The Colts’ Week 1 winless streak has come to an end.
With Daniel Jones making his debut at quarterback, Indianapolis put together a dominant performance to beat Miami 33-8 and start the season 1-0.
Jones played well, finishing the contest 22-of-29 for 272 yards with one passing touchdown and two rushing TDs.
But opposing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s poor performance provided a significant boost for Indianapolis. Tagovailoa had a pair of first-half turnovers, with the Colts scoring touchdowns off of both of them. The quarterback first overshot receiver Tyreek Hill over the middle, with Cam Bynum picking off the errant pass.
Jones tossed a 27-yard touchdown to Michael Pittman to give the Colts a 10-0 lead off of that turnover.
Then on the second play of Miami’s ensuing drive, Tagovailoa was strip-sacked by Kenny Moore and former Dolphin Xavien Howard recovered the loose ball.
Jones ran in his first of two 1-yard touchdowns on the day to fully cash in on that takeaway.
Tagovailoa threw a second interception early in the third quarter, this one to defensive end Laiatu Latu, who had dropped into coverage. The Colts scored a field goal off of that pick to go up 23-0.
Jones scored his second 1-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach at 30-0.
While the Dolphins finally scored midway through the final period on Tagovailoa’s 11-yard swing pass to De’Von Achane, the team finished the game with just 211 yards and 12 first downs.
Tagovailoa’s day ended after the touchdown, as Zach Wilson came in at QB for mop-up duty. Tagovailoa finished 14-of-23 for 114 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions, and a lost fumble.
The Colts had not won a Week 1 game since 2013 until Sunday afternoon. Now at 1-0, they will host the Broncos next week.
At 0-1 and with some soul searching to do, the Dolphins will host the Patriots for their home opener in Week 2.