the go-ahead score late in the third quarter as the Miami Dolphins stayed undefeated with a 24-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Tannehill was in complete control of the Miami (2-0) offense, connecting on 23-of-34 passes without an interception. Lamar Miller rushed for 69 yards and a score while Mike Wallace, who publicly complained about his role with the team following a one-catch performance in his Dolphins' debut last week, reeled in nine catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

"It was a lot of fun," said Tannehill. "Anytime you can come on the road and win its a big accomplishment. Our entire team needed to play well. I think you saw some good things from the offense and the defense really stepped up and made a big play at the end to seal the game for us."

Clay caught five passes for 109 yards, including a 70-yard pitch-and-catch late in the first quarter which set up Miller's touchdown plunge. Trailing 20-17 with a few minutes left in the third period, Clay took it in from a yard out to put the Dolphins up, and a crucial sack of Andrew Luck by Philip Wheeler on fourth down in the game's closing moments proved to be the difference.

"Disappointing last series," said Luck. "I don't think I handled a lot of those plays well. You got to get the ball out of your hands no matter what, so I'm severely disappointed with myself for not giving our guys a chance because I thought the O-Line did a heck of a job all day."

Luck tossed for 321 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 25-of-43 for the Colts (1-1), who travel to the west coast for a showdown with the San Francisco 49ers next week.

"We made plays. I thought offensively we moved the ball up and down the field," said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. "That's a darn good football team that came in here. We knew that going in. Credit them."

Ahmad Bradshaw, starting because of a Vick Ballard ACL tear, carried 15 times for 65 yards and a score while T.Y. Hilton caught six balls for 124 yards, all in the first half.

The Dolphins will host Atlanta in week 3.

On the fourth snap of the contest, Luck looked downfield for Darrius Heyward- Bey. The ball was jarred loose by a Dolphins defender as Heyward-Bey went up for the catch but Hilton was in the right place at the right time as the ball landed in his arms for a 20-yard pickup. The drive ended when Adam Vinatieri hit the post on a 52-yard field goal try.

The Dolphins broke through on their first drive, scoring a quick seven when Tannehill checked down to Wallace, who sprinted to the end zone the help of some tremendous downfield blocking.

Following a Vinatieri 30-yard kick which made it 7-3, Tannehill fired a strike to a streaking Clay through traffic. Clay scampered 67 yards down to the Colts 10 and on the next play, Miller bounced outside to the left and trotted into the end zone untouched. The drive took all of three plays, covering 80 yards.

Early in the second period, Luck hooked up with former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener for a three-yard score in the back left of the end zone.

Luck executed a second touchdown drive late in the first half, aided by a 47- yard toss to Hilton. With 1:26 before intermission, Bradshaw took it in from a yard out, giving the Colts a three-point lead.

Caleb Sturgis' 54-yarder as time expired in the first half knotted the score at 17-17.

A crucial penalty early in the second half derailed a Colts' touchdown drive and instead led to another Vinatieri field goal. Luck found Fleener again for what would have been a 15-yard touchdown pass, but an illegal shift prior to the snap took the score off the board.

Clay's touchdown run came at the 4:45 mark of the third quarter, giving the visiting Dolphins a 24-20 lead.

The game got sloppy after that, with Tannehill getting stuffed on a fourth down sneak early in the final quarter and Luck throwing an interception in the end zone on the ensuing drive.

The Colts had one final drive that began with 3:57 left in the game. Luck marched his offense down to the Miami 23 before stalling with three straight incomplete passes and a sack, which gave the ball back to the Dolphins to run out the clock.

Game Notes

Robert Mathis and Jerrell Freeman each recorded two sacks for Indianapolis ... Colts OL Donald Thomas was diagnosed with a torn right quadriceps and will miss the remainder of 2013 ... Tannehill fumbled three times but lost just one of them.